Fade (2005) by Mills Kyle

Author:Mills, Kyle [Mills, Kyle]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub, mobi
Published: 2010-12-26T00:42:22.030000+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Eight.

Hillel Strand's receptionist seemed to be doing pretty well fo r herself. Even in the dark, the neighborhood had a brand new feel to i t unmarked pavement, fledgling trees held to stakes by pieces of gree n hose, and empty cul de sacs. The houses that had been completed wer e homogenous and sprawling, nearly overwhelming the narrow lots tha t contained them.

Fade strode down the sidewalk, navigating by the light of widely space d streetlamps, and tried to remember the word he'd heard for houses lik e these.

McMansions. That was it. As flawlessly conceived a word as he'd eve r heard.

Predictably, the numbers descended in perfect order and were uniforml y lit. When he arrived at six-nineteen he turned up the right side o f the driveway and slipped through an unlocked gate that led to th e backyard.

From his position in an unfinished home a few doors down, Fade ha d watched Kelly Braith and her husband pack two teenaged boys into a minivan and drive off a few hours ago. He hadn't moved until it wa s dark enough to give him cover and to allow him to confirm that no on e was still home to turn on lights.

The backyard was completely encircled by a wooden fence built more fo r privacy than security. Fade listened for activity in the adjoinin g yards, and hearing none, used his elbow to knock through one of th e glass panels in the back door. After reaching through and flipping th e lock, he took a step back and waited for the beeping of an alar m system. Nothing. The Braiths must have blown the whole wad o n upgrading to the genuine faux-cherry kitchen cabinets.

Fade removed a dead bird from the plastic grocery bag he was carryin g and carefully arranged it on the ground to look like it had broken it s neck flying into the glass, then padded quietly inside. His tim e exploring the similar floor plan of the house down the street paid of f and he was able to make his way to a small den behind the living roo m without turning on any lights.

Slipping into the chair behind a cluttered desk, he reached for a keyboard and watched a flat panel display come to life in an exuberan t family portrait. After a few moments, he found the My Documents folde r and began going through the files contained in it.

Most of them related to Braith's husband's electronics store but ther e were occasional interesting tidbits. The address book contained a fai r amount of personal information on Strand and Egan including birt h dates, addresses, and phone numbers. In fact, Strand was turning fift y in only a few days. Unless, of course, things went in Fade's direction.

While a lot easier than going through land records and a lot mor e sanitary than sifting through garbage, no groundbreaking piece o f information jumped to the screen. Neither man

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