Read Mystery for Free Online

her.”
    “That’s crazy,” she said. “How’d you figure out it was her?”
    “Milo came by this morning, showed me crime scene photos.”
    “How’d she die?”
    “Shot.”
    “Where?”
    “That’s important?”
    “You know me, baby. I code the world visually.”
    Exactly .
    I said, “In her face.”
    She flinched. “How vicious. Such a beautiful face. And now you’re on it?”
    “Mostly I’ve been tagging along.”
    “Sure, I’ll draw, but I don’t know if I can come up with anything good. If I don’t, I’ll sit down with a real artist.”
    “I could do that.”
    “So can I,” she said. “I’d like to do something.” Leaning on her bench. “Poor, poor thing. It’s like we were predestined to be there, Alex.”
    I put my arm around her.
    She said, “Whenever they want me, let me know.”
    “Okay.”
    I kissed her.
    She said, “You didn’t tell me earlier because …”
    “I needed to digest it, myself.”
    “Sure. That explains it.”
    “I—”
    “I love you, too, baby.” She walked to her drafting table. “I’m going to give it a try, right now.”
    Four attempts were crumpled. Examining the fifth, she said, “This’ll have to do.”
    Spare but accurate likenesses of the girl in white and the man in black. More than enough for the evening news.
    I said, “A-plus.”
    “More like C-minus. It’s just lines and shadows, I didn’t capture a whit of their personalities.”
    “I’m not sure we saw her real personality, Rob.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “When’s the last time you saw someone use a cigarette holder? It felt like she was playing a role.”
    She climbed off her stool. “That was high drama, wasn’t it?” She studied the drawing some more, brushed a curl of eraser lint from the girl’s mouth. “I’m not happy with these. They’re missing something.”
    “I’m sure Milo will be happy.”
    “Let me sit down with a real artist and work on it until it’s perfect, Alex. I’ve got a few people I can call. Ask Milo if it’s okay to bring in a civilian.”
    As opposed to us .
    She frowned at the drawing of the man. Lifted the drawing of the girl. “Playing dress-up for some bastard who keeps her waiting then ends up doing that .”
    “Or he stood her up and she met someone else. At this point, anything’s possible.”
    “I knew there was something off about him.” Jabbing the drawing on the table. “He looked so hostile. If he was a real Secret Service guy doing an actual job, you could understand that. You’d want that. But being part of some sick drama? Creepy, definitely creepy. If Milo’s okay with it, I’ll call Nigel Brooks, see if he’ll help with some real drawing. Better yet, Sam Ansbach, portraiture’s his thing, he’s just back from a show in New York.”
    Frowning. “On the other hand, Sam’s not exactly a law enforcement fan, what with that restraining order his ex foisted on him, stupid mixup put him in jail for three days. So Nigel, first.”
    She phoned Brooks’s Venice studio. Out of town for a month.
    “I’ll try Sam, worst he can do is say no.”
    “Maybe we don’t need a civilian,” I said. “Petra Connor used to be a professional artist.”
    “Good point, I’ve seen her work, she’s good. Fine, arrange it, and I’ll head over to Hollywood. Once Milo gets both their faces on the news, maybe he can solve this quickly.”
    Milo was still at his desk. “Great, hold tight.”
    Minutes later: “Petra’s in Atlanta for a conference but she told me there’s a new Hollenbeck guy named Shimoff—a fellow Alexander—did some training at Otis before joining the department. Is Robin up for it if he’s available today?”
    “Raring to go.”
    “So she took it okay.”
    “She’s a tough girl,” I said. “No progress with the security firms?”
    “No one owns up to a Fauborg gig. Jernigan called from the coroner’s just before you did. Our princess was a natural brunette who enhanced herself with dye. No sign of