ABSOLUTION (A Frank Renzi novel) Read Online Free PDF Page A

courage, tensing her neck as she gazed at him with hollowed eyes. “He picked me up in the Quarter and I brought him back here.”
    “ When was this? Can you give me an approximate date?”
    “ Two years ago maybe? My son’s five and it was right after his third birthday.” Her face softened. “Joey stays with my mom when I’m working. Yeah, right after his birthday in October. It was raining. Damn cold, too, as I recall. After we got here I asked if he wanted his fortune told.” She gave him an arch look. “I can do that, you know. Tell things by looking at people.”
    Just what we need, he thought, a witness thinking she’s psychic.
    “ You don’t believe me, but it’s true.” Her eyes bored into him as she leaned forward and clasped his hand in an iron grip. “Somebody dumped you and you’re still not over it.”
    She released his hand, leaned back and gazed at him, somber-eyed.
    The hackles rose on the back of his neck. He was the one who could read people. Now Kitty was reading him. Was his lingering emotional turmoil that obvious? “Tell me about the john. What did he look like?”
    “ He was a young guy, baby face, dark hair. A white guy.”
    Rona shot him a triumphant smile.
    “ Was he tall? Short? Fat, thin?”
    “ Taller than me and I’m five-six. And not fat. He was in good shape.”
    “ Any distinctive marks? Scars? Birthmarks? Moles?” When Kitty shook her head, he said, “Okay, tell me what happened.”
    “ He didn’t want his fortune told so we went in the bedroom. He’s hot to trot, so I undress, lie down on the bed and hand him a condom. But he don’t put it on, just hops on top and comes all over me.” She made a face. “I hate that, but I figure it’s an easy trick, so I say ‘Gee, dawlin, you’re a quick one.’ Then he got mad and called me a sinner.”
    Nothing new there, Frank thought. The sinner-message the killer left on the victims’ mirrors had been well publicized.
    “ That’s when it got weird. He asks me how many men I’ve had sex with and did I enjoy it. I played along at first, but as soon as I answered, he’d ask another question.”
    Recognizing the telltale pattern, Frank leaned forward and locked eyes with her. “Like he was using a script?”
    “ Sort of like that, yeah. And then he got another erection. Pissed me off. I told him it’d cost him for another round. That’s when the really weird thing happened.” Her hand trembled as she puffed her cigarette. “He told me to stick out my tongue.”
    The room went dead quiet.
    Kitty wheezed as she took a deep breath, a look of stark terror on her face. If she was making this up, she deserved an Oscar.
    “ So I stick out my tongue and all of a sudden he’s got these motherfucker shears. I don’t know where the hell they came from. Then he tried to grab my tongue, scared the shit out of me. I rolled off the bed onto the floor. I got a good set of lungs, and I was screaming bloody murder, lemme tell ya.” She went silent, staring into space.
    “ Did you ever see him again?”
    “ No,” Kitty said, hugging herself with her arms to her chest. “Hope to God I never do.”
    “ I’d like you to do an Identikit with a sketch artist.”
    “ I ain’t talking to no cops.” She turned to Rona. “You promised. Last time a john beat me up the cops wouldn’t gimme the time of day. Worthless shits.”
    “ I’ll have the artist come here,” he said, hoping Miller knew one that made house calls, one that would keep quiet.
    “ Okay,” Kitty said, “but no cops. I don’t want nobody putting my name out there. If my name hits the news, I’m dead meat. He’ll kill me.”
    Frank gave Rona a stern look. “We’ll keep it quiet, won’t we, Rona.”
    “ Of course.” Rona put her arm around Kitty in a protective gesture.
    Eager to escape the bordello-like atmosphere, Frank left the room, depressed by the dim lighting, the prostitute photos and the dank odor of incense, depressed most of all because