"Laurell K. Hamilton - Anita Blake 07 - Burnt Offerings" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hamilton Laurell K)

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Laurell K. Hamilton
Burnt Offerings

1

Most people don't stare at the scars. They'll look, of course, then do the
eye slide. You know, the quick look, then drop the gaze, then just have to
have that second look. But they make it quick. The wounds aren't like freak
show bad, but they are interesting. Captain Pete McKinnon, firefighter and
arson investigator, sat across from me, big hands wrapped around a glass of
iced tea that our secretary, Mary, had brought in for him. He was staring at
my arms. Not the place most men look. But it wasn't sexual. He was staring at
the scars and didn't seem a bit embarrassed about it.
My right arm had been sliced open twice by a knife. One scar was white and
old. The second was still pink and new. My left arm was worse. A mound of
white scar tissue sat at the bend of my arm. I'd have to lift weights for the
rest of my life or the scars would stiffen and I'd lose mobility in the arm,
or so my physical therapist had said. There was a cross-shaped burn mark, a
little crooked now because of the ragged claw marks that a shapeshifted witch
had given me. There were one or two other scars hidden under my blouse, but
the arm really is the worst.
Bert, my boss, had requested that I wear my suit jacket or long-sleeved
blouses in the office. He said that some clients had expressed reservations
about my ah . . . occupationally acquired wounds. I hadn't worn a long-sleeved
blouse since he made the request. He'd turned the air conditioner up a little
colder every day. It was so cold today I had goose bumps. Everyone else was
bringing sweaters to work. I was shopping for midriff tops to show off my back
scars.
McKinnon had been recommended to me by Sergeant Rudolph Storr, cop and
friend. They'd played football in college together, and been friends ever
since. Dolph didn't use the word "friend" lightly, so I knew they were close.
"What happened to your arm?" McKinnon asked finally.
"I'm a legal vampire executioner. Sometimes they get pesky." I took a sip