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.I knew I was lucky Uncle Mike had been willing to put me to work.I'd turned down a solid permanent job he'd offered me a couple of years back when I'd been trying to finish college, and he probably thought me an ungrateful fuck.Back then I'd naively thought that life had something better in store for me than building new kitchens, bathrooms, and finished basements for rich people's suburban homes.Carpentry was skilled work, but I saw myself in a suit, Italian shoes, a fancy car, a high salary.One day I'd be hiring carpenters and plumbers myself to renovate my own suburban mansion.Ah, dreams.* * *When I got home that evening, I was surprised to find my door unlocked.The FBI checked up on me now and then, and those guys were even worse than the local and state cops.Since Hadley's body had never been found, there were some theories that she might have been kidnapped, which had been all the excuse the feds had needed to add their personal contribution to making my life miserable.Little details like needing warrants didn't seem to stop those dudes.If you accused them of violating your Constitutional rights, they always had some smart answer about me maybe being a national security risk.Yeah, you heard right—my girlfriend vanishes so maybe I'm a terrorist.This is despite the fact that my brother gave his life for his country.Assholes.Once the authorities get you in their sights for any reason whatsoever, everything you do is suspicious.But it wasn't the feds at my place, after all.It was Rory.She had jimmied the lock on my front door."What the fuck?" I shouted at her when I busted in, fists hot with rage.Maybe I was capable of killing someone after all."I know," she said, jumping up from my computer where she had once again parked her ass.The late afternoon sun was slanting in the window beside her, giving her heart-shaped face a golden glow."I'm like that sad-eyed puppy who keeps turning up even when you try to dump him off at the pound." She grabbed a hank of her long hair and waved it back and forth in front of her face."Wagging my tail 'cause I'm so happy to see you." She shot me that big, wide, engaging smile."Careful.Don't get too close or I might pee on the floor."And fuck, just like that I started to grin.My entire body felt lighter somehow, as if the air had cushioned up under my feet.She was something.As far as she knew, I had murdered my girlfriend.If she'd been sensible, she might have figured that she'd had one hell of a lucky escape.Instead, she'd bounced right back to me.Was this silly girl with the sky-high IQ naive enough to trust me?"You shouldn't have turned your back on me at the train station," she said, still laughing."You didn't board the train.""Nope.And it was only about a fifteen minute walk back here.I'm sorry," she added, sounding all earnest and contrite."It's only for the weekend.My friend Izzy will be back in town on Monday, and I can spend the rest of the week with her.""Don't you have any other friends?""Sure I do.But they're away getting wasted in places like Cancun and Panama City." She nodded toward the kitchen."Are you hungry? I cooked."I'd noticed the yummy smell wafting in from that direction.I was starved.Things were looking up if the girl could cook."I could probably eat something."She beamed at me, probably because I'd just implied she could stay.She looked adorable to me.She'd cleaned up real nice.I liked the tight jeans, which revealed that she actually had a waist, hips, ankles.She was still wearing that short-sleeve top.I could tell that there were actual boobs under it, even if they weren't quite as large as the ones I'd given her in my fantasy last night.Her arms and hands were well-shaped and she had a long neck and an impish face.Her skin was almost translucent.She wasn't beautiful, but there was something about her features that drew me.Weird though it seemed, her smile made me happy."I think I'm making progress," she said, gesturing at the computer screen."I've been at this all day.""Were you telling me the truth when you claimed to have hacked the cops?""The local cops are well protected against hackers.Surprisingly secure for such a small-ass town.Still, I got most of the police info, yeah.I had to go through other channels.""What other channels?"She grinned."Best you don't know.There could be documents I haven't found yet.I didn't dare breach the FBI files.I don't want the feds to get a whiff of me."I shook my head.I couldn't figure her out."Why are you doing this? What's in it for you?""I'm just trying to help."I tightened up again.I wasn't used to people being helpful."Don't fuck with me.Nobody helps for no reason.Are you on the run and using my place as a hideout?"Her back had gotten all stiff and bristly now and she sounded ticked off, too."The only thing I'm on the run from is being homeless for a week.It's spring break, and my dorm got shut down because a water main broke and flooded the basement.As for why I'm helping you," she paused, shaking her head for a moment as if she weren't quite sure herself."It's because you helped me.You didn't have to, but you did.I owe you." She dropped her voice low and intoned, "'The Lannisters always pay their debts.'""The Lannisters throw children off towers and fuck their sisters."She grinned."Ok, bad example.How about this: I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me.""You don't seem like the Bible quoting type.""You don't seem like the Bible quote-recognizing type."I scowled.My mother had dragged Sean and me to Sunday school for years."I have this photographic memory," she added."I could quote a whole lot more of the Bible, but you'd be bored.""I've been bored with you since about five minutes after we met.""Fuck you, Griff," she said, her attention already back on the computer screen.And the truth was, for some peculiar reason, I wasn't bored at all.Chapter Six"So what do you think happened to her?" she asked as we were sitting at the kitchen table, eating the ziti with meat sauce she had cooked.It was tasty, nicely spiced.She'd whipped up garlic bread to go with it and even a salad.When I'd asked her where she'd found the groceries, she'd reminded me about the supermarket not far from the train station.She'd neatened up the place, too.The bathroom had been scrubbed.The floors were clean, and I think she might even have dusted.She'd even made my bed, which, like, never happened."I don't know.""You must have thought about it.Developed some theories.""Of course I've fucking thought about it.""The weird thing is that she disappeared without a trace.No blood.No sign of a struggle.Her place wasn't broken into and her car wasn't taken.They couldn't track her cell phone, which disappeared along with her.That's unusual, you know that, right? Most people don't know they need to disable those things."I grunted.I hadn't forgotten the way she had disabled her own cell phone."Whoever grabbed her took her purse, too, along with her credit cards, bank cards, and various IDs.But none of that stuff was ever used.It's like she vanished off the face of the earth.Got beamed up by a starship.It makes no sense.""The only thing I can figure is that she went for a walk and got ambushed by some wandering serial killer [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]