Free The Cursed by Heather Graham Page B

outside and walked half a block toward Duval, then turned around and retraced his steps. He tried to envision what had happened—and where.
    He moved slowly, checking for signs of blood on both the sidewalk and the grass.
    He knew he wasn’t going to find anything like the kind of high velocity spatter a bullet created. According to Dirk, Rodriguez’s jugular had been nicked, leading to a fatal loss of blood.
    But Rodriguez had cut his attacker, as well.
    He gave up searching for blood drops and walked through the yard. If Rodriguez had crashed through the hedge, he should be able to see where.
    The door to the house opened, and Hannah came out. He paused. He should thank her. She had gotten him the clearance he needed to examine Holloway’s property without a warrant. If there was evidence he had to find it now, and getting a warrant would take time.
    “Here’s my theory. I think he came from the street...that way,” she said, and pointed to the right. She wasn’t looking at him as she approached. “He heard his attacker coming up behind him. He was with a group of new...friends, but they took off when he was attacked from behind. He got away and ended up here. Somewhere along the way he drew his knife and fought back, managing to slice his attacker, which gave him time to get away. He gripped his throat and staggered through the hedge and into my yard.”
    Hannah walked to what had to be the exact spot where the dying man had gone through the hedge. As he followed her, Dallas could see the trail.
    “Here,” she said softly, coming to a stop by a lounge chair near the pool. “Here’s where he scared Shelly and Stuart half to death. But he must have heard the killer coming, so he staggered out to the alley. He needed to lure the killer away. But I think the killer saw where he went and never even came through my yard, so Shelly and Stuart never saw him.”
    Dallas stared at her. She didn’t appear to be in a trance, hadn’t claimed to be a psychic, but somehow she seemed to know exactly what had happened.
    Of course, any good detective would have figured out the course of events; the evidence was clear.
    She wasn’t a detective, yet she had homed in so exactly on the truth....
    She walked from the pool through the yard, her footsteps faltering. She wasn’t staggering the way a dying man might have done, she was just following the path Dallas knew he had taken.
    Dallas followed her out to the alley. She stopped just outside the crime scene tape.
    She met his eyes at last.
    Dallas was very still, watching her.
    “Anyone would think you’d been with Agent Rodriguez.”
    “It’s just...apparent.”
    “Apparent, yes. But...”
    “But?” she asked.
    “It’s as if you know something,” he said.
    She flushed. “Are you accusing me of—?”
    “I’m not accusing you of anything,” he said. “Let’s go inside.”
    “The house? The killer was nowhere near the house.”
    “I want to rent a room,” he told her.
    “What?”
    “You operate a bed-and-breakfast, right?”
    “You have a home here. You work here,” she said.
    “I want to rent a room.”
    It was obvious she didn’t want him staying in her house.
    “My cousin is coming soon, maybe as early as tomorrow. I’m not sure how many people are coming with her, but they’ll probably need all my rooms.”
    “Not a problem. I only need a room for tonight,” he said.
    “Why?” she asked him.
    “Do you have a guard dog?” he asked.
    “A guard dog? No.”
    “Do you have an alarm system?”
    “Oh, please. Didn’t you listen to me? Jose led the killer away. There’s no reason for him to come here looking for me or anyone else.”
    He turned and walked back through her yard, then waited at the rear door. She followed him, still confused and a little belligerent. “I don’t understand—”
    “You were thinking about calling people you’d turned away to see if anyone still needed a room, so I know you have space. How do you work things? Do