Free ANGEL'S KISS (A Dark Angel's Novel) by Lynne Stevie Page B

room I saw that her legs were in the far corners.
    I slowly backed away, thinking that I didn’t want to get blood on my booties or disturb the scene. But again, there was no blood.
    I’d seen enough.
    The room spun, and the buzzing in my head increased to an ear-splitting shriek. I was on the verge of either passing out or screaming in pain when my forehead started to itch so ferociously that it hurt. At least the itch brought me back from the agony I was about to fall into.
    The rubber gloves kept me from really scratching hard. However, I still tried to rub away the skin on my forehead. Pushing past Maloran, I left the room and didn’t stop walking until I was outside. I paced on the back patio, breathing deeply. But I felt horrible. My forehead still hurt and itched like a fire burned under my skin. I ripped off the glove and started scratching.
    Her head? I hadn’t seen her head, and there wasn’t any blood. Had they been killed somewhere else? Why were they arranged, what had Philip been writing? My forehead burned and ached; I couldn’t scratch it hard enough.
    Ottie caught up with me first. He must have seen something in my eyes because he stood back and held out his hands. “Whoa, girl. Take it easy. You look like you’re ready to lose it. Remember where you are and what you’re here to do.”
    His voice seeped into me. “Ottie, have you ever seen that…that kind of... I don’t even know what to call it. Is it real? Ottie, tell me, have you ever seen anything like that?” I gripped my own arms for support as I waited for his answer.
    “Yes, darlin’, I’ve seen my fair share of death, but this one even tops the shit I saw working for Uncle Sam. But Lexie,” he said in his deep southern drawl, “you have to get cold, logical; this happened on our watch.” He cocked his head toward the house. “I hear Maloran comin’, so take whatever you got going and shove it down. Deal with it later. You got me?”
    I shook myself like a dog, cleared my throat, took a deep breath, and remembered my mantra: “attitude is everything.” When Maloran got through the door all he heard was me debriefing my employee.
    “Ottie, do we know the time of death yet?”
    Ottie gave me an impressed grin that Maloran couldn’t see and answered the question.
    “No, ma’am, not officially, but I’d venture to guess it happened between three and six this morning. Riley found the bodies around 10:30 when he went to check on the Janecks after he noticed the front door open.”
    I thought the ma’am was a little much, but what can you do? I wondered what had made Riley leave his post and go to the door. “Where’s Riley now?”
    We both turned to face him when Maloran said, “We’re transporting him to the station for questioning.”
    “I’m sure you understand that our lawyer will have to be present.” Shit, I sure hoped that Riley had enough brains to keep his mouth shut until I could get our attorney over to the station. I wondered how he handled seeing that scene, poor guy.
    “Ottie, call Kim. Have her get in touch with Virgil Watson so he can be there when they bring Riley in. As a matter of fact, why don’t you go ahead and take off. I’ll stay here to help Officer Maloran with any information he may need.” Meaning that I’d stay and try to pick up some more tid-bits of information for us, while Ottie reassured Riley that we had his back.
    “Got it,” Ottie said, giving me a salute. Then he headed off.
    Maloran shook his head. “You’re already in enough trouble busting into a crime scene. Do you really want to stay around here and get into more trouble? What, you want to see the bodies again?”
    “Thanks, maybe later.” I swallowed back some acid. That was the last thing I wanted to see again. “But I do have a few questions if you’re willing to answer some,” I said with my own sarcastic smile.
    “No, but I have a few questions for you,” He took out a small note pad and prepared to take down