Blood of Eden Read Online Free PDF Page A

look right.”
    â€œIn what way?” JT asked.
    â€œShe was kinda pale. And I think she was sweating. With this cold snap—it was downright chilly this morning, for June—and dressed the way she was, she should have been cold, not hot.”
    I jotted, sweating, pale. “Did you see her carrying anything? A purse?” I asked, recalling the one useful detail I’d retained from the crime scene.
    â€œNo.” The woman paused. Nodded. “I take that back. Yes. She had a purse.”
    â€œWhat did it look like?” JT scribbled more notes.
    â€œBrown.” Miss Zumwalt tapped her chin, then shook her head. “I’m sorry. That’s all I remember. The bag couldn’t have been big. That would have stood out. But it was big enough for me to see it. So, I’m guessing medium and brown. Or maybe it was black.” The witness sighed. “I don’t remember. I looked at her face, not her purse.”
    â€œIt’s okay. You’re doing fine,” I reassured her. The details the woman had been able to give us were remarkable, especially considering her state. I had a sneaking suspicion she existed on a primarily liquid diet, and it wasn’t coming from the local soup kitchen. I’d seen my share of hard lifetime alcoholics to recognize one when I saw it. “Did you hear anything? Gunfire? A struggle?”
    Miss Zumwalt shook her head again. “No gunfire. I would’ve ducked for cover if I’d heard a gun.”
    â€œOkay. Thank you for answering our questions.” JT flipped to a fresh page in his notebook. “Do you have a phone number where we can reach you if we have any more questions?”
    Miss Zumwalt’s eyes brightened. She ran a hand over her mussed hair, catching a thin tendril and curling it around her finger. “No, but you can always find me at St. Edith’s during lunchtime. They serve the best soup. Maybe you’d like to join me sometime?” She gave poor JT a coquettish smile.
    â€œThank you for the invitation, but I’m afraid I can’t. It’s against agency rules.” JT glanced at me. “Do you have any other questions, Skye?” I shrugged. I couldn’t think of any. “Thank you again, Miss Zumwalt. You’ve been very helpful.”
    â€œI hope you catch whoever killed that nice woman. It’s terrible of me to say this, but I’m grateful it wasn’t me. You never know if you’ll be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I’m thinking I almost was today, just like my friend Lulu.” She made the sign of the cross over her chest. “God rest her soul.” The fear in Miss Zumwalt’s eyes couldn’t be missed. “Lulu was buying some cigarettes in a 7-Eleven when it was robbed. Bastards shot her. For no reason.”
    Again, I could relate. Once, years ago, I was almost mugged on campus. A man came out of nowhere and grabbed me. I had no idea what he was going to do. Luckily, a campus security officer saw it. He dashed to my rescue, and the man ran off. I’d never felt so helpless, vulnerable, or terrified before.
    â€œWe’re going to do our best to help the police catch whoever did this. I promise.” I wrote down St. Edith’s, and JT and I started back toward the rest of the team. I saw Chief Peyton talking to the local FBI field office liaison. Agent Fischer was talking to a couple of Baltimore police officers.
    â€œI wasn’t sure about that witness when we started,” I admitted before we were within earshot of the other agents. I didn’t mention Miss Zumwalt’s obvious flirting, figuring JT probably dealt with that kind of thing all the time. He clearly knew how to handle it.
    JT nodded. “It’s probably alcohol. But she gave us some good details. I wish she’d seen the victim collapse.”
    I chewed on my pencil eraser as I reread my notes. “The purse was a good catch. I don’t