Over The Edge by Jonathan Kellerman

Author:Jonathan Kellerman [Kellerman, Jonathan]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Published: 2011-07-18T01:06:17+00:00

Over the Edge – Alex Delaware 03

Page 188 of 385

'Pretty protective, isn't she?'

'Loyal. Which is conspicuously rare nowadays.' She swung the chair around. 'Actually she's a remarkable young woman. Very bright but grew up in Watts, dropped out of school when she was eleven, ran away, and lived on the streets for five years doing things you and I never dreamed off. When she was sixteen, she pulled herself together, went back to night school, and earned a high school diploma in three years. Then she read an article about the project, thought it might be an opportunity to get more education, and showed up one morning, asking to be tested. Her story was fascinating, and she did seem sharp, so I went along with it. She tested high - in the one-forties -but not, of course, sufficiently high to qualify. Nevertheless, she was too good to let go, so I hired her as a research assistant and got her enrolled here as a part-time student. She's pulling a three-point-eight and wants to go to law school at Boalt or Harvard. I have no doubt she'll make it. She smiled again and brushed nonexistent lint from her lapel. 'Now, then, what can I do for you?'

'I want to get in touch with Gary Yamaguchi, and I need his latest address.'

Her smile died.

'I'll give it to you, but it won't help. He's been drifting for the past six months.'

'I know. I'll give it my best shot.'

'Fine,' she said coldly. After swiveling sharply, she yanked open a file cabinet and drew out a folder. 'Here. Copy this down.'

I pulled out my notepad. Before it was open, she hurriedly recited an address on Pico near Grand, just west of downtown - a murky, downscale neighborhood that catered to illegal aliens and street people with a menu of rotting slums, sewing shops, and shabby bars. During the last year a few artists and would-be artists had illegally established living quarters in industrial lofts, trying to create SoHo West. So far L.A. wasn't buying it.

'Thanks.'

'What do you expect to get from talking to him?' she demanded.

'Just trying to establish as complete a data base as possible.'

'Well, you won't get very far by utilizing - '

The phone rang again. She snatched it up and said, 'Yes!' sharply. As she listened to the reply, annoyance surrendered to surprise, which rapidly swelled to shock.

'Oh, no. That's terrible. When - yes, he's right here. Yes, I'll tell him.'

She put down the phone.

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.