Fortunes of the Dead Read Online Free PDF

the chain-link gate, oblivious to the rain. This meant I had to be oblivious, too, since Chris had left the dry comfort of his little wood hut to see to my business.
    â€œHell, Lena. I didn’t recognize you with your hair stuffed up in that hat. You a Steelers fan now?”
    â€œThis?” I flicked a finger at the bill of my cap. “Got it from a grateful client.”
    â€œSpoils of war?”
    â€œDon’t knock it. I got a jersey, a jacket, and season tickets that brought me a nice sum on eBay.”
    â€œNo shit?” McFee rocked back on his heels. His hair was normally sandy and light, but today it was dark with rain. Chris had a build like a bulldog and a face that looked like it had been hit with a shovel; this exterior covered a tender heart.
    I was counting on it.
    â€œMendez send you out here?”
    â€œMr. By-the-Book? I think not.”
    McFee gave me a look that could only be described as wary. “So what brings you out here, Lena, on such a nice afternoon?”
    â€œChris, you see that girl over there in the car?” Rain dripped off my ball cap. My jacket was already soaked, and the thighs of my jeans were wet.
    â€œWhat about her?”
    â€œHer name is Miranda. She’s Cheryl Dunkirk’s little sister.”
    â€œMan. Jeez .” McFee caught Miranda’s eye and gave her a sympathetic but masculine nod that managed to somehow be courtly. McFee had presence.
    Miranda raised a hand. At least she was responding.
    â€œShe wants to see the car, Chris.”
    â€œOh, hey now, Lena, come on.”
    â€œYeah, I know. It’s a lot to ask. I’ll take no for an answer and no hard feelings. But if you’ll do it, I promise we’ll follow you at a distance, we’ll stand where you tell us, and we won’t touch a thing. We’ll keep our hands in our pockets the whole time.”
    â€œWhat’s the point, Lena? Seeing the car isn’t going to change anything.”
    â€œSure it will. It’ll change Miranda. Right now she’s just trying to deal with it, you know?”
    Chris did know. He’d lost a boyhood friend to a mugger when he was a seventeen-year-old living in Chicago.
    â€œYou really think it’s going to help?”
    â€œDoes anything help, Chris?”
    â€œI have to believe it does.”
    I liked this guy more every time I saw him.
    â€œHands in pockets, Lena. Okay?”
    â€œAt all times. We won’t jam you up, Chris.”
    â€œListen, Lena, be straight with me. Does Mendez even know you’re out here?”
    â€œHell, no.”
    â€œDid she hire you? Are you working this now, too?”
    â€œThe daddy hired me. I signed on this afternoon.”
    â€œDoes Mendez know?”
    â€œI didn’t ask permission, if that’s what you mean.”
    McFee gave me his penetrating look. “Aren’t the two of you engaged or something?”
    â€œWe just bought a house.”
    â€œOne step at a time, eh? Congratulations. Invite me over for the housewarming, okay?”
    â€œWill do.” I hadn’t thought of a housewarming, but now that Chris brought it up, I liked the idea. Joel would have to cook.
    McFee led the way in a golf cart. Rain funneled off the canvas roof and brown water splashed up from the gravel road. If he hadn’t already been drenched, he was now. Miranda and I followed in the Miata.
    â€œThis is where the police store their evidence. Cheryl’s car will be in one of these warehouses.” I glanced sideways at Miranda and wondered if she even heard me. She sat forward, seat belt stretched, clutching the navy blue towel. I had no doubt that Miranda was sure that seeing Cheryl’s car would give her some kind of insight—maybe even a gut feeling on whether or not her sister was alive.
    The golf cart veered left, and stopped beside one of three corrugated metal Quonset-style warehouses. I stopped the Miata behind the cart. McFee raised a