Read Online Shallow Graves by Jeremiah Healy - Free Book Online Page A

tried hard, but something made the corners of his mouth twitch just a little.
    “You remember where you were a week ago Friday, George?“
    “Well, let me see now…“ The eyebrows knitted, giving the impression he hadn’t thought about it until I’d just asked.
    The brows cleared. “Yes. Yes, I went to an ad party after work. Just an hors d’oeuvres and cocktails sort of bash, but enough dinner for me. Then I made the rounds of a few bars I know. Then I decided to call it a night and headed home.“
    “When did you leave the party?“
    “I don’t know. It was winding down.“
    “Six, seven?“
    “More like seven.“
    “And did you go drinking with someone?“
    “My friend, I talk all day with people. I like to do my drink ing anonymously. An atom in the mass society.“
    “Which bars did you hit?“
    He named three, all of them madhouses on a Friday evening. An uncheckable alibi.
    “And after the bars?“
    “As I said. Home to Brookline .“
    “Your partner told me—“
    “My what?“
    “Erica.“
    “Oh. Yes?“
    “Erica said some of the models confided in you two. Mau Tim ever do that?“
    Yulin turned it over. “No. No, she was really... well, quiet, as I said before.“
    “You ever visit her apartment?“
    “Never.“
    “Okay. You said Larry Shinkawa was her current boyfriend?“
    “Right.“
    “And Oz Puriefoy before that?“
    “Right, right.“
    “You know of any other boyfriends?“
    Yulin preened his hair again. “No.“
    “She never mentioned anybody else to you?“
    “No. As I said, she was real—oh, wait a minute. Yes. Yes, one other. Shawn somebody. She said he was her first.“
    “Her first?“
    Yulin brought out another knowing grin, affecting a bad brogue. “He who managed to deflower the lass.“
    “Do you know if it was S-H-A-W-N or S-E-A-N?“
    “Beats me. Probably just some Irish kid.“
    I gave Yulin a longer look this time.
    He said, “Uh, no offense meant.“
    “None taken.“
    Yulin licked his lips anyway.
    I said, “Erica seemed to think that Sinead Fagan might know more.“
    “Ah, the Marquesa of Medford .“
    Medford is a blue-collar town just outside Boston . Yulin pronounced the name like somebody growing up there would, Meh-fah. He seemed to like doing dialects.
    “Remember what I said about unappreciative bitches, John?“
    “Yes.“
    “A prime example. Though, with apologies to the ladies of the night, if Sinead weren’t being paid for it, she’d probably still pose for free.“
    “Why is that?“
    A shrug. “The glamour and the... bright lights?“ Yulin smiled at his industry joke.
    “You have a home number for Sinead?“
    “Yes, but I’m not sure she’s still living at the same place.“
    “Where Mau Tim was killed, you mean?“
    “Right. I think she’s moved in with Oz.“
    “Puriefoy’s dating her, too?“
    “No. He’s dating her currently, though ‘dating’ might be an awfully chivalrous way to put it.“
    “Do models usually get involved with their photographers?“
    “Some. However, in Sinead’s case, it might just be that Oz is the first man she’s known who hasn’t thrown up on her.“
    “There any way I can see her today?“
    “I doubt it. She’s on a longish shoot.“
    “Where?“
    “Nearby. But it’s not a great idea to interrupt a model on a job.“
    I folded my pad. “The sooner I see her, the sooner Empire can decide whether you get paid on the policy.“
    George Yulin mulled that over for all of five seconds. Then he jotted an address on a slip of white paper while saying, “You might just catch her.“

- 7 -

    The music was so loud I could feel it in my chest.
    There had been no one in the waiting area of the photography studio a few blocks from Lindqvist/Yulin, and I could hear a driving beat from behind a closed, inner door. I opened the door and was hit by a rap-reggae hybrid from four floor speakers that topped off above my waist.
    On the far side of the thirty-by-thirty room were four people. The