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windows then behind into the thick shrubbery at their backs.  This place is creepy, she
commented while briskly rubbing her arms through a heavy coat.
Jake tried the door handle and, much to his surprise, found it open. He pushed the
door until it hit something, stopping it. Jake whispered,  Stay behind me Marti. I don t
like the feel of this.
She stepped behind him without argument.
Jake stepped inside a small foyer with open rooms to the right and left and a
staircase leading to the second story directly in front of them. On both sides of the
staircase a small hall led back further into the house. Jake stepped to the right and peered
into a large living room. He found a light switch next to the door and flicked it up. The
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room flooded with soft light from several lamps scattered around the room. Stunned by
how mundane it looked, Jake stared around the room in silence before saying,  It looks
like the home of some middle-class family.
Marti stood on tiptoe and looked into the room over his shoulder.  That s what
makes this place so damned creepy; it s not what it appears to be.
Jake turned and inspected the foyer in greater detail now that a light threw it into
clearer view. It was an average house with a nondescript look; wood and tile, bland
colors and no decorations that made it stand out in any way. He moved to the opposite
room, found the light switch, and turned it on.  The dining room and kitchen. Nothing
special here either, he said, already turning away toward the stairs.
He motioned for Marti to follow and moved down a short hallway on the left of
the stairs. It led to a bathroom and a storage area under the stairs that contained a vacuum
cleaner and broom. The right hall led to a recreation room on the rear side of the house. A
pool table and a bar dominated the room. Everything was in place and clean, as if waiting
for its owners to return.
 Maybe we got the wrong house, Marti said while moving slowly around the
room and peering out into a backyard with a pool and barbecue.  This can t be where
Brian has been staying; it looks like there hasn t been anyone here for awhile.
 There s still the upstairs, Jake responded while moving back down the hall
toward the staircase.
Marti found a light switch at the base of the stairs and turned it on. They moved
confidently up the stairs and onto a small balconied hallway. Two doors faced them and
one at each end faced inward.  This feels familiar somehow, Jake whispered while
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moving toward the left-hand door. He slipped his gun out of its holster, ready to shoot if
necessary. He gripped the door knob and shouted,  Brian, it s Jake. We know you re in
here. Come on out. We want to help. Jake knew he d just broken a cardinal rule of
police procedure; never let the bad guy know where you re at, keep the element of
surprise, and always prepare for the worst.
This is my friend, damn it. I don t want to shoot him. Come on Brian, come out for
God s sake and let s be done with all this, Jake thought while he slowly twisted the knob
until he felt the catch release.
He flung the door open and leaped inside, moving to the side with his gun held up
and moving from side to side. At the same moment, Marti reached her hand around the
doorframe, fumbling for a switch, found one and turned the overhead light on. Jake
blinked, forcing his vision to compensate for the abrupt change as quickly as possible.
 God damn it, Marti, don t do that again. I couldn t see&  Jake stopped and let the
realization sink in, in spite of his mind s unwillingness to accept the evidence of his eyes.
It only took a split second to register what was in front of him and to wish he hadn t
come inside after all. The chief s flaccid body lay on a bare bed, spread-eagled, nude,
with a bloodstained strip of white satin tied in a bow around his neck. The chief's rotund
body was covered with bruises and cuts, as if he'd been in a gang fight and was
outnumbered. His bloodshot eyes bulged, sightlessly staring up at a mirror over the bed.
Marti stepped into the room, stopped and gasped with a hand over her mouth and
her eyes wide with shock. She froze in place, watching Jake approach the body while
putting his gun into a coat pocket. "He was strangled," she choked.
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Jake inspected the man's body without emotion, stepped back and moved toward
Marti while replying, "Yes, and not that long ago either. Rigor hasn't set in yet." He took
her arm and pulled her out of the room. "I want you to go back to the car and lock
yourself in. I'm going to check out the other rooms." He pushed her gently toward the
stairs. "Go, and don't forget to lock the car doors." He watched her move down the stairs
and out the front door before turning to the second bedroom.
This time, Jake turned the knob and slammed the door open while holding his
body tightly against the side of the wall. He listened intently for any sound, rustle,
footstep or indication that a killer lurked inside the room. After several seconds of patient
waiting, Jake crouched down and cautiously moved into the room. Light from the hall
poured through the doorway, making the details in the room easy to see. The room was a
mirror image of the one that contained the chief's body. A big bed, thick carpet and a
mirror on the wall. The only difference Jake could see were two pairs of large, metal
rings embedded into the wall facing the bed. Dark splotches splattered across the yellow
paint on the wall caught his eye. He moved closer and inspected them. "Blood," he
murmured while backing away to take in the entire pattern. "This must be where Amanda
was held. He frowned at the stains on the cuffs hanging loosely down the wall.  This
damned house was used for more than sex," he spat before moving back out into the hall
and toward the third room.
When Jake tried to turn the knob and found it locked, he slipped his gun back out
of the coat pocket he'd kept it in. Eyeing the door with suspicion, he backed up, gathered
himself and lunged against it with his right shoulder, hoping the slash in the left side
wouldn t start bleeding again in the process. The door gave way with a loud crack when
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the doorframe broke under his weight. Jake fell into the room and rolled, coming up on [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]