The Seduction - Art Bourgeau by Art Bourgeau Read Free Book Online Page B

to pose as a cop, happens all the time.
That's often how they get their victims to go with them. But it
usually happens quick. They see their victim, get her in the car and
do it. But we know that Terri was seeing this guy for at least a
month. That much we're sure of from the missing person's
investigation. If he was going to do this why'd he wait a month?
Doesn't sound right."
    "Any ideas?"
    "You asking as a reporter or a friend from our
ball games?"
    "Does it make such a difference?"
    "It does, because now we're getting into
speculation. You're new to this beat. There are some rules. It
wouldn't help if you printed a bunch of speculation. Just get people
stirred up, cause a lot of problems . . ."
    Laura looked at the crowd behind the police line and
understood what he was saying. The angry crowd could turn ugly.
    "A real hot potato, right?"
    "The hottest . . . otherwise why do you think I
can recite chapter and verse from a bunch of missing persons reports?
I've been living with these cases, just waiting for an excuse to wade
in."
    "I'm asking, George, as the worst left fielder
you ever struck out." She even allowed herself a demure smile.
    "All right, all right. I'll try to trust you.
One possibility is the guy might have been trying to impress her. Say
he was a security guard somewhere. They have badges, handcuffs. They
know enough cop lingo to fool a teenager. It wouldn't be hard for him
to pass himself off as a cop. Of course, that's just one possibility
. .
    "Meaning?"
    "Enough with the Lois Lane. I've already told
you too much."
    Laura was looking at the building. "George, take
me inside. I want to see it—"
    "No, you don't. Believe me—you don't."
    "I need to see it, George. How else can I write
about it?"
    Sloan sighed, turned to one of the other detectives.
"Rafferty, let me have your bottle."
    Rafferty reached inside his jacket and handed him a
small bottle that he then offered to Laura. "Here, take this."
    "What is it?"
    "Men's cologne. When we get inside it's going to
smell real bad. Hold this under your nose and sniff. It'll help. A
little."
    As he turned to lead her in she suddenly wasn't so
gung-ho. What the hell was she doing? Her beat was rock stars and art
shows and openings . . . not rape and murder. Well, she'd complained
long and sometimes loud to her boss that she was tired of that stuff.
So suck it in, girl, fish or cut bait, and whatever other awful mixed
metaphor you can think of . . .Sloan looked over his shoulder. She
swallowed hard and followed him as he led her away from the
cul-de-sac and around the building.
    "Wait, I thought it happened back there,"
she said, pointing toward the cul-de-sac.
    "It did, but I'm giving you the tour to give you
the feel of the place. Atmosphere for your piece." He obviously
wasn't enjoying this, even resented what he was doing, although he'd
always liked her personally. They paused at the door long enough for
him to say, "Whatever you do, don 't touch anything. The
finger-print man can't do the place till they remove the body—"
    And then she wasn't hearing anything. The smell
overwhelmed her other senses. She would never be able to forget it,
never be able to describe it, either. The death smell of a young girl
. , . it seemed to coat her from head to toe like a second skin.
Sloan took out his bottle of cologne, used his handkerchief to cover
his nose and mouth while he sniffed it. Laura, watching, quickly did
the same. The rooms of the old depot they passed through were still
filled with furniture: old-fashioned oversize desks, wooden swivel
chairs, filing cabinets and a freight scale. Papers were still strewn
on the desktops, and the wire in/out baskets were still full. Only
the thick layer of dust, grime and cobwebs showed they were not in
some sort of time warp where everyone was out to lunch.
    The door and window to the freight room were both
still open for maximum ventilation, but by the time they got to it
the smell was overpowering, even with the