Читать книгу Deadly Tide - Sandy Curtis - Страница 4

Chayse Jarrett looked down at the body sprawled across the satin sheets.

Soft blonde hair.

Light, almost translucent blue eyes.

No lipstick coloured the well-defined lips, no make-up enhanced the delicate complexion, her beauty spoiled only by an abrasion on the side of her jaw.

His gaze followed the slender curve of her neck and narrow shoulders; lingered on the almost pubescent breasts with their slight swelling and pale pink areola.

He didn't want to look any further. Didn't want to re-live the horror that had shot through him only a short time ago.

'This the one?' The hefty sergeant from Homicide looked at Chayse, probing eyes seeing more than they revealed.

Chayse nodded. 'Yes,' his voice a bare whisper, the sound almost absorbed by the room's plush furnishings.

He forced his gaze slowly down, across the lightly fleshed ribs, to where the slash started. The knife had cut through the skin, the thin layer of fat, penetrated the bowel, and ripped through the folds of small intestine, spilling their contents to mingle with the red blood lying sticky on the white skin.

The pubic bone had stopped the knife's downward thrust, but only briefly. Twice more the blade had slashed, creating ribbons of flesh and destroying what little innocence may have remained.

Pain and guilt shafted through Chayse, and he closed his eyes for a second. Then he refocussed, concentrated on the girl's right hand still clutching strands of black hair.

Clumping and shuffling of shoes in the hallway spun him around. Two uniformed officers were struggling with a tall, voluptuous woman who was trying to use her feet and teeth as weapons.

'Look what we found hiding upstairs, Sarge,' the older officer called out.

The woman's struggles ceased as she saw Chayse. Her mouth curled, a red gash that matched her hair and turned a passably pretty face into an ugly caricature. Her eyes, filled with hatred, bore into Chayse.

She spat towards the mutilated body. 'Won't do much for you now, will she!'