Скачать книгу

      “It’s always best to eliminate unpleasant possibilities.”

      “On that, we agree,” Lukas said. “Which is why the only place I’m headed at the moment is out to my car for my fingerprint kit.” He squatted beside the broken lamp. “You didn’t touch anything in here, did you?”

      “You mean anything other than your pulse? I’m afraid I did.” Curtis folded his arms. “I had to move the lamp out of the way to examine you.”

      “Then we’ll need to get a set of your prints for comparison. Assuming, of course, you’re not already in the system.”

      Lukas had meant it as a joke, but when he glanced up, he could see Curtis’s nostrils quiver as he let out a sharp breath.

      “Sorry. I guess that wasn’t so funny.”

      The skin on Curtis’s face was suddenly as gray as the winter sky, and when their gazes met, he had to look quickly away. In the space of a heartbeat, the elegant facade had crumbled, and behind those green eyes, vulnerability weakened his contempt.

      “Is there something you need to tell me?” Lukas asked softly, taken aback by the man’s swift change.

      Curtis lifted a hand and wiped it across his face, as if he could somehow scrub away the cracks and restore his stoic demeanor. “I was in some trouble in college,” he finally said. “Everything eventually got cleared up and the charges were dropped, but I was booked, processed, whatever you want to call it. I don’t know whether my fingerprints ended up in the system or not.”

      “You want to tell me what happened?”

      “No. It’s in the past.” He wore a pinkie ring on his right hand and the fingers of his left hand kept tugging at the gold. “My grandmother doesn’t know about any of this and I’d like to keep it that way. My father’s put her through a lot over the years. I don’t want her worried about me.”

      “I can understand that. But you know what they say about secrets. They have a way of coming back to haunt you when you least expect it.”

      “You sound as if you’ve had some experience.”

      Lukas shrugged. “We all have secrets. Just take a look around this room.”

      Curtis’s gaze wandered over Lukas’s face. “What are you talking about?”

      He waved a hand, encompassing the blue walls and white linens. The posters of rock stars and screen idols. The dressing table strewn with makeup, perfume bottles and corsage ribbons. “This was Rachel DeLaune’s room, wasn’t it?”

      Curtis pressed his lips together. “You ask that as if you assume I should know. But I was never allowed anywhere in this house except the kitchen.”

      “But you knew this was Rachel’s room. How could you not? Even I know it’s hers. All you have to do is take a look around. I doubt anything’s been changed since the night she died.” Lukas paused, letting a long silence settle between them. “You can still feel her presence in here, can’t you? Tell me what she was like.”

      The green eyes deepened angrily. “That’s not really what you want to know, is it?”

      So he had more than just his grandmother’s nose and cheekbones, Lukas thought. He’d also inherited her insight. “No, you’re right. What I really want to know is if she was seeing anyone when she died. I can’t find a mention of a boyfriend in the police report. But a beautiful girl like that? She must have had plenty of guys sniffing around.” He walked over to the dressing table, and for a moment, swore he could still smell her perfume. After fourteen years.

