The Keepsake - [Rizzoli & Isles 07] by Tess Gerritsen

Author:Tess Gerritsen [Tess Gerritsen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

EIGHTEEN

Jane had heard that Texas was big, but as a New England girl, she had no real appreciation of just what big really meant. Nor had she imagined how bright the Texas sun was, or how hot the air could be, as hot as dragon’s breath. The three-hour drive from the airport took them through miles of scrub brush, through a sunbaked landscape where even the cattle looked different—rangy and mean, unlike the placid Guernseys she saw on pleasant green farms in Massachusetts. This was a foreign country, a thirsty country, and she fully expected the Rose estate to look like the arid ranches they passed along the way, low-slung and spread out, with white corral fences enclosing parched brown acreage.

So she was surprised when the mansion loomed into view.

It was set on a lushly planted hill that looked shockingly green above the endless expanse of scrubland. A lawn swept down from the home like a velvet skirt. In a paddock enclosed by white fences, half a dozen horses were grazing, their coats gleaming. But it was the residence that held Jane’s gaze. She’d expected a ranch house, not this stone castle with its crenellated turrets.

They drove to the massive iron gate and stared up in wonder.

“How much, do you think?” she asked.

“I’m guessing thirty million,” said Frost.

“That’s all? It’s got, like, fifty thousand acres.”

“Yeah, but it’s Texas. Land’s gotta be cheaper than at home.”

When thirty million dollars sounded cheap, thought Jane, you know you’ve stepped into an alternative universe.

A voice over the gate intercom said: “Your business?”

“Detectives Rizzoli and Frost. We’re from Boston PD. We’re here to see Mr. and Mrs. Rose.”

“Is Mr. Rose expecting you?”

“I called him this morning. He said he’d speak to us.”

There was a long silence, then the gate finally swung open.

“Drive through, please.”

The curving road took them up the hill, past a colonnade of cypress trees and Roman statues. A circle of broken marble pillars stood mounted on a stone terrace like an ancient temple partially felled by the ages.

“Where do you get the water out here for all these plantings?” asked Frost. His gaze suddenly whipped around as they passed a fragmented head of a marble colossus, its remaining eye staring up from a resting place on the lawn. “Hey, do you think that thing’s real?”

“People this rich don’t have to settle for fakes. You can bet that Lord Carnivore guy—”

“You mean Carnarvon?”

“You can bet he decorated his home with real stuff.”

“There are rules against that now. You can’t just snatch things out of other countries and bring them home.”

“Rules are for you and me, Frost. Not for people like them.”

“Yeah, well, people like the Roses aren’t going to be too happy once they figure out why we’re asking these questions. I give them about five minutes before they throw us out.”

“Then this will be the nicest damn place we’ll ever get thrown out of.”

They pulled up beneath a stone portico, where a man already stood waiting for them. This was not one of the hired help, thought Jane; this must be Kimball Rose himself.

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