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before. She led us to believe Trish s drug problems came about because of the bad influence of some
new friends. Maybe those new friends weren t the only ones responsible.
I grab a piece of paper from a pad on Mom s desk and scribble a hasty note. I don t tell her where I m
going, just that I ll be back before noon.
I think it s time Carolyn and I have a private chat.
Chapter Nine
Carolynand Trish live in one of the few less-than-prosperous areas of prosperousLa Mesa , about three
miles from the school. The neighborhood is low-income, and the address is an apartment building hidden
behind a screen of scruffy junipers. The asphalt in the parking lot is cracked and buckled. Only two
vehicles occupy spaces, a battered Volkswagen and a rusted Chevy sitting on blocks. Neither one looks
capable of going anywhere. I pick my way around bottles and cans littering the walkway to a  security
gate that hangs open on broken hinges. Beyond it is a pool littered with decayed leaves that smell as if
they ve been there since last fall. The place has the forlorn feeling of neglect.
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I know nurses are underpaid, but I can t believe this is the best Carolyn can afford.
I enter through a courtyard strewn with plastic pool chairs yellow with age. I maneuver around them and
make my way to a row of mailboxes attached to the wall under a portico of crumbling stucco. Carolyn
hadn t given us the apartment number. In fact, she hadn t mentioned that she lived in an apartment at all.
But I find the name Delaney under a handwritten slot with  2A printed in a thick-tipped black marker.
There are stairs with rusty banisters on either side of the courtyard, but no indication which apartments
are to the right or left. I choose left and start up.
I m rounding the top of the staircase when a door opens and a man with a broad back and stocky
shoulders backs out of a doorway and right into me. He slams the door and then turns with a glare.
I m not sure which of us gets the bigger shock.
It s No-neck fromBeso de laMuerte .
The glare disappears. Like a puppy given an unexpected treat, he wriggles with delight.  Wow, what are
you doing here? Did you come to see me?
But I m looking past him to the door.  2A. I narrow my eyes and frown.  Not in your wildest dreams.
Do you live here?
He grins.  Me?Nah. I m just here collecting rent for the guy who owns this building. Broad inside was
late paying up.
 Then why would you think I d be here looking for you, Einstein?
 Don t have to be a smartass, he whines. But the grin changes to a leer and he gives his crotch a tug.
 Sure you don t want a taste? I have plenty left-and you kind of cheated me before.
I don t know what makes me angrier. The implication that part of the  rent he collected from Carolyn
was sex or that I owed him something of the same. I grab him by the scruff of the neck and throw him
against the wall.  Does Carolyn know what you do inMexico ?
He tries to pull away, the same stupid smirk on his face.  Come on. What difference does that make?
Sex is sex. I just like the added thrill of doing it with vamps. You re the first one who wouldn t spread
her legs-
Before he gets another word out, I have him upended over the balcony. I know it s not the smartest
thing I could have done. What if someone catches me dangling a two-hundred pound gorilla by one ankle
over a balcony? But sometimes you have to give in to base impulses.
And I now have his full attention.
The smirk is gone. The kid is white with fear, so scared he can t speak. I yank him back up and again
slam him against the wall.Hard.  Does she know aboutMexico ? I ask again.
He swallows, Adam s apple dancing as he tries to find his voice.  Yes. She thinks it s cool.
 Does she know about me?
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 How could she? I didn t know who you were. I still don t.
I let my fingers find his windpipe and squeeze ever so gently.  And we ll keep it that way, won t we?
He gives a shaky little nod, but I m not convinced. I exert a little more pressure.  You won t mention
seeing me here. In fact, you won t come back here.Ever. If you do, I ll find you. I can do it. Trust me, it
won t be hard. Do you understand?
It s amazing how being strangled clarifies thinking, even in the densest individual. He blinks his eyes in
rapid-fire succession. At the moment it s all he can do, I ve cut off his air supply.
I release my hold and he falls to his knees, clutching his throat and coughing.
 I take that as a  yes. Now get out of here.
The dancing puppy has turned into a whipped mongrel and he slinks down the stairs. I watch him go, but [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]