"Cray, David - Little Girl Blue" - читать интересную книгу автора (Cray David)

came to be in Central Park on a frigid winter morning in January.

A moment later, Reid watched his niece, Julia Brennan, emerge from the
Seventy-sixth Street pedestrian entrance to the park, then beckon the
knot of reporters (including himself) closer. As always, he was first
impressed with her presence. Julia wasn't classically beautiful; her
face was a bit too broad and a bit too long, her jaw a bit too
assertive. But her narrow, full-lipped mouth was very sensual and her
eyes, framed by sharply arched brows, were the impenetrable indigo of
the eastern sky just after sunset. Angelic was the word that came to
mind when he looked into those eyes, a concept belied not only by a
confident physicality and an unflinching gaze, but also by lines of
tension at the corners of her eyes and mouth.

Reid listened to Julia begin her prepared statement, then quickly tuned
out. A quarter century before, when he'd stepped in to replace his
brother, Paul, as her dad, he'd found Julia extremely tenderhearted, a
kind child whose charity extended even to her father, a degenerate
gambler and a drunk who came home to his family only when he was flat
broke. Now there was something hard about his niece, hard and
hardening.

The cops, of course, had contributed to the change. Pornography in her
locker, obscene phone calls, and off-color remarks the harassment had
gone on for years, but Julia hadn't quit, hadn't to his knowledge even
been discouraged. Instead, she'd risen through the ranks, effectively
ending the nonsense, a success story with the last chapters still to be
written. She'd paid a price, though, and there were times when she
wore her isolation like body armor.

HOOD MORNING, everybody. I'm Lieutenant Julia Brennan, Manhattan North
Homicide." She waited until the reporters dug out their notebooks and
the video cameras were up and running, then continued. "At 7:58 this
morning an anonymous caller to 911 reported discovering a body in
Central Park. The first uniformed officers responded to the scene at
eight-oh-six and the victim, a Caucasian female, a juvenile, was found
at eight eighteen. She is presently unidentified and there are no
suspects at this time."

For the next ten minutes, Julia fended off nearly every question. The
investigation was in its earliest stages. The Crime Scene Unit was
still gathering evidence. The Medical Examiner had yet to claim the
body. Unidentified meant no identifying documents were found on or
near the victim.

As the reporters began to drift away, Julia nodded to her uncle, then
walked back to the crime scene where a pair of burly techs from the
ME's office were approaching the victim. The older of the two, a short
man with a noticeable limp, carried a green body bag large enough to
hold an adult. His younger companion, who chewed gum incessantly,