Read Online Love and Fear by Reed Farrel Coleman - Free Book Online Page B

or killed for your boss, Tony? And if Bella ever found out you were her real dad, do you think that would change anything?”
    Tony opened his mouth to say something. No words came out. Even he knew it was pointless to argue. Gulliver was right. They rode the rest of the way in silence.

EIGHTEEN
    The last known address for Igor Telenovich was in the incorporated village of Manorhaven. Manorhaven was the poor relation of Port Washington, an upper-middle-class area on the north shore of Long Island. And directly north of Manorhaven was the ritzy area of Sands Point. Many people believed Sands Point was the model for East Egg in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby . But no one in Ahmed Foster’s Escalade was thinking about Gatsby’s mansion, his wild parties or the green light on Daisy’s dock. They were thinking of Bella.
    Telenovich’s rented house was a drab-looking split-level ranch on a side street off Cambridge Avenue. Gulliver shook his head at the sight of it. He had seen some of Telenovich’s work. He liked it. He liked it a lot. The figures in his realistic paintings seemed alive, almost as if they were breathing. As if they could walk off the canvas. Yet he lived here in such a dull house. Lifeless. Boring. It was like the cobbler whose kids went barefoot. Or the contractor whose house was the most rundown on the block.
    The plan was for Gulliver to knock on the door and distract Telenovich. And if there was one thing Gulliver Dowd could do without even trying, it was to distract. His height. His misshapen body. They were enough to draw people’s attention. But it was his handsome face that really did the trick. People were stunned and often speechless at the contradiction of him. It was why people pitied him so. How many times in his life had people said cruel things about the waste of such a handsome face on such a useless body? He had stopped counting. And if his appearance wasn’t distracting enough, there was always his gun.
    Gulliver hobbled out of the SUV and made his way toward the front door. He looked to his left and right to make sure Ahmed and Tony were in place at the sides of the house. The front of the house was dark, but there was an old VW Bug in the driveway. Old VW s had their engines in the rear. Gulliver touched the back hood. It was warm. That meant the car had been used recently, and Telenovich was likely home.
    Everything was going smoothly, though it might have been better if the artist wasn’t home. Gulliver wasn’t against breaking into a house if it meant finding a missing kid or saving a life. That was another reason he hadn’t called the cops. As he knocked, he got a weird feeling. Since he’d been at Happy Meal’s house, Gulliver had been sure it was Telenovich who had Bella. But now, as he stood waiting for the artist to answer the door, Gulliver was no longer 100 percent sure. When the door pulled back, that weird feeling got even stronger.
    Telenovich’s eyes widened at the sight of Gulliver Dowd. “Can I help you?” the artist asked. He had a slight accent and a polite manner.
    “I think so,” Gulliver said. “My name is Gulliver Dowd, and I’m here about Bella.”
    Although Telenovich smiled, it was a sad smile. His whole body sagged. Gulliver knew defeat when he saw it.
    “Please, come in, Mr. Dowd.” Telenovich waved for Gulliver to enter.
    They settled into a comfortable den. The walls were covered with paintings and drawings. Many of them were by Bella Vespucci. Telenovich’s eyes followed Gulliver’s gaze.
    “Yes, Mr. Dowd. I purchased all of these from her when I knew her only as Bellartgirl. She could be great.”
    “I know you think that. I’ve read your messages to her.”
    Telenovich shook his head and smiled that sad smile. “What a foolish old man I am, no? I was an idiot. When she stopped writing me back to me, I realized I had driven her away. I have felt such shame since.”
    “You don’t have her, do you?” Gulliver asked.
    The