Alien Heat Read Online Free PDF

said.
    â€œThere’s plenty of comfort to be had from just knowing. You should know that.”
    His voice was sharp, clipped. “Why should I know that?”
    She flipped her braid off her shoulder. “Because you’re a cop. You’ve been through this stuff with families. You must know the hardest thing is never knowing what happened.”
    David nodded, unsmiling. “Yes. That’s the hardest part.”
    â€œI’d be embarrassed to tell you what else I saw.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œIt shoots the hell out of my credibility.” She looked at him and laughed. “Not that it matters, where you’re concerned.”
    â€œWhat did you see?”
    She stood up, shoved her hands in the pockets of the khaki pants. “Saw a hallway, what’s left of it. There’s been a fire; it’s still smoking, still hot. Water’s dripping somewhere.”
    David frowned, folded his arms.
    Teddy Blake rested a knee on the plastic chair. “I think … I heard a noise, kind of a beep. And there’s something on the floor. A dog, some kind of spaniel. I thought it was sick, but now I think it’s dead. And I think there was a baby crying.”
    David felt the hair stir on the back of his neck. He wondered how Teddy Blake was able to describe with such detail the fire scene of the night before.

FIVE
    David closed his eyes, breathed in steam, let the hot water run over his head and aching shoulders.
    He did not believe in psychics, not now, but there were always cops who went for readings—it was an addiction for some of them, a natural response to a job that involved sudden danger and constant tedium. He recognized the need to control what could not be controlled, but he hated to see fellow officers waste their money because they were worried and vulnerable. He hated to see police departments waste man-hours following vague and useless whims.
    How do you find a body “near water” when “the number four” is significant?
    David soaped his hair. Ridiculous.
    Teddy Blake had precisely described the fire scene he’d walked through hours ago. Why was she seeing the fire, when she was tracking Theresa Jenks?
    She was a good con, that was all. She’d had him going about the iguana, and he knew better. She was an intelligent, good-looking, manipulative, evil woman with honest brown eyes and a reassuring air that made you want to please her. And she was very much beside the point.
    The combined human/Elaki death toll from the supper club was over two hundred and thirty now.
    David stepped out of the shower and wrapped a thick yellow towel around his waist. Water ran down his chest. He rubbed his hair dry, then combed it with his fingers. He put on a clean pair of jeans and a white shirt. Rose had left the bed unmade, as usual, and the twisted mass of sheets and blankets did not beckon. He’d skip the nap.
    He went out of the bedroom, barefooted, rubbing the livid red scar on his chest. He would grab something to eat and go. He paused in the doorway of the kitchen.
    Mattie had the cat, Alex, by the head and front paws. His hind legs dangled, little pink pads visible as he swung from side to side in Mattie’s tight grip.
    Kendra wore an apron and stirred something in an iron skillet. She looked tense and focused, cooking dinner from scratch all by herself. Rose stood nearby, chopping an onion.
    â€œIs this enough, Mama?” Kendra asked.
    â€œStir it till all the pink turns brown.” Rose sounded absent, faraway.
    Lisa sat in a corner, sketching. She looked up at David and smiled.
    â€œHi, Daddy.”
    His wild child, the middle girl, very like Rose—even though she was there, she wasn’t there . Her hair was tangled, her face smudged. For some reason David thought of Teddy Blake.
    Dead Meat, the dog, was scratching at the back door, whining. Rose looked up over her shoulder at David.
    â€œLook who’s here. Mattie, let the