Alien Taste by Wen Spencer Read Free Book Online Page A

the woman. They wore leather jackets and boots common to bikers. They ran to the edge of the park where they had two motorcycles, Japanese high-performance machines, the man’s a nine hundred and the woman’s a six hundred.”
    One of her eyebrows lifted. With someone else, the gesture would have been unremarkable. In her, it was a shout of surprise. “How do you know this?”
    He hated lying, but he’d learned there were limits to what people believed. “When I came to, he was there, but I was too faint from blood loss to tell anyone. When I felt better, I went back to track him.”
    â€œYour head camera will confirm or deny this.” Was it a warning or a question?
    â€œI don’t know if he’ll show up on the recording,” Ukiah said. “It was dark and raining, but I could sense him moving around. You can hear a black dog walking in the woods at night, but you can rarely film him.”
    â€œI see.” She showed no hint of believing or disbelieving him. “And were you able to track him?”
    â€œNot far. Their wheels were muddy, thus leaving tracks, but the mud eventually gave out and I lost them.”
    â€œAny other questions?” Max interrupted, motioning to Ukiah to get up. “Come out to our truck, and I’ll make you a copy of the disc now. Then, if you don’t mind, Mr. Oregon has had a rough twenty-four hours, and I should take him home.”
    She considered them, first Max and then Ukiah, with her somber gaze. “No more questions for now.”
    Coroner personnel were waiting at the door as they exited. Agent Zheng indicated that she was done and they could remove the body. Max led the way back through the morgue.
    Ukiah found himself in step with Agent Zheng despite his longer legs. He wondered if she believed him, if she was suspicious of him still. What did she feel? Why did he care? Why, for that matter, was she even involved in the case? “Agent Zheng, I don’t understand why the FBI is involved. This is a straightmurder case to be handled by the local police, isn’t it?”
    â€œNot completely.” Agent Zheng gave him another measured, unreadable look. “Doctor Haze worked for a company with several ongoing top secret projects. A month ago, her immediate superior was killed and Doctor Haze took over his position. We think his death was accidental, but there were some suspicious details and the case is still open. We had our net filters scanning all law databases for anyone connected to the company, and it alerted us when the police filed their initial reports.”
    â€œWhat I don’t understand, why was a doctor living with three college students?” Max asked.
    â€œJanet Haze only recently received her doctorate,” Agent Zheng said. “She had been roommates with the other three for the last four years.”
    They emerged from the dim building into the parking lot. The cement was still damp from the night rain. It glistened in the bright morning sun. The police cars were gone and the Hummer squatted alone, waiting unmolested for their return.
    â€œA Hummer?” Agent Zheng studied the truck. “How does a small-time detective agency afford one?”
    â€œGood fortune in a previous life,” Max grumbled, remotely unlocking the truck. Opening the driver’s door, he leaned in and slotted a blank optical disk into the computer.
    â€œPrevious life?” Agent Zheng opened the passenger door before Ukiah reached it, leaning in to eye the Hummer’s interior. She waited for an answer, but Max rarely talked about his life before becoming a private detective. “You have it loaded for bear.”
    â€œI like it that way.” Max ejected the copied disc and held it out to her. “I made a copy of the discyesterday and gave it to the police, but I guess that’s gone. What’s here in my truck is a copy too—the original is in a secure place. Myself, Mr.