Haunted in Death by J. D. Robb Read Free Book Online Page A

up.“
    “That happens, you bet your ass someone’s going to have some document claiming they were partners with Hopkins. Maybe I was wrong about it being personal. Maybe it’s been profit all along.“
    “You weren’t wrong. You know you weren’t. But you’re sitting there, in a fairly disgusting state, I might add, trying to turn it around so you don’t have to admit you’ve seen a ghost.“
    “I saw what some mope wants me to believe is a ghost and he apparently pulled one over on you, ace.“
    “I know electronic imagery when I see it.“ The faintest edge of irritation flickered into his eyes at her tone. “I know what I saw, what I heard, what I felt. Murder was done here, then adding to it, the insult, the callousness of what was done after.“
    He glanced back into the narrow opening, toward the former location of the long-imprisoned bones. And now there was a hint of pity in his eyes as well. “All while claiming to be so concerned, so upset, offering rewards for her safe return, or for substantiated proof she was alive and well. All that while she was moldering behind the wall he’d built to hide her.“
    “If her body never left here, why should her spirit?“
    “Because – “ With a shake of her head, Eve scattered dust. “Her body’s not here now. So shouldn’t she be haunting the morgue?“
    “This place has been home to her for a long time, hasn’t it?“ Pragmatism, he thought, thy name is Eve. Then he took out a handkerchief, used it to rub the worst of the dust and grime from her face.
    “Homemade crypts aren’t what I’d call home, sweet home,“ she retorted. “And you know what? Ghosts don’t clean guns or shoot them. I’ve got a DB in the morgue. And I’m ordering the sweepers, with a contingent from EDD in here tomorrow. They’re going to take this place apart.“
    She brushed some of the dirt from her shirt and pants before picking up her coat. “I want a shower.“
    “I want you to have a shower, too.“
    As they went downstairs, she called in the order for two units to search Number Twelve for electronic devices. If she thought she heard a woman’s husky laugh just before she closed and secured the door, Eve ignored it.

Six
    When she’d showered and pulled on warm, comfortable sweats, Eve gave another thought to pizza. She figured she could down a slice or two at her desk while she worked.
    She was headed toward the office she kept at home when she heard Bobbie Bray’s voice, gritting out her signature song.
    Broken, battered, bleeding, and still I’m begging, pleading Come back. Come back and heal my heart Come back. Come back and heal my heart.
    With her own heart thudding, Eve covered the rest of the distance at a dash. Except for the fat cat, Galahad, snoring in her sleep chair, her office was empty.
    Then she narrowed her eyes at the open door that joined her office to Roarke’s. She found him at his desk, with the title track beginning its play again through the speakers of his entertainment unit.
    “You trying to wig me out?“
    “No.“ He smiled a little. “Did I?“ When she gave him a stony stare, he shrugged. “I wanted to get better acquainted with our ghost. She was born in Louisville, Kentucky, and according to this biography, left home at sixteen to migrate to Haight-Ashbury, as many of her generation did. She sang in some clubs, primarily for food or a place to sleep, drifted around, joined a band called Luv – that’s L-U-V – where she stood out like a rose among weeds, apparently. Did some backup singing for one or two important artists of the time, then met Hopkins in Los Angeles.“
    “Bad luck for her. Can you turn that off?“
    “Music off,“ he ordered, and Bobbie’s voice stopped. “She bothers you,“ Roarke realized. “Why is that?“
    “She doesn’t bother me.“ The correct term, Eve thought, would be she creeps me. But damned if she was going to fall into the accepted pattern on Number Twelve, or Bobbie