Ruthless Game (A Captivating Suspense Novel) Read Online Free PDF Page B

scene investigative team to follow. "Come on, girls," he said, although there were two men and only one woman.
    As always, Lombardi smelled like dirty ashtrays. The smell reminded Alex of her own days of smoking. As she always did when he passed, she inhaled, longing for just one more cigarette.
    The female investigator rolled her eyes. Alex nodded her pity. Lombardi was old school. He didn't see a place for women on the force, except maybe as secretaries, and, of course, to clean up after him.
    Returning to Mrs. Quay, Alex sat down on the curb. "Do you think you're up to giving me some information?"
    The woman sniffled and gave a weak nod.
    As she pulled her chewed-up pen from her pocket, Alex noticed Mrs. Quay glance at it. Alex really did need to get a pen she couldn't chew on—maybe a steel one.
    Returning her attention to her notebook, Alex wrote down Mrs. Quay's name, address, phone number, and the standard questions about the housekeeper's arrival this morning. "Did you see any strange cars on the street?" As soon as the question was out, Alex cursed herself for asking. A good cop would have let someone else ask that question. She poised her pen for the response, promising herself she'd put it in her report, no matter what it was.
    Mrs. Quay stared out at the street in silence. When she looked back, she shook her head. "I don't think so. I don't really know. I never notice. It's such a busy street in the morning."
    Dismissing her own selfish relief, Alex put her hand on Mrs. Quay's arm. "Don't blame yourself. You might remember something later."
    The woman nodded, staring at the ground.
    "Are you going to be okay here for a minute?"
    She gave a stiff smile. "I'll be fine."
    "I'll be back down and we'll get someone to take you home."
    Mrs. Quay looked up, her eyes wide again. "I'd prefer to go to my daughter's."
    "Of course. We'll get you to your daughter's, then. I'll be right back." Excusing herself, she followed Lombardi's group up the stairs.
    Inside, a photographer snapped pictures of the body while the other investigators collected data. One man moved along the carpet on plastic kneepads, a pair of tweezers in one hand and a plastic bag in the other, collecting hair and fiber samples. After he finished, they would vacuum the rest of the area for anything he missed.
    Another held a flashlight to the table beside the body. With a grunting noise, he pulled a fluffy brush out of his coat pocket and dipped it into powder, brushing it across the table. Then, like a proud child with a new toy, he blew the excess powder off. In the black dust, Alex saw a fingerprint.
    Lombardi knelt beside the victim, snapped on some gloves, and handed a pair to Greg. Lombardi's eyes met Alex's and he dangled a pair of gloves. "You, too, Sugar."
    Alex glared. "Sure thing, Pops."
    Greg laughed while Lombardi pretended he hadn't heard her.
    An adolescent-looking man with bad skin arrived from the medical examiner's office. On his knees, he laid a thick black plastic bag beside the body while another man, much older, brought in the gurney.
    Alex put the gloves on and waited for instructions. She stood silent, knowing Lombardi and Greg were waiting for her to react. They were going to move the body. This would be her first contact with a dead body, and she swore she wasn't going to miss a beat. She'd heard stories of the process, things that dripped or fell from the corpse. In one case she'd heard about, the head had fallen off. If Alex wanted the detective division, she needed to maintain her cool. And Lombardi would be goading her wherever possible.
    "I'm finished," the photographer announced.
    "You ready for it?" Lombardi asked the medical examiner's assistant.
    He nodded without speaking.
    "Then we can move it," Lombardi declared with unnerving enthusiasm as though this was the most exciting part of finding a corpse. "Watch the blood from that arm—don't get it all over yourself."
    Alex smiled broadly at Lombardi despite the wake that