Evidence by Jonathan Kellerman Read Free Book Online Page A

Europe.”
    The
red-shirted kid reappeared, this time bearing two plates.
    Bacon
burgers oozing with molten white and orange cheese, salads the size of a baby’s
head, a hay-bale of onion rings. “Um, do you guys still want this?”
    Bettina
Sanfelice said, “I was hungry but now I’m also feeling nauseous.”
    Sheryl
Passant said, “Yuck. Do we still have to pay?”
    Milo
said, “Put the food down, son, and give me the check. Here’s your tip in
advance.” Forking over bills.
    The
kid said, “Sweet.”
    A few
minutes of routine questions produced nothing new about Desmond Backer, whom
the women described as “Nice and totally hot.” The shock had worn off and they
both seemed pleased at the attention.
    Bettina
Sanfelice studied her burger. “It’s probably gross but I’m going to try.”
    Sheryl Passant said, “Not me.” Moments later, a grin
as she bit in, wiped her chin. “Guess I lied.”
    Milo
let them eat, offered drink refills. They declined. Sanfelice wholeheartedly,
Passant with some regret.
    Milo
stared at me.
    I
raised my eyebrows.
    He
cocked his head to the side and when I didn’t respond, said, “My partner’s
gonna ask you some questions now. They’re a little personal, so sorry. But we
really need to ask.”
    Waving
the red-shirted kid over, he ordered an extra-large Coke.
    Both
women had stopped eating.
    Sheryl
Passant’s thigh pressed hard against mine.

CHAPTER 7
    Bettina
Sanfelice said, “Personal?”
    Milo’s
eyebrows said Take it from here . Sheryl Passant said, “They mean sex,
Teen. Because Des was a horner from day one, right? Like he was put on this
earth to do it.” The corners of her mouth turned up as she bent over her
straw. Conspicuous slurp.
    I
said, “Helga and Marjorie Holman both told us about a meeting where Des was
discussed by all of you.”
    Passant
grinned. “Where we all admitted doing Des.”
    Bettina
Sanfelice’s hand shot to her mouth.
    “Stop
being dorky, Teen. You did him, we all did him. So what?”
    “Omigod.”
Sanfelice hung her head.
    Passant
laughed. “I have always been her bad influence, that’s why her mom has always
hated me. Put a horn like Des with a bunch of girls, what do you think’s going
to have happened?”
    I
said, “Helga said it didn’t happen with her.”
    “That’s
because she’s never been human—stop spazzing , Teen, it’s biology .”
    Sanfelice said, “I need to go to the bathroom.”
    “In a
sec, hon,” said Milo.
    No
argument.
    Passant
said, “The moment you met Des it was pretty clear he was after one thing.”
    I
said, “Marjorie said he was pretty direct, just came out and asked.”
    “At
first, I thought it was gross. Like, are you kidding? But the way he did it
made it not gross.”
    “How
so?”
    “Not
pushy, kind of … friendly. Des made it all real friendly.”
    Her
foot rested on mine. Pressure just short of pain. I slid away. She smiled.
    “Was
it a onetime thing, or did—”
    “Seven
times for me. Lucky seven.”
    Bettina
Sanfelice gasped.
    “I
know I told you three, Teen. Didn’t want to freak you out but it was seven. Now
you’re gonna ask why wasn’t it eight? I don’t know, it just kind of stopped.
Like he’d become my brother or something.”
    I
said, “Too friendly.”
    “Yup.”
    “Did
Des take you anywhere in particular?”
    “Coffee,”
she said. “Sometimes food.” Back to caressing my shoe with her sneaker. “Afterward.”
    “Was
there a particular place for before?”
    She
faced me. “You really are personal. No, there wasn’t any one place. He
took me to sites.”
    “Building
sites?”
    “He
just called them sites. Like unfinished buildings, or sometimes there was just
dirt, sometimes parts of buildings. When there was just dirt, he had a blanket
in his car. Basically, he got off doing it outdoors. A lot of people do.”
    I
said, “Where were these sites?”
    “I don’t know the street, it was dark … they were all
in the Valley—is that where he got