"Elrod, P N - Vampire Files 09 - Lady Crymsyn E-Txt" - читать интересную книгу автора (Elrod P N)

positioning of the bodyЧ"
"Yeah. When they put her in thereЕ she was still alive."
2
As nights go, I've had worse, but I could have easily done without this one.
None of the work crew had much to say about their find, especially the one who'd
broken through the wall with his pick. A few were worried about the law,
indicating that they probably had records. No surprise there, since I never
questioned Leon about whom he hired. So long as the work went without a hitch,
he had a free hand. Those men I took aside for a little private interview. I had
an ache behind my eyes before finishing, but my hypnotic interrogation only
confirmed that they knew nothing about the body. I gave them each five bucks
severance and told them to come back to the job when the fuss was over. They
thanked me and vanished like smoke.
I told Leon and the others to keep back from the alcove for the time being, then
Escott followed me upstairs, where I could call things in to the cops.
He hitched one hip on an old table that served as a temporary desk and let his
gaze wander over the plain room that was to be my office. It was big, but empty
of nearly everything but the smell of fresh paint and new plaster. Fancy
trimmings would come later. Right now the prospect of running a club didn't
appeal to me very damn much anymore. Through no fault of my own things had
gotten tragically complicated.
"You look like someone just pulled one of your teeth without benefit of an
anesthetic," he commented after I hung up.
"That's just about how I feel."
"Yes, that poor woman."
"Yeah. Jeez, what a way to go." I'd seen (and been subjected to) more than my
share of horrors in life, but to think of anyone being bricked up like that gave
me the cold sweats. Shut away in perfect silence, no one to hear her screams for
helpЕ
In my own way, I knew exactly what that was like.
"Awful. She must have died of thirst and hunger, rather than lack of air."
"How do you figure that?" The question was out before I realized I really didn't
want to know the answer.
"I spoke to the man who cracked through the wall. He said the quality of the air
released was distinctive enough to notice, but not poisonous, so there must have
been some small amount of circulation going on over the course of time. There
certainly had to be openings into that chamber sufficiently large enough to
admitЧ" He broke off with a grimace.
"Admit what?"
He unhitched himself from the desk and paced around, peering out one of the wide
uncurtained windows that overlooked the front of the club. This was as
uncomfortable as I'd ever seen him. "To admit rodents. I n-noticed some of the
bones showed signs of gnawing."
"Charles, I could have lived all the rest of my life without knowing that."
"As I could as well, but it's knowledge, and you never know what might be useful
in an investigation."
"You thinking about looking into this?"
"Only if you feel I should." He sounded less than enthusiastic. Because of its
gruesome nature I couldn't blame him for being reluctant, but I also knew he was
busy with some paying projects. One of them was pretty important and could land