Daddy's Home Read Online Free PDF Page A

knowing if you might want to come back out and take a look.”
    “Oh, and I’m sure he referred to me in the kindest way possible,” Holly said.
    “One can only guess, but, yes, he does make it quite clear to anyone who’ll listen that you are not his favorite of ladies.”
    “Asshole.”
    “You know it.”
    “Good thinking on getting him out of this house and scrounging up the neighbors for answers. I get tired of the brow beating. I like you more and more each day. Keeping Carpenter out of my hair is a very good move. So do you think our killer came in through a back door? Do any of the locks look jimmied?”
    “Actually, no. We did find a window cracked open in the kitchen. It also faces the canyon. We’re dusting for fingerprints right now.”
    Holly followed Chad into the small kitchen that looked cleaner than hers had ever been. “Our man knows how to cover his tracks really well. Today was the first time the housekeeper had come back since last week?”
    “Yep. She cleans every Tuesday. But from what she says, there’s really no need to. The woman was immaculate, and all the housekeeper did was the extras like the oven, the windows, and laundry. She said this gal was a neat freak.”
    “Uh huh. That’s apparent. Who’s talking to the housekeeper?”
    “Maureen did. But she sent her home. Apparently she was pretty shaken when she found out that the woman and child had been killed.”
    “I’ll have to swing by her place and speak with her. She may be able to give us a better insight into who this family was and the kind of people the mother hung out with. I suppose it’s not likely we got any prints, then?” she asked the tech who was going over the dining area with the fingerprint kit.
    “Not a one. He wore gloves. I’m almost positive.”
    “He left something of himself in this house,” she replied. After pulling on her own set of Latex, she picked up a photograph of the victims. Mother and daughter smiling into the camera, Mickey Mouse standing next to them. They both had the same smile with dimples on either side. They presented a perfect picture of happiness.
    You bastard. I will get you.
    “What were their names?”
    “The mother was Shannon McKay, and the little girl was Sara. We’re still checking on a dad. Neighbors confirmed they divorced four years ago and that he moved back East. He’s already been contacted and is on a flight out here.”
    “Okay. Let’s get this place squared away. There has to be a trace somewhere, a hair, a fiber, something. Go through it with a fine-tooth comb. I think you might be right. I don’t think he killed them here, but he did something here, and I want to know what, and how in the hell he got them out of here. There’s got to be a neighbor who witnessed something. Have Carpenter find out. Have you found where Shannon kept her paperwork?”
    “There’s a secretary desk in her room. I haven’t gone through it yet.”
    “I’ll do that. She should have stuff from her daughter’s school, the bills she pays, etcetera.” All the things that Holly herself would have. “She might even have info about one of those dating services. Our last woman was linked to one. We need to re-check that angle.”
    “Do you think it’s someone that she knew?”
    “I think anything is possible. I’m not ruling out that she answered the door for him and let him in herself. I think this guy fits into society in some way. He knows how to blend in. His psyche is warped, but he blends all right. It means he’s smart and knows exactly what he’s doing. He is extremely calculating. He likes the kids, not just their moms. Maybe I was wrong at our other scene when I said that it isn’t about the children. Maybe it’s only about the children, and he kills the mother for getting in the way. It would be her natural instinct to protect her child. When she does, he becomes outraged. I don’t know.” Holly shrugged her shoulders. “I guess it’s another theory to