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

A head shake was the answer. "Ginny was just coming out with a bundle of clothes. She wanted me to come in to celebrate over the last pot of coffee in the house, but I just didn't have time. You know property is going like crazy these days. It's the last of the buyer's market. You should jump at the chance on this piece of property."

Before Kay could get the woman back on track and explore any further in the direction she wanted her to go, a police car arrived and Sergeant Tanaka emerged. Within moments Kay became acutely aware that the Sergeant was even more skeptical than Sid about the body story. At least he was quiet about it; he chewed away on a toothpick and stood behind the two women while Reggie unlocked the door.

Entering through a narrow hall, they stepped into the living room where Freddie had told her the body was located. There was a couch, several chairs - including a recliner - a coffee table, two bookcases and an oversized television set. But no body. Kay heard an amused sniff behind her. Reggie, unaware of the real reason for the visit, was eager to show Kay the rest of the house. Apparently thinking that Sergeant Tanaka might also be a prospect, she urged him to come along. Though still well furnished, the house had a vacant appearance,. The walls were almost barren of pictures, the bookcases were only half filled, and no knickknacks adorned the coffee table or the sideboard.

Once the tour was complete, the Sergeant, without removing the toothpick, said, "No need for me anymore. You ladies can go ahead with your inspection." His departure was interrupted, however, by the arrival of the scene-of-crime personnel and Kay's sudden memory of something Freddie had said.

She turned to the real estate agent and asked, "Was a living room rug supposed to be part of the inventory?"

Reggie checked her list and answered, "Ginny didn't say one way or the other. It does look a bit unfurnished, though, doesn't it?" she added, as she surveyed the expanse of bare floor.

One of the arriving officers, overhearing the conversation, said, "We can check to see if there was one. Fibers generally get left behind from rugs." It was obvious he was as eager to go on with his work as Sergeant Tanaka was to leave. The latter sighed, took out another toothpick to replace the mangled one in his mouth, and rolled his eyes while the officer went down on his hands and knees and begin to examine the joints in the polished flooring. Lifting the footrest of the recliner, the officer signaled to the Sergeant.

"Got something here, Sarge. Blood spatters. Some on the floor, some on the bottom of the foot rest."

Kay beamed. Reggie looked baffled. The Sergeant shrugged, saying, "So someone cut a finger or a toe. It may not even be human blood. May not be blood at all."

"I've seen enough blood in my day to know it when I see it. And it'll be easy enough to find out if it's human - even the blood type - right here." He opened his work case, took out a strip of heavy paper with circular spots on it and, after dissolving a scraping in a tube of liquid, he placed a drop on one of the spots. "Definitely human. O blood type. There's enough here for a DNA test, but that's for the lab to do, of course. It'll be a while."

He called to one of his subordinates and, between the two of them, they managed to lift the recliner. The real estate agent began to protest and the officer, looking over his end of the burden, said, "Sergeant Tanaka will give you a receipt. Meantime, we'll need to really go over this place, so it will have to be taped."

Reggie's protests now became vociferous. Tanaka looked up from his receipt book and reassured her. "It will only be a day or so, then you can have the house back. I'm sure this is all a false alarm." Kay glared at him but said nothing, deciding to do some further questioning of the agent once the Sergeant and the other police had left.

Standing next to Reggie's van, Kay continued to hear about what a fantastic buy the place was before she could finally break in. "Do you have the address and phone number of the owners?"

Reggie froze. "I'm sorry, but I have an exclusive on this property. It's actually illegal for a buyer and an owner to try to bypass an exclusive agent."

At first Kay simply didn't understand what the protest was about. Once the reason for the sudden change in demeanor become clear, Kay managed to reassure Reggie. The agent, though still somewhat grudgingly, gave her the requested information on Ginny Trooper.

"What about Mark?"

"He was going back to the Mainland and didn't have an address yet. Actually, I haven't seen him since he signed the papers last week. But I'm sure Ginny would know where he's staying if he hasn't left already."

Kay could almost feel the light bulb going on over her head. "You wouldn't by any chance have some idea about why they were splitting up, would you?"

"I'm just not into things like that. They were pretty mad at each other, though. And I got the impression, from what Mark said when he came into the office to sign the papers, that Ginny was two-timing him.


"I'm not really sure what you and the police are looking for, but Mark couldn't be responsible for a body with a knife in it. He's just a little guy. Not much taller than me. Oh yes, he said he didn't want anything more to do with her or with the house. Told me to sell it for whatever I could get. So, if you're willing to make an offer, I'm sure they would both be willing to consider it, perhaps come up with a counter offer you'd find..."

* * *

The expression on Sid's face, as he listened to Kay talking to Hank DeMello about the results of the scene-of-crime findings from the previous day, clearly indicated his feelings.

"Kay, Kay, Kay! You just can't stop detecting, can you?" Sid's tone of voice carried the full force of his exasperation.

An absent-minded smile was Kay's answer as she hung up.