Savage Art (A Chilling Suspense Novel) Read Online Free PDF Page A

self-pity," he said.
    She turned to see Billy standing in the doorway. "Lay off," she snapped.
    "Don't give me that bitchy tone. Get in here and eat these eggs."
    Casey shot him a dirty look and pushed past him toward the kitchen. As always, Billy kept it immaculate. Like the rest of her house, the kitchen was sparsely decorated in light pines and whites. Sterile was how some would describe it. No pictures, diplomas, or awards hung on the walls of the living room or den. When Billy had started, she'd had no wall hangings at all. But slowly he had convinced her to buy a couple of Ansel Adams prints. Even those kept the tone of the place cold in their black and white.
    She sat hard in the pine chair and stared at her eggs, then raised an eyebrow. "Cheese?"
    "Just a little," Billy replied sharply.
    She smiled broadly and stood up. Crossing the kitchen to where Billy stood, she planted a kiss on his cheek.
    Billy rolled his eyes. "Don't think that's going to get you more cheese next time."
    Casey smiled and sat back down. Fastidious about what went in his body, Billy thought cheese was like hardened orange gelato. And cheese was the least of it. One of the first things he had done was to empty the house of alcohol, sweets, and most of the cigarettes.
    At least Casey had a small stash of cigs hidden away to steal a smoke when Billy wasn't around. But Billy could always tell when she'd been smoking them. He had also refused to buy anything other than skim milk. Now that she was shopping with him, they compromised on 1 percent.
    Coffee had been Billy's next intended victim, but she'd threatened to fire him. They had fought on and off for a few days, but in the end she had won. Though he had successfully weeded most of the vices from her life, Casey knew he had accepted that coffee was one he would be powerless to stop.
    She drank her coffee slowly now, knowing Billy would make only one cup. Leaning forward on the table, she said, "Tell me about this man."
    Billy stared into his cup, swirling his spoon in the ginseng tea.
    "You promised," she reminded him.
    He nodded. "I met him at the hospital. He was visiting a friend with AIDS when I was visiting Mrs. Levinski. She fell in the shower and broke her hip."
    Casey smiled. "Go on."
    "That's it. That's how we met. His name's Kevin. He's incredible. He reads palms—it's so sexy."
    "That's his job?"
    Billy shook his head. "That's his art. For work, he's a tax accountant."
    "An accountant who reads palms?" He sounded like a freak.
    "You're so closed-minded, Casey."
    "I am not." Casey wondered what his last name was. She'd have liked to have someone check him out. "You met this guy at the hospital? What do you know about him?"
    Billy crossed his arms. "I know plenty."
    "Have you been to his house?"
    "No."
    "Have you met any of his friends?"
    Billy scowled. "Don't you dare turn Kevin into one of your suspects. Not everyone is a killer, for God's sake. I really like him, so pretend like you do, too. You've got your head screwed on so tight that you can't even see the good in people anymore. I'm amazed you let me come work for you. Or did you do a background check on me, too?"
    Casey shook her head. She had done a background check on Billy—actually, she'd had the FBI do it. And no one was more thorough than the FBI. But he was right. Leonardo was always her first thought. "I'm sorry," she said. "You're right."
    "I want you to meet him." Billy broke into a crooked smile. "I like him." He stared into the distance and then waved her off, ending the conversation. "Go on. Go do something. I'll finish this up, and we'll do your exercises."
    In the months Billy had taken care of her, he had never mentioned dating anyone. As much as she hated the idea of sharing him, she knew it was good that he had found someone. Casey sat at the table and looked around. "Did you bring the paper?"
    Billy turned and raised an eyebrow at her.
    She shrugged and looked away. "Just curious."
    He returned to the dishes.