A Killing Sky Read Online Free

you?”
    “I pretty much agree with Wright, but I don't think it'll do much good. Dad's always been more married to his work than he ever was to Mom.”
    “You've been through a scandal and a divorce,” I said. “Why would Wright care now whether or not your father tries to stay in politics?”
    “I don't know. I just think it's weird.”
    I thought it over. “It seems more likely, from what you've told me, that your sister's boyfriend may be involved. If—and it's still a big if—it turns out she's really missing, that is—”
    “She's gone, I'm telling you. She would've called me.
    “Tell me more about this boyfriend. What's his full name?”
    “Jed Haynes.”
    I took out my notepad and wrote it down. “You said he's a swimmer on the university team. What year?”
    “He's a third-year, and he's very good at swimming, like nationally ranked or something.”
    “How long have he and your sister been dating?”
    “About six months. Since we all came back to school in September. She met him at a party. They saw a lot of each other until we left for Japan in January.”
    “They been sleeping together?”
    The question seemed to catch her off guard. Her eyes cut away from me again, and her hand came up to scratch at her ear. “Some,” she said. “I guess.”
    “Jed belong to a fraternity?”
    “No. I don't think so.”
    “Where does he live?”
    “He shares a house with a bunch of other guys. I can give you the address.”
    “Okay. You said you talked with him earlier and he thought you were making up an excuse for Cartwright. Did he seem agitated?”
    “Jed's always agitated.”
    “Sounds like a potential world leader. Do you have any idea where he might be in the next couple of hours?”
    She shrugged. “Class, maybe? No—wait. I know he has swim practice around four. I remember Wright telling me, because she said if she couldn't catch up with him last night, she'd have to try to go see him then.”
    “All right. I'll go pay a visit to Mr. Haynes. Odds are, I'll find he's just playing coy with you for some reason. Probably secretly shacking up with your sister.”
    “Cartwright wouldn't do that, Mr. Pavlicek. Not without calling. I'm telling you.”
    Maybe it was true. The twins could've possessed a bond, the extent of which only they could understand. What must it be like to know another so intimately, to be linked, in some ethereal way, from as far back as the womb? I thought of Nicole again and wondered what it would have been like if she had had a sister.
    Cassidy must have caught something in my eyes because she said, “Is something wrong?”
    “No,” I said. “I was just thinking how you remind me of my daughter.”
    “Oh. You mentioned her earlier. Does she live with you? Marcia said you were divorced.”
    “Nicky's mother had some problems, so Nicky lived with me while she finished high school. She's at the university too, now, a first-year, so I guess you and she have something in common.”
    “That's great. She know what she wants to study?”
    “Not yet—not exactly.”
    Nicole had been making a lot of noise lately about joining me in my PI business. I had better things in mind for her, however. No way was I going to let her end up chasing down reluctant witnesses over insurance claims like her old man. I was trying to nudge her toward English or history, maybe even something practical like computer science. Private investigation was an occupation I supposed few university students aspired to, so I let it drop.
    “What if Jed Haynes tries to tell you the same story he told me? What if you can't find out anything?”
    “Well,” I said, “there's always these.” I'd brought the copies of the articles she had sent me. I pulled them out of my pocket, unfolded them, and laid them on the table.
    “Do you think they have something to do with Wright disappearing?”
    “You tell me. Ever hear of these people before?” I skimmed through the article again. “George and Norma