Read Online Point of Origin by Patricia Cornwell - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Patricia Cornwell
Tags: Fiction, General, Thrillers, Mystery & Detective, Women Sleuths, Legal Stories, Mystery Fiction, Women Detectives, Scarpetta; Kay (Fictitious character), Women physicians, Forensic pathologists, Virginia, Medical examiners (Law), Medical novels
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he said as he opened the door. 'Meaning yours truly here is stuck on this case like a fly on a pest strip. And that goes for the two of you. Shit.'
He got out his lighter, the cigarette moving with his lips.
'The last thing I feel like doing right now. You know how many people that asshole's probably got in his pocket?' Marino would not stop. 'Judges, sheriffs, fire marshals . . .'
'Marino,' I interrupted him because he was making everything worse. 'You're jumping to conclusions. In fact, you're jumping to Mars.'
He pointed his unlit cigarette at me. 'Just wait,' he said on his way out. 'Everywhere you turn on this one, you're going to run into a briar patch.'
'I'm used to it,' I said.
'You just think you are.'
He shut the door too hard.
'Hey, don't wreck the joint,' Lucy called out after him.
'Are you going to work on that laptop all night?' I asked her.
'Not all night.'
'It's getting late, and there's something you and I need to discuss,' I said, and Carrie Grethen was back in my mind.
'What if I told you I don't feel like it?' Lucy wasn't kidding.
'It wouldn't matter,' I replied. 'We have to talk.'
'You know, Aunt Kay, if you're going to start in on Teun and Philly . . .'
'What?' I said, baffled. 'What does Teun have to do with anything?'
'I can tell you don't like her.'
'That's utterly ridiculous.'
'I can see through you,' she went on.
'I have nothing against Teun, and she is not relevant to this conversation.'
My niece got silent. She began taking off her boots.
'Lucy, I got a letter from Carrie.'
I waited to see a response and was rewarded with none.
'It's a bizarre note. Threatening, harassing, from Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center in New York.'
I paused again as Lucy dropped a boot to the shag carpeting.
'She's basically making sure we know that she intends to cause a lot of trouble during her trial,' I explained. 'Not that this should come as any great surprise. But, well, I . . .' I stumbled as she tugged off wet socks and massaged her pale feet. 'We just need to be prepared, that's all.'
Lucy unbuckled her belt and unzipped her pants as if she had not heard a word I'd said. She pulled her filthy shirt over her head and threw it on the floor, stripping down to sports bra and cotton panties. She stalked toward the bathroom, her body beautiful and fluid, and I sat staring after her, stunned, until I heard water run.
It was as if I had never really noticed her full lips and breasts and her arms and legs curved and strong like a hunter's bow. Or maybe I simply had refused to see her as someone apart from me and sexual, because I chose not to understand her or the way she lived. I felt shamed and confused, when for an electric instant, I envisioned her as Carrie's supple, hungry lover. It did not seem so foreign that a woman would want to touch my niece.
Lucy took her time in the shower, and I knew this was deliberate because of the discussion we were about to have. She was thinking. I suspected she was furious. I anticipated she would vent her rage on me. But when she emerged a little later, she was wearing a Philadelphia fire marshal T-shirt that did nothing but darken my mood. She was cool and smelled like lemons.
'Not that it's any of my business,' I said, staring at the logo on her chest.
'Teun gave it to me,' she answered.
'Ah.'
'And you're right, Aunt Kay, it's none of your business.'
'I just wonder why you don't learn . . .' I started in as my own temper flared.
'Learn?'
She feigned a clueless expression that was meant to irritate, eliminate, and make one feel vapid.
'About sleeping with people you work with.'
My emotions hurled down their own treacherous track. I was being unfair, jumping to conclusions with little evidence. But I was scared for Lucy in every way imaginable.
'Someone gives me a T-shirt and suddenly I'm sleeping with this person? Hmmm. Quite a deduction, Dr Scarpetta,' Lucy said with gathering fury. 'And by the way, you're one to talk about sleeping with
He got out his lighter, the cigarette moving with his lips.
'The last thing I feel like doing right now. You know how many people that asshole's probably got in his pocket?' Marino would not stop. 'Judges, sheriffs, fire marshals . . .'
'Marino,' I interrupted him because he was making everything worse. 'You're jumping to conclusions. In fact, you're jumping to Mars.'
He pointed his unlit cigarette at me. 'Just wait,' he said on his way out. 'Everywhere you turn on this one, you're going to run into a briar patch.'
'I'm used to it,' I said.
'You just think you are.'
He shut the door too hard.
'Hey, don't wreck the joint,' Lucy called out after him.
'Are you going to work on that laptop all night?' I asked her.
'Not all night.'
'It's getting late, and there's something you and I need to discuss,' I said, and Carrie Grethen was back in my mind.
'What if I told you I don't feel like it?' Lucy wasn't kidding.
'It wouldn't matter,' I replied. 'We have to talk.'
'You know, Aunt Kay, if you're going to start in on Teun and Philly . . .'
'What?' I said, baffled. 'What does Teun have to do with anything?'
'I can tell you don't like her.'
'That's utterly ridiculous.'
'I can see through you,' she went on.
'I have nothing against Teun, and she is not relevant to this conversation.'
My niece got silent. She began taking off her boots.
'Lucy, I got a letter from Carrie.'
I waited to see a response and was rewarded with none.
'It's a bizarre note. Threatening, harassing, from Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center in New York.'
I paused again as Lucy dropped a boot to the shag carpeting.
'She's basically making sure we know that she intends to cause a lot of trouble during her trial,' I explained. 'Not that this should come as any great surprise. But, well, I . . .' I stumbled as she tugged off wet socks and massaged her pale feet. 'We just need to be prepared, that's all.'
Lucy unbuckled her belt and unzipped her pants as if she had not heard a word I'd said. She pulled her filthy shirt over her head and threw it on the floor, stripping down to sports bra and cotton panties. She stalked toward the bathroom, her body beautiful and fluid, and I sat staring after her, stunned, until I heard water run.
It was as if I had never really noticed her full lips and breasts and her arms and legs curved and strong like a hunter's bow. Or maybe I simply had refused to see her as someone apart from me and sexual, because I chose not to understand her or the way she lived. I felt shamed and confused, when for an electric instant, I envisioned her as Carrie's supple, hungry lover. It did not seem so foreign that a woman would want to touch my niece.
Lucy took her time in the shower, and I knew this was deliberate because of the discussion we were about to have. She was thinking. I suspected she was furious. I anticipated she would vent her rage on me. But when she emerged a little later, she was wearing a Philadelphia fire marshal T-shirt that did nothing but darken my mood. She was cool and smelled like lemons.
'Not that it's any of my business,' I said, staring at the logo on her chest.
'Teun gave it to me,' she answered.
'Ah.'
'And you're right, Aunt Kay, it's none of your business.'
'I just wonder why you don't learn . . .' I started in as my own temper flared.
'Learn?'
She feigned a clueless expression that was meant to irritate, eliminate, and make one feel vapid.
'About sleeping with people you work with.'
My emotions hurled down their own treacherous track. I was being unfair, jumping to conclusions with little evidence. But I was scared for Lucy in every way imaginable.
'Someone gives me a T-shirt and suddenly I'm sleeping with this person? Hmmm. Quite a deduction, Dr Scarpetta,' Lucy said with gathering fury. 'And by the way, you're one to talk about sleeping with
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