Hell on the Heart by Nancy Brophy Read Free Book Online Page A

rolled like liquid mercury. “I thought she’d be older.”
    “Twenty-four.”
    “Never would have guessed. She’s tiny.”
    D’Sean cleared his throat and held out his hand palm up wiggling his fingers in expectation. Annoyed, John reached into his pocket and grabbed his money clip, then slapped a twenty into D’Sean’s waiting hand. “I suspect Czigany is who we’ve come to see, but you already knew that.”
    Luca’s eyes twinkled. While Nicholae maintained a somber countenance, Luca enjoyed a good joke. More than anything John wanted to be offended, but found it difficult to suppress his smile.
    Luca cast him a pitying look. “Perhaps before you meet her, you would like a little advice?”
    John ran his hand through his thick hair. “I’m sure I’ll need it.”
    “Don’t lie to my niece again. She has an uncanny ability to sniff out untruths. And even though she’s petite, there’s a firecracker packed inside. Unless you’re prepared for the results, don’t light the fuse.”
    “Did she report a black limo to the Sheriff’s department?”
    “You’ll have to ask her about that. Follow us. We’ll take you upstairs to her laboratory.” Luca’s pronunciation of the word laboratory, sounded like something out of Frankenstein movie, la-BORE-a-tory.
    He was amused, but John’s anger bubbled below the surface. He’d better get some straight answers from the girl because so far this trip had been a wasted effort. They didn’t have time to lose. Entering the stairway behind Luca, he detected a slight limp the older man had been able to disguise until he mounted the stairs.
    Luca never glanced in his direction, but spoke conversationally, “I failed to jump fast enough to avoid a bullet.”
    John grunted. “Done that myself. Stings, doesn’t it?”
    “Particularly when the weather changes. This storm’s going to be a bad one.”
    John glanced around, aware that the building held no windows. The lighting was fluorescent. Had the building been designed for security or efficiency? Even in a small town there were those who understood, the world wasn’t really a safe place. The girl remained the real mystery.
    “Is Czigany a technician or does she investigate as well?”
    “Oh, she investigates. We try to keep her out of harm’s way, but trouble has a way of finding her.” They reached a small landing with a closed door. Luca stepped aside to allow the men to enter.
    “I’m surprised the Sheriff’s office mentioned the limo. They certainly discounted it when making their arrest.”
    “They also declared she was an unreliable witness.”
    Luca chuckled. “Naturally.”
    John entered the room and an involuntary low whistle of appreciation escaped his lips. The center of the room contained a glass structure filled with stainless steel tables, cabinetry and computerized equipment. The room glowed with sunlight from a large skylight that covered most of the ceiling. Local law enforcement agents across the nation would kill for such a set up.
    As though her personal ensemble had not been strange enough, she’d added a hot pink baseball cap and thin, white latex gloves. Cezi frowned when the men entered then ignored them as she transferred fingerprints from beer bottles to slides.
    John stepped closer, but stopped when Nicholae narrowed his eyes and raised his hand in warning.
    “Shall I have them wait in your office?” Luca appeared unperturbed by her behavior.
    She never looked up from her work but responded in a torrent of the same guttural language the men had used downstairs. For the first time the quiet man took charge.
    Nicholae folded his arms across his chest and argued with her. Back and forth the words volleyed with Cezi shaking her head and the silver fox not backing down one iota. Neither John nor D’Sean were language experts. His partner’s head physically followed the speakers shifting from one to the other, but John doubted D’Sean understood their words any better than he