Body Of Truth by Deirdre Savoy Read Free Book Online Page B

else.
    Mari closed the phone and looked at him. “Shea’s going to release Pierce’s name to the press. And get this, he already heard from Banks. Banks is offering a fifty thousand dollar reward for any information leading to an arrest in his sister’s death.”
    Jonathan gritted his teeth. Adding that kind of money to the mix would bring out another brand of crazy. Every greedy son of a bitch would be calling in looking for a pay day. “It took him all of fifteen minutes to come up with that?”
    â€œMaybe he wants to appear the devoted brother while the world is looking.”
    Jonathan shrugged, not really interested in anyone’s motivations but his own. He pressed a little harder on the gas pedal. “Maybe we ought to get there before the press does.”
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    Amanda Pierce lived in a luxury apartment building on the corner of West 87th and Central Park West. The doorman, dressed in navy blue livery, greeted them at the front desk with all the disdain of an English butler trying to shoo the riff raff away from his master’s door. “May I help you?”
    Jonathan flashed his badge. “Who do we speak to about getting into Amanda Pierce’s apartment?”
    The doorman’s glare shifted from him to Mari and back again. His chest puffed up, like a bird’s, announcing his importance. “That would be me, but I’m under strict orders not to let anyone up without her approval. Besides Ms. Pierce isn’t here.”
    â€œI’m aware of that. Are you aware of the penalty for hindering a police investigation?”
    The man visibly deflated. “All right, then.” He pulled a voluminous set of keys from his pocket. “When Ms. Pierce finds out about this, it’s on your head.”
    â€œNot a problem,” he said.
    The doorman led them through the expansive marble-tiled lobby to the service elevator. When the car arrived, the doorman stationed himself at the front, leaving Mari and Jonathan to move around him to stand in back. Of all the childish nonsense. Since Jonathan needed the information the man could provide, he squeezed in behind Mari without comment. “When is the last time you saw Ms. Pierce?”
    â€œFriday morning,” the doorman answered still staring straight ahead. “I hailed a taxi for her. I don’t know where she was going.”
    â€œYou didn’t happen to notice the medallion number of the cab?”
    â€œI am not in the habit of monitoring taxi drivers.”
    The elevator stopped on the twelfth floor. The doorman got out and headed toward a door almost directly across from the elevator. There were only two other doors to choose from. In a building this size, the apartments must be tremendous.
    As the doorman worked on the locks, Jonathan asked. “How long did Ms. Pierce live here?”
    â€œAt least six years. She was already a tenant when I arrived.”
    â€œDid Ms. Pierce have many visitors?”
    â€œNot many, no. Her agent came by from time to time.”
    â€œWhat about her brother?” Mari put that in, Jonathan figured, in an attempt to stir the pot.
    â€œI wasn’t aware Ms. Pierce had a brother.”
    At least that part of Banks’s story checked out. Her doorman would have known if he’d visited frequently.
    The door finally slid open. Jonathan gestured for the man to wait outside.
    â€œWhat is this about, anyway?” the doorman asked. “Has something happened to Ms. Pierce?”
    It took him long enough to get to that. Jonathan stepped into the apartment after Mari. “She was found dead yesterday morning. If we need anything else, we’ll find you.” Jonathan shut the door in the man’s face.
    â€œ Dios , would you look at this place,” Mari said, drawing his attention. “No wonder the admiral didn’t want us in here.”
    Jonathan snorted at Mari’s appellation for the doorman, but her assessment of