Read Online Senseless by Mary Burton - Free Book Online Page A

her.
    She took her ginger ale into the shower, setting it on a small tiled shelf before she turned on the hot spray. Closing her eyes, she dunked her head under the hot water, letting it wash over her pale skin. She lingered under the hot spray as long as she could before shutting off the tap and grabbing a towel. She dried her slim body and rubbed the terry cloth over her shoulder-length blond hair. Mascara added definition around her pale blue eyes and a little blush provided color to her cheeks. She chose a silk blouse and a dark pants suit and sensible flat shoes. A slim, gold crucifix dangled around her neck.
    She grabbed her purse and briefcase and headed out the front door and hurried to her car. She slid behind the driver’s seat. As she backed out of the parking space, her cell rang. Caller ID told her it was the office.
    She flipped open the phone. “Angie Carlson.”
    “Doll, it’s Iris.” Iris Stanford ran the offices of Wellington and James. A paralegal/administrator/mom, she kept the firm’s three attorneys organized. Right now the two firm’s named partners, Charlotte Wellington and Siena James, were out of town. Just Angie was holding down the fort so she’d stayed tethered to her phone. “You got a call from your on-again, off-again client, Lenny Danvers. He’s been arrested again. He’s made bail but wants to see you. ”
    She checked her watch. Lenny knew all the bail bondsmen that worked all night. “He always wants to see me.” Another tarnished penny. Thief, drug addict, manipulator.
    “He says it’s important.”
    “It’s always important.” She checked her watch. “Does he want me to defend him?”
    “He didn’t say anything about defense. He says he’s got information on an active murder investigation.”
    “That’s a new twist.” Two months ago he’d faked a heart attack to delay his testimony. Another time he’d had a breathing spasm. “Since he’s not requesting my counsel, let him stew. I’ve got other things to do.”
    “Whatever you say, doll. ”
    Garrison and Malcolm had been at the crime scene for the better part of the night. They had interviewed all of the shelter survivors and released them from the scene so that a city bus could transport them to another facility.
    Malcolm rubbed the back of his neck as the bus drove away with the shelter residents. “No one else other than Ace saw the man with the bottle of flames.”
    Garrison had hoped for corroboration of Ace’s account. “It’s disappointing.”
    As the night had waned, Ace’s memory had drifted and he had a harder and harder time with the details. And a search of all the surrounding homes had not produced a camera. No “eyes” watched the shelter.
    Garrison slid his hands into his pockets, staring at cold embers of the halfway house. “According to Macy, the fire’s point of origin was the front door. She found traces of accelerant, which was likely gasoline. That’s consistent with Ace’s story.”
    Malcolm shrugged. “Low tech but effective.”
    Forensics had sealed as much of the backyard as they could and swept it for any evidence. They’d photographed the area, sketched it and bagged several things—plastic food wrappers, a half-eaten apple and dozens of cigarette butts. But as Garrison replayed the scene of the body and how it had been so carefully laid in the yard, he doubted this killer had been careless enough to leave behind DNA evidence. It took time and planning to kidnap a woman and hold her for several days. “The medical examiner called about our Jane Doe?”
    “About a half hour ago. A branding iron likely burned the star shapes into the victim’s skin. She’s running a toxicology screen for drugs, but results will take days or weeks. Jane Doe had no track marks. Teeth were good, suggesting access to dental care. Recent breast implants and a nose job.”
    “Prints shown up yet?”
    “Not yet. But if we don’t have a match she said she could check the implants for