Read Dollar Down for Free Online Page A

call you Mick?"
    I could have used a few shots of tequila, but accepted
the offered wine. Oddsson explained that he was, in one sense,
a househusband and, in another, Sabine's private banker. She
made the income; he invested it. Very shrewdly, by his own
admission. They had amassed considerable wealth, he said. I
believed him.
    "What do you know about Sabine's death?" he
said.
    "Just that it was sudden."
    "There was a gray pallor in her face that implied a
heart attack, but she was in excellent health. She trained hard
and had physical examinations regularly. I know professional
athletes, people who appear in perfect health, die suddenly
from undetected heart conditions, but there's more." Geir
stared at his hands as he spoke. "She was in her study. There
was a disturbance around her. A lamp was tipped over. Items
from her desk were on the floor. I thought she might have tried
to stand. Perhaps grabbed for things as she fell. But the
positions—when I picked up—they didn't look right. I haven't
set a date for the funeral. I've ordered every examination
possible. I want to know exactly what happened."
    He looked up at me.
    "I want your help, Mick."
    I hadn't expected the encounter. Certainly not the
overture. I shook my head. "I'm not the man you're looking for.
If you want to hire an investigator, I can recommend
someone."
    "You're exactly who I'm looking for. When Sabine told
me about you, I had your background checked. Your former
supervisor, Abe Granger, was enthusiastic in his praise of your
professional skill and, more importantly, your integrity."
    Abe had been my commander in Vietnam and my boss
at Global Risk Management. My departure from that agency
hadn't exactly been on friendly terms, but I still respected
him.
    "Sabine told me about the work you did for Trevor
Jones. I also understand that you successfully directed a
politically charged murder investigation in Japan."
    "I had a lot of help with that. I'm used to working in a
team. I thought I could take that experience and apply it to a
one-man operation. Now I'm not so sure. I've gotten nowhere
in locating Trevor."
    "There could be a lot of reasons for Trevor to have
vanished. Do you think it was coincidence that two men broke
into his home the day he disappeared and that the only thing
missing was his computer?"
    A simple burglary was a possibility. After I hit the guy
who went into the study, they might have panicked, grabbed
the easiest thing to sell and run. I shrugged.
    Oddsson dismissed my doubt with a flick of his hand.
"You said you were used to teamwork. Assemble a team. This
flat is valued at more than seven hundred thousand euros. I
intend to sell it. It was Sabine's private lair. What better way to
use part of that money than to find the truth of her death."
    "I had planned to take the first available flight home. I
think that's what I should do. You can find a better investigator
than me, Geir."
    "Perhaps, locally. But, what if the investigation goes
beyond France?"
    "Hire Abe."
    "It isn't just about professional skill. If the medical
tests indicate Sabine's death was not from natural causes, I will
be the first suspect. That's how the minds of policemen work.
There are motives—a cuckold whose jealousy finally consumed
him, a grasping wretch who coveted his wife's share of their
wealth. Another investigator might share those
suspicions."
    Oddsson swirled his wine slowly. "I have neither
jealously nor greed. I believe you know that. Even before you
responded to my question, I knew how you felt about Sabine.
Would you grant me, and her memory, the favor of staying
until the tests are complete? You can decide then whether to go
home or accept my request. If my instincts are correct, the
investigation will be difficult. We'll need more than
competence. We will need the impassioned tenacity, the love,
of an avenging angel, Mick Sanchez." He raised a toast.
    As well as I can remember, no one had ever mistaken
me for an angel, avenging or otherwise.