Blood Trust Read Online Free PDF Page B

the hospital.
    Jack turned to Carson. “Now what the hell was that all about?”
    Carson held up a finger. “Excuse me.” He punched in a number on his PDA. After a moment, he said, “Harrison, it’s Henry.… Yes, damnit, I’m well aware of the time. Get dressed and haul your ass over to Fearington Academy.… Nothing, I hope, but on the other hand my niece seems to be in trouble.… What sort? I’ve no damn idea.”
    After he closed the connection, he sat brooding and silent.
    Jack said, “Who are you bringing on board?”
    “My lawyer, Harrison Jenkins.”
    “Is that really necessary?”
    “I hope not, but the world doesn’t run on hope.”
    They drove on in a fulminating silence. Sitting next to Henry Holt Carson was akin to living near a blast furnace going full bore.
    “You never answered my question about orchestrating that scene back there with Dennis.”
    “Persistent little fucker, aren’t you?”
    “That’s no answer.”
    “I’ve been around politicians all my life.” Carson stared straight ahead, his arms folded across his chest. “Say, I don’t have to be worried, do I?”
    “About what?”
    “You being able to read the street signs, that’s what.” He glanced in Jack’s direction, though not directly at him. “Dyslexia’s a bitch, isn’t it?”
    “Especially,” Jack said, “if you know nothing about it.”
    Carson laughed with his teeth bared. “You’re a fuckup, Jack. I’ll never forgive you for my brother’s death.”
    “That’s your choice,” Jack said. “But in the same way you’re ignorant about dyslexia, you know nothing about Edward’s death or the circumstances leading up to it.”
    “I’m uninterested in your litany of excuses, McClure.”
    “We’re like oil and water,” Jack said, “destined never to inhabit the same space.”
    Carson grunted. “What the hell my brother saw in you is beyond me, McClure. And the fact he allowed you unlimited access to Alli was a grave mistake.”
    “Alli is an adult. She can make her own decisions.”
    “She’s a psychological train wreck and you know it. Kidnapped, brainwashed, traumatized further by her father’s sudden death and her mother lingering on in a vegetative state.” He shook his head. “No, what she needs is the firm guidance of an adult who cares about her.”
    “She has me.”
    “And how’s that going?”
    They had drawn up to the front gates of Fearington Academy, which was ablaze with the blinding dazzle of cop cars and unmarked vehicles. After showing their credentials to three different police in ascending order of rank, they were directed and waved through. The car crunched the gravel as Jack headed toward the obstacle course to the left of the main building.
    Henry Holt Carson leaned over slightly. “My brother allowed you too much control over Alli, McClure. That’s a mistake I aim to correct tonight.”

T HREE
    “W ELL , HERE ’ S something you don’t see every day.”
    The ME, a tall, rangy man in his midfifties with skin like a lizard and eyes like burnt-out pits, was crouched just to the right of Billy Warren’s corpse. His name was Bit Saunderson; he viewed corpses the way a philatelist views stamps. His forensic people had snapped photos from every conceivable angle, taken shoe prints from the crime scene area, and had departed as silently as clouds drift across the sky.
    “Look here.”
    He was speaking to Willowicz, but no one stopped Alli from having a look herself. Saunderson’s knees creaked like masts at sea as he moved to give them a view of the side of the corpse’s neck.
    “Yeah, we noticed,” Willowicz said, “but what the fuck is it?”
    “It’s a bit of a plastic straw. See, it’s pink-and-white striped.” Saunderson touched the protruding end with the tip of his gloved finger. “Neatly punctured the carotid, too. This is how your victim exsanguinated.”
    Willowicz scratched his razor-burned jaw. “That speaks to a working knowledge of the human