Madison Glenn - 01 - The Incumbent by Alton Gansky

Author:Alton Gansky
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Thriller
ISBN: 9780310249580
Publisher: Grand Rapids, Mich. : Zondervan, c2004.
Published: 2010-04-23T04:00:00+00:00

chapter 13

I ushered West in and introduced him to everyone. He was polite, even offering a slight bow when he shook my mother’s hand. This evening West had exchanged his suit for a black T-shirt and gray slacks. A gold, shield-shaped badge, nestled snugly in a black leather holder just to the left of his belt buckle, gleamed in the dining room light. A smooth, padded holster rode high on his right hip.

My eyes lingered on him and for a moment I was certain everyone in the room had noticed my fixation. Without the suit coat, I could see the round muscles of his arms. The shirt lay against a table-flat stomach. The room warmed and I wondered if the heater had kicked on.

Pulling my eyes away from West, I let them drift to Celeste, who still sat at the dining room table. Her face was white as marble and her eyes red and wide.

“I’m sorry to break in on dinner,” the detective said. His voice was casual and his face relaxed, but I felt there was news pressing against his resolve like water against an earthen dam.

“Have you eaten?” my mother asked. “We have plenty. I could fix you a plate.”

“No, thank you, Mrs. Glenn.”

“How about a plate to go? I do make a mean meat loaf, even if I do say so—”

“Mom,” I said gently, touching her arm. “I think Detective West has brought us some news.”

“It’s about my mother, isn’t it?” Celeste blurted. Fear was a pressure cooker. It worked fast and hot. I was surprised she had held out for the three minutes West had been in my home.

“No,” he said with a slow shake of his head. He stared at her for a moment. “We’re still working very hard to find her. I’m afraid the only good news I have on that front is from SI.”

“SI?” Dad asked.

“Scientific Investigations,” West explained. “They’re the people who come in and examine the scene for evidence.”

“Like the TV shows,” Mom said.

“Exactly,” West replied. “Different police organizations call them by different names. Crime Scene Investigation is a popular one. They all reduce down to some alphabet soup. Bottom line is, they do the same work.”

“What did they find?” I asked.

“It’s what they didn’t find. They examined the house top to bottom and found no signs of blood—other than what we found on your business card. Nor did they find any evidence for . . .” He lowered his head in thought. “There was no evidence that would make us think the attack was sexual in nature.”

Body fluids.

I looked at Celeste. She was motionless but I got the impression she was a balloon stretched to bursting. One more puff of air and her thin, taut membrane would rend.

“If you’re not here about Lisa, then you must be here about Lizzy.”

A cloud passed over his face. “I wonder if I might have a minute of your time—alone.”

I had to try twice before I could force the word “Certainly” out of my throat.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.