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAgEASABIAAD/4RKdRXhpZgAATU0AKgAAAAgABwESAAMAAAABAAEAAAEaAAUA AAABAAAAYgEbAAUAAAABAAAAagEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAExAAIAAAAUAAAAcgEyAAIAAAAUAAAAhodp AAQAAAABAAAAnAAAAMgAAABIAAAAAQAAAEgAAAABQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9zaG9wIDcuMAAyMDA4OjAx OjE5IDE2OjI4OjEyAAAAAAOgAQADAAAAAf//AACgAgAEAAAAAQAAAligAwAEAAAAAQAAAyAAAAAA AAAABgEDAAMAAAABAAYAAAEaAAUAAAABAAABFgEbAAUAAAABAAABHgEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAIBAAQA AAABAAABJgICAAQAAAABAAARbwAAAAAAAABIAAAAAQAAAEgAAAAB/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAgEASABI AAD/7QAMQWRvYmVfQ00AAv/uAA5BZG9iZQBkgAAAAAH/2wCEAAwICAgJCAwJCQwRCwoLERUPDAwP FRgTExUTExgRDAwMDAwMEQwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwBDQsLDQ4NEA4OEBQO Dg4UFA4ODg4UEQwMDAwMEREMDAwMDAwRDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDP/AABEI AIAAYAMBIgACEQEDEQH/3QAEAAb/xAE/AAABBQEBAQEBAQAAAAAAAAADAAECBAUGBwgJCgsBAAEF AQEBAQEBAAAAAAAAAAEAAgMEBQYHCAkKCxAAAQQBAwIEAgUHBggFAwwzAQACEQMEIRIxBUFRYRMi cYEyBhSRobFCIyQVUsFiMzRygtFDByWSU/Dh8WNzNRaisoMmRJNUZEXCo3Q2F9JV4mXys4TD03Xj 80YnlKSFtJXE1OT0pbXF1eX1VmZ2hpamtsbW5vY3R1dnd4eXp7fH1+f3EQACAgECBAQDBAUGBwcG BTUBAAIRAyExEgRBUWFxIhMFMoGRFKGxQiPBUtHwMyRi4XKCkkNTFWNzNPElBhaisoMHJjXC0kST VKMXZEVVNnRl4vKzhMPTdePzRpSkhbSVxNTk9KW1xdXl9VZmdoaWprbG1ub2JzdHV2d3h5ent8f/ 2gAMAwEAAhEDEQA/APPLmRI+5BsH6IHwdH3haeLZ0+rObd1BjraK2F4oa3cLbBpTTb76tuP6h9S/ 3/zNfpf4VFxb/q9jXZHq0uysN2RWafXYS9uKWZHrVv8ATsr25Hq2YdfqVu/wT7aXpkdgynqKczHH trPiD+DnK9YB9ktaBzUD92qs4OT0H7UcvJpe7HNVdTMaqsbfXNWOzqV+x1tTGNre7Kuxdln9KfjW en6NfpI1NnTK8Z+PkV+sbW3sbkFh37fSsrwX1Df+i/XvTuv/AMJ/wnp72Jk9xr1bGPXFIUTp+YcA uaSSGbAQIDZ5+Li/6Ss4YDnOjwB1/tq/bX0s9KbSxrDmChjdwa5rhki+x9uS+76NmO7ANdHo+/8A S/4On0d9hswdImv9mNcwVN9B+9u11oYP0eedr7v0t7nXfaa3+ns/Vv0f84jIjhNFix45ccbiQL7N As19vmR96dzJoeToZA+QAV+x+F9ixBj1sbmVg+vLZbYZc4PudY33O+jX6TLLsfZ/3G/m7LdOT0U5 +bbbhi3Fc5v2KkMIY1jbWyLaWC+z1bMP9E2z9J+k/wBF/SKYxuNezPkBEJGuhebcxgALXS0jUkRB 8Nslzv66nRWC4xrAnz0hXcduIzEyTlYtpyWn9S/RuLS2wGjbkWSz+hs/Wqdv8/k/zyPdZ039kUU4 uO6nNLKvXucCHOe31/tD9+zY+m7djen+k/R+n/M0/pH3yE6HVqYxc4jxa9bYYwR8PvhbXT2O9AHs QD8ybHn/AKL6lXzMno7smh2NjNrx68m1zqy1zQ/FPoOxq7vfba63cMv1f8J+k/PZsrWu2qkMcaD+ ic6a5aGwGsro2bGBjfbZS/8AwdX/ABNP80oMhAG+5bWQ6DSuur//0PO7CS5v3T8EzhNFv9WfuMpW abXcAEIrAC2xvixw/AqLam0Bds8J7B01znDcabjsrAkn1Gs3+76LNv2f9389XGtcQZb6Z/cngH8x UOmWlmNd/Xr7xo5trHf98WmIcPWfY2sWEgbtx1AbPua137yjyaSPmz8qPSCTpX/dMD/GYOuvzUbL CIkN0HthrRx/Va1F9HcAW2VPBIaIsaDJ49jyx/8Aa2ofpOjsR8QfyFNBDOQPBdoJgT2ieOyLupcS +ysuP8l5brEe3c2xA3gHU8CVLcOSeO0pEJoH6MnQCDU5zD3kg/CNjalBwe4auLgJIBJ786TtUvgo u00SCwwG9Ltb6l1df7zmt+Uhq66ln6Cs+LN3x9Quvcf/AARcnhsNmbSwHXcT82hz/wDvq7LJAYHt bwwFjQO20bG/9SoOYlRjFgz7/wAv5fov/9Hzu3+bkyA3X5KTPpa95GnmncJa6R25PHHtT0tJ2QCT EkATEclRXo3Ix1a2I8tD29nBp/zT/wCZLTbeDisYeRY4/Itb/wCQWTX7bXt+I+4q0Hn09vYOkfcQ lONm0YMnDGm5vHgNfHVNLC4CIVUWkiOAnNh2AzqNZTOFn90ENppbvY5wmCPJGdkXkuix3tG1gJ3Q Nfb793tVGu1zjPw54RG2SdRB5P3oGK4SjLpu2Te61gJLZOujGAyf5TGtQi4l23mOSq/qBry3doTO mv5E/qBoLiQG+JR4aQJA9hW7r/V9ps6ozWCANfCX11v/APA3WLoeo2TjPBLh6rmsO3n3uDdFzn1e 1vtt3R6Ld5ADt30bNn9h73/21t5F2+zCa2knfYLSD7dnpt9WY9zvb/VVTOD7gPSI/L1MGSVyr6P/ 0uEopffazHpE23PbUwTEuefTY3d+b7lsP6blV4bbOkvN2KH20usocRbcan0UWZh/m7b8a6/Krqxa qd9WNV/O/p7rrX49FtlNtdtTtllbg9juYc0hzPpK1R1fqdbQyvI2eluFe1rAWB5oe5lft/R+7Cx/ Tb/g/T/R/wA5YoQRRtvCMiY8NHwLPF+qjrrcz7ZkjprsSo5j221Pe12MXel9oxrcb1GXfpXens/9 J2+m9H1fozz6XR+p0Z2UAXNw7GWYt1kEe3F+0t+z5Fvu3el9ortVjor7LW/WV5rY3/JLztprbWwD 1cdx/R0taz97/wA4WR0Lp/UupZlQ6cHB1L2WWZUEV0Bh9T7VkX/Qorpazfve5S7gNXUSlrRBLd6X 0KrMwM/OyM37EzpZZ9sZZQ97h6r3UVen6b9z3+q3ZYx7KvST1dH6Xfl4mNT1itwzXuqFjse1npWg 1ipuSx7t1dWR6v6LIZ6lf+l2LoX9V6bm0/XrqmPjNysC1+C5lLy+ttg9b0/Xd6Dqb2erY37V+Y// AEq5DPuxcwVXY2CMChjBRaGOssY+7dZb6nqZBst3+i6v9Hvfs9JAgBIJPgv1HC/Z3UsjAe9zvstx oscGQS5jvTsdXSX+7/gd1jPW/wCDWhf0XHo66zoQzhZf6rcZ99dRNbLnubW2l36be7Y9+y97P5mz 2fpVtb6s+rD+vF8Ps6dUW9TrM/pc/E9KnpTpnc77f6+Hddtr9NlOJcub6C

Скачать книгу