"Broussard, John A - Kay Yoshinobu - A Body, More Or Less" - читать интересную книгу автора (Broussard John A)

"I actually went into that second house. I crawled through the window."

"So?"

The uneasiness increased. "The cops didn't know I'd been inside, because they caught me when I'd already come out and closed the window behind me." He paused, and Kay waited.

"The first thing I did when I got in was to turn on the penlight, and the first thing I saw was a body lying on the rug. A knife was stuck in the guy's chest."

* * *

"And you believed him, Kay?" Sid was shaking his head as he looked across his desk at his law partner.

"I know. I know. He's a professional liar. But I'm convinced he's telling the truth about this."

Sid snorted. "He's conned you. I'll lay you odds there's no body there. He's just using this in the hopes of getting off. Muddying the waters, that's what he's doing."

"He's not that clever. And he really doesn't have anything to gain by lying. Anyhow, I've contacted the police and convinced Hank DeMello to let me into the house. I figured I'd have to go to a Lieutenant, at least, to get the OK. The place is for sale and there's no one living there.

"Hank told me to meet Sergeant Tanaka there in an hour, along with the real estate agent who's handling the property. He said he'll even send out the scene-of-crime crew when they get through with their investigation of that Prince Kuhio Tavern brawl. He's already alerted them to the fact that they may have a homicide on their hands."

"What a waste," Sid muttered as Kay checked her watch and headed out.

* * *

The real estate agent was already there when Kay arrived. The surrounding area was stark - a development that had gone through bankruptcy shortly after the two model homes they were standing in front of had been built. The one in which Freddie claimed there was a body consisted of a more modest version of its next-door companion.

The agent, a middle aged, short, blonde haole, who identified herself simply as Reggie, asked why Kay and the police needed to get into the house. Kay said that there'd been a burglary in the neighborhood and they had reason to suspect the burglar might have entered this house as well. She also suggested that they wait for the police before entering. She then spent most of the intervening time listening to a sales pitch as Reggie gradually convinced herself she had a potential customer. "This is a really nice house. Less than six months old. No problem about showing it to you. I had to come by this morning, anyway, to do an inventory and to put the lock box on the door."

"Lock box?"

"Right. It's this gadget." She reached into her briefcase and pulled out a metal object the size of a large deck of cards attached to a metal ring. "See," she said, pointing to a slot in its surface, "any real estate agents who have an interested client can use their plastic card to get in once this is hooked on the knob. It also keeps a record of who came in and when."

"So anyone with a regular key could get in as long as the lock box isn't in place? Is that correct?"

"Right. The owners are getting a divorce, you know. That's why this is such a great buy. People are like that. All they want to do is to get shed of their assets even at a loss, so they're willing to accept any reasonable offer - maybe an unreasonable one if you're really interested. I know the neighborhood doesn't look like much now since the developer went bankrupt, but there's a new one coming in. And all those sites," she gestured in the general direction of bulldozed lots that showed few other signs of construction, "will be built out before the end of the year. This will be a great place to live. And values are definitely going to appreciate."

Kay kept trying to shift the spiel to the item of major interest to her "Were the couple here recently?"

"Yesterday, as a matter of fact. They were supposed to move out all their personal stuff. The rest goes with the house. That's why I have to do the inventory today. Some of the furniture is really lovely. Just wait till you see it."

"What were their names, by the way?"

"Mark and Ginny Trooper. They've been here only a few months. Bought the place when they arrived. He's an accountant for that big national accounting firm, Cottrell and Meyers, that specializes in independent audits. I guess they just keep moving their employees around, but he figured this was going to be here permanently. Too bad. It was a good buy when they bought it, but now they're going to have to let it go for even less than they paid for it."

"And you say they were here yesterday?"

"Ginny was. I had planned to come over early yesterday afternoon, and we'd agreed I'd do the inventory then and pick up her key. Well, at the last minute, I had a client call who wanted to see a commercial building for rent downtown, so I just dropped by to get the key."

Kay became immediately alert. "Did you go in the house?"