The Face of Deception by Iris Johansen Read Free Book Online Page A

had been serene and free from violence since that night at the prison. She hadn't been ready to have this ugliness erupt. “It's more than that. It makes me feel like a victim. I swore I'd never be— I
hate
it.”
    “I can see that you do.”
    She finished her coffee and stood up. “If you really think someone from the insurance company will be coming out right away, I'd better go back and finish checking out the lab.”
    “Take a little more time. Like you said, there's no hurry.”
    “I want to get it over with.” She moved toward the door. “My mother will be coming home soon and I don't want her to feel that she has to do it with me.”
    “You're very protective of your mother.” He followed her down the steps. “You're close?”
    “Yes. We didn't used to be, but now we're good friends.”
    “Friends?”
    “Well, she's only sixteen years older than I am. We sort of grew up together.” She glanced over her shoulder. “You don't have to go with me, you know.”
    “I know.” He opened the lab door for her. “But Margaret would be very upset with me if I made her work and didn't do a thing myself.”

FOUR

    “Lots of blood,” Logan said matter-of-factly. “But the cleaning crew will take care of it.” He nodded at the pile of articles on the floor by the smashed bookcase. “Why don't you check for anything there that can be salvaged? I see a couple of photographs.”
    She nodded and knelt by the bookcase. Being here was easier with Logan, she realized in surprise. His matter-of-factness lightened the darkness. There was blood; it must be cleaned. There was destruction; probe to see what could be saved.
    And the pictures of Bonnie and her mother could be saved, she saw with relief. Only one corner was ripped on each. “It's okay.”
    “Good. Then whoever did this isn't as clever as I thought. He didn't realize how tearing up the picture might hurt you.” He was at the desk. “I'll check the drawers and see if there's—”
    “Wait! There's a—” It was too late. Logan had already opened the drawer containing the dead rat.
    The rat was gone. The police must have taken it, but the drawer was still brimming with blood.
    He grimaced. “I'm glad I opened this before the cleaning crew did. We might have had some trouble keeping them here.” He pulled out the drawer and carried it over to the door. “I'll get rid of it for you.”
    He hadn't even displayed a flicker of surprise. “You seem to be taking all this in stride.”
    “Remind me to tell you what happened to my office after my first major takeover. At least no one defecated in here. Keep on looking. I'll be right back.”
    There wasn't much else to look through. The books were ripped, the hourglass her mother had bought for her at Six Flags was broken, the base of the pedestal was chopped into two pieces and—
    The pedestal. Mandy.
    Why had Mandy been carried to the other side of the room before being shattered? The strangeness of it had occurred to her before, but she had been too dazed to have it sink home. Everything else about the destruction seemed coldly calculated. What had been the purpose of the skull . . .
    She got to her feet and moved quickly to the other side of the desk. The only object that had been smashed in that particular spot was the computer. And the skull had been brought from the pedestal to be destroyed with it.
    She stared down at the computer and suddenly made the connection. “My God.”
    “I thought you'd get the message once you thought about it.” Logan was standing in the doorway, watching her.
    “You knew it.”
    He nodded. “Once you told me where the skull had been found. He tried to make it clear, didn't he? The Logan computer. The skull. A warning.”
    “Who?”
    “I don't know. Evidently someone doesn't want me to use your services.”
    Her gaze traveled around the room. “And that's what this is all about?”
    “Yes.”
    She looked back at him. “And you weren't going to tell me?”
    “Not