In Their Blood Read Online Free PDF Page A

classical, Dad? “Then what happened?” Jeremy asked.
    “Carlos walked me home. W-we could see something was wrong. The front door was open.”
    “Open?”
    “Unlocked.”
    “You mean someone used a key to get in?”
    “I guess.”
    Jeremy’s mind was racing. A burglar wouldn’t have a key.
    “It was dark in the house. And I remember thinking, they wouldn’t have turned the lights out. They knew I was coming home soon.” Elise bit down on her lower lip. “And the smell. It was so strange. Carlos said it smelled like gunpowder, and we should leave.” Her eyes flitted around the room. “And then, I don’t know. I don’t remember.”
    “Liliam said Carlos pulled you out of the house,” Jeremy said softly. “That he ran to get the security guard.”
    Elise looked at him blankly. “Is that what happened?”
    “Isn’t it? You were there.”
    She put the end of her long dark braid in her mouth. “I don’t know. I don’t remember.”

Chapter 4
    It bugged Jeremy. The door being unlocked. Either someone had a key or his parents had opened it. And they only would have opened the door at that hour for someone they knew.
    But they were shot in their bed. So that had to mean the killer used a key to get in.
    Then how could the police believe it was a burglary?
    Jeremy had called the number on Detective Kuzniski’s business card and arranged to meet him. Elise was still asleep in her room, but Flora was at the house dusting, vacuuming just like she’d always done.
    Jeremy parked at a meter outside Starbucks. Several people were sitting at outdoor tables sipping their lattes on the tree-lined street— a couple of gay guys in their jogging shorts, a cute girl with a golden retriever, an old man reading the newspaper. Cars drove by. A motorcyclist revved his engine.
    The girl looked up at him, then quickly turned away. It was as though she sensed his freakishness. That he wasn’t one of them.
    He wasn’t one of them. His parents had been murdered.
    There was a burst of cold air as Jeremy pulled open the door to the coffee shop. A woman with a toddler in a stroller was waiting for her order. Several people were sitting at tables staring at their laptops and didn’t look up at him. At a corner table near the window, two people were watching Jeremy. The man, in his thirties, waswearing a sport jacket and had black hair slicked back. The woman next to him was older, maybe his mother’s age, but she had a weathered look about her. She was wearing a poorly fitting pantsuit and was tapping her fingers against the table.
    The man stood up and extended his hand. He was as tall as Jeremy, but had a good-sized paunch. “Jeremy Stroeb?”
    Jeremy must have looked surprised as he shook the man’s hand.
    “Photos,” the man said. “Almost didn’t recognize you with the beard and long hair, though. I’m Detective Kuzniski and this is Detective Lieber.” He gestured toward the woman. There were gray streaks in her brown hair.
    “We’re very sorry for your loss, Jeremy,” Detective Lieber said. Her voice was gravelly, as though she’d once been a big-time smoker.
    “Thank you.”
    “Tragic,” Kuzniski shook his head. “Really tragic. The last thing we’d expect to happen in a neighborhood like yours. But don’t you worry, Jeremy, we’ll get whoever did this to your parents. We’ve got all our resources on this.”
    “Would you like something to eat or drink, Jeremy?” Lieber asked, putting a stick of gum in her mouth. She had a full cup of black coffee and a pile of gum wrappers near her napkin. The remains of a chocolate chip muffin sat on the table in front of Kuzniski.
    “I’m fine, thanks.” Jeremy sat down across from them.
    “So, how can we help you, Jeremy?” Kuzniski said.
    “Actually,” Jeremy said. “I would have thought you’d want to talk to me.”
    “About something in particular?” Kuzniski asked.
    “I don’t know. Things like did my parents have any enemies? Who do I think may