The Cold Room Read Online Free PDF Page A

Lilliput.
    When she didn’t immediately respond, he took a stepback. He stared at her, his eyes slightly bulged, his jaw thrust forward. She was reminded of a frog. She spoke quietly.
    â€œI beg to differ, Lieutenant Elm. The external scene is just as important as the internal. We need to establish a point of entry, need to be looking for footprints, material the suspect may have discarded. It’s anything but okay to be on top of the crime like this.”
    â€œThis is the way I want it!” he said, anger bubbling up in his eyes.
    She heard a hissing in her ear, felt a tug at her elbow.
    â€œHe’s the new homicide lieutenant, Taylor. Our boss.” McKenzie’s whisper was frantic.
    Taylor had to put a hand over her mouth to keep from bursting out laughing. This, this, toad was her new boss? Elm was the new homicide lieutenant? Oh, this was going to be priceless.
    Elm’s tone changed, sharpened. “You’ll find that this setup is perfectly acceptable. I must deal with another matter. I trust you can handle this scene. I will deal with your insubordination in the morning.” Elm was smug, obviously thinking he’d defeated her. Well, she’d been bullied just about enough over the past month.
    â€œInsubordination? All I did was point out the obvious,” she said. The porch twittered, the officers who’d overheard amused at the expense of the new lieutenant, who was vibrating in his displeasure.
    Elm pointed a finger at her. “Do your job, Detective. I know how to do mine.” He stepped off the porch, walked off toward the gathering media. McKenzie appeared at her elbow again.
    â€œI tried to warn you.”
    Taylor caught the melodrama in his voice. A rabbit, scared and spooked, that’s what Just Renn was. She smiled at the younger man.
    â€œThat, my friend, is a man who got up on the wrong side of the lily pad. Forget about it. I’ve had worse. Let’s run this puppy.”
    Speaking of which…she flipped her cell back open and speed-dialed Baldwin.
    He answered with a happy, “Hey, gorgeous. My plane just landed. You on your way?”
    â€œUnfortunately, no. I’m on a call, and I think you’ll want to see this.”
    He groaned. “Where are you?”
    â€œTell the driver 1400 Love Circle. You won’t be able to miss it. And hey, stay away from a short man with a bad rug.”
    â€œDo I even want to know?”
    â€œNo. I’ll see you shortly.”
    She hung up, went back into the house. The victim was calling her, the scene, the case. She’d been drawn in, already fascinated. Dead girl pinned to a post, in someone else’s house. Classical music playing in the background. A message was being sent. By whom, and to whom? Taylor felt the intrigue slip in and grab her. She was going to be too busy to worry about all the changes, and that was a good thing.
    Back in the living room, she circled the body again, looked closer at the filament that held the girl’s arms, legs, torso and head in position. It was tied in little knots on the backside of the column. The killer had taken the time to staple the translucent fishing line into the wood to give it extra holding power. This was well thought out, planned in advance. It had taken time to get the girl up on the post. Which meant whoever committed this murder knew that the house was going to be empty, that he’d have a fertile, undisturbed playground. Either that, or they had another body to find, one belonging to the owner.
    Taylor stepped three feet back from the post, taking inthe rest of the setting. The columns bisected the two rooms; there were crime-scene techs moving around, disturbing her view.
    â€œHey, can everyone hold up for a minute? I’d like to get some shots here.”
    Long accustomed to Taylor being in charge, people moved out of her way.
    She fished her digital camera out of her jacket pocket, took a couple of pictures. Something