The Grudge Read Online Free

can hold up to ten or twelve. Then of course there are the two hundred or so employees who live on-site.”
    “Wow, that’s a lot.” Mac pulled a chair up to one of the microscopes. “Are all of your employees single? I mean, it must be hard to raise a family in such an isolated place.”
    “No, we have families living here. It’s isolated, but to be honest that’s what attracts a lot of our families. They want their kids to grow up without all the negative distractions that are found in the cities.”
    “What about school?” Alyson asked.
    “We have our own school. Well, at least until seventh grade. After that some kids are homeschooled, and some go to boarding school in Calgary or Vancouver, which is what I do. Some families relocate at that point.”
    “Is it hard to leave your family and go away to school?” Mac wondered. “As big of a pain in the butt as my family sometimes is, I think I’d miss them if I didn’t see them for weeks at a time.”
    “It’s okay. It was hard at first, but I have good friends at school, and I’m home all summer and on school holidays. I do miss my dad sometimes, and my Aunt Ronnie.”
    “And your mom?” Mac asked.
    “She left when I was four. I see her occasionally. She lives in France with her fourth husband. He’s only eight years older than I am.”
    “Eight years? Really? Is that weird? I mean for you. How’d they meet?” Alyson asked.
    Andi shrugged. “He’s twenty-four, she’s thirty-six. He’s a photographer and my mom is a model. They met on a shoot. From what I hear, it was love at first sight. He’s a nice enough guy, certