Page 85 of Sharp Force

“Exactly.”

“I wonder if Georgine was staying here when the first three murders were committed,” I reply.

“I have a feeling she’s been here every time Zain has. That’s why she comes,” Marino has decided. “Assuming she was his private shrink, and I guarantee that’s the case.”

“I’m surprised Graden was so helpful,” I reply. “I’m surprised he didn’t refuse to answer anything at all the way he does when we show up.”

“That’s because I handled him,” Marino says. “He was helpful until he realized he wasn’t going to get what he wanted in return.”

“Which was?” I ask.

“He wanted to see the body. And for a while I played good cop. I acted buddy-buddy with him, like it might be a possibility for him to come inside and poke around,” Marino explains. “When he finally realized that wasn’t going to happen, he got belligerent. Hetried to come up on the porch. I promised to arrest his pompous ass if he didn’t leave right then.”

“I hope you didn’t really say all that,” I reply as I think,Oh God.

“Hell yeah, I ordered him off the property.”

“Well, we’ve not heard the end of it.” I have no doubt. “You can rest assured he’ll cause a stink.”

“I’m just doing my job.” Marino partly opens the front door again, a bar of sunlight painting on the mats.

“How did he react?” I ask.

“He started walking around the outside of the house, trying to look through windows, breathing on the glass. I told him I needed to swab him for DNA, and he refused at first.”

Marino pulls out the lock cylinder, clanking the hardware into a paper bag.

“We’re not supposed to threaten people with arrest.” I hand him another label. “That’s not what the medical examiner’s office does.”

“It’s exactly what we’re supposed to be doing, according to the General Assembly.” He places the bag inside the Pelican case as I hear footsteps on the porch that don’t sound like Benton’s.

CHAPTER 28

Sunlight fills the foyer as the front door pushes open. Blaise Fruge steps on the sticky mats, a leather bomber jacket and Ray-Bans on. Through the open door I see that the crime scene investigators are gone, their van still parked in the driveway.

“About time,” Marino complains as he closes the front door behind her. “Find out anything interesting? Let me guess. That would be no.”

Ignoring his sarcasm, Fruge wishes me a Merry Christmas while taking off her sunglasses, parking them on top of her head. I’ve not seen her for several weeks, and she’s cut her dark hair almost crew-cut short again. I can tell she’s been spending time on a tanning bed.

“They’re going to be pissed.” She looks at the hole in the door, shaking her head. “In fact, they already are.”

“When are they not?” Marino is pleased with himself.

“And where are they?” I ask about the crime scene unit. “They appear to have left.”

“They’re busy walking around,” Fruge tells us. “Apparently Benton located a crashed drone at the edge of the river. I don’t know what all they’re doing, but something’s got their interest big-time.”

“I’m glad they’re preoccupied,” I reply. “There’s a lot we need to do before we can let them in here.”

“You’ll probably catch holy hell for removing the door handles,” Fruge says to Marino.

“Rule number one if you’re going to be a good investigator?” He closes the Pelican case packed with our bags of hardware. “Preserve the evidence first and foremost. Then explain yourself.”

“Truth is, nobody at the hospital would tell us a damn thing helpful,” she admits.

Taking off her jacket, she’s in tight jeans and a formfitting shirt that show off her strong body. She didn’t look like that when we first met while she was still in uniform. What I see now is due to Marino’s influence. They’re workout partners. In recent years, he’s been reshaping her like Pygmalion, and I know it rubs Dorothy the wrong way.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Marino wags his finger at Fruge like a disappointed coach. “Waste of time, and worse than that, you’ve tipped them off. You’ve tipped off everybody at the hospital.”