"Creighton, Kathleen - Eyewitness" - читать интересную книгу автора (Creighton Kathleen)

EYEWITNESS
by
Unknown


To Gary, for all the best reasons

Chapter 1

The blonde lay sprawled in the tumbled sheets like a bride on her
wedding night, one arm flung out and back with the hand resting
seductively on the pillow beside her head. The nails were a soft
seashell pink, the fingers almost white and delicately curled, like the
petals of a water lily. "The other hand, gently fisted, nestled in the
V of her rib cage just below her breasts, betraying a
self-consciousness somehow the more poignant for falling short of full
modesty.

Viewed from above, her eyes appeared to be closed, as if she were
sleeping. Or, perhaps, from the slight upward curve of her lips,
simply anticipating her lover's touch. But from Detective Sergeant
Justin Tyler MacDougal's position near the foot of the bed he could see
that they were only half closed, and that they had the unmictakable
flat sheen of eyes that would never look upon a lover's face, or
anything else, again.

Another one, he thought, feeling every one of his thirty seven years
and then some. And then, as almost always happened when the victim was
young, female and beautiful , he had an instant's flashback to a
different scene entirely a scene from long ago but one he knew he
wouldn't forget if he lived to be 137.

"Shot once in the head, looks like-right here." Careful not to touch
anything, his partner, Buroside, leaned over the body, squinting in
concentration. "Barrel impression, no powder burns around the entry
wound. Small caliber, maybe even a .22. Wow." He made a clicking
sound with his tongue and shook his head.

MacDougal grunted softly in agreement. A . 22 slug could do a lot of
damage rattling around inside a human skull.

Buroside, who hadn't been his partner very long, glanced at him to see
if the grunt required a response, then turoed his attention back to his
examination. He peered closely at a pillow, cautiously sniffed it. "
" Powder residue here, too. Looks like he put the pillow over her face
to muffle the shot. That plus the small caliber -explains why nobody
heard it. "

MacDougal nodded his approval. It was beginning to look as if the kid
might have the makings of a good homicide detective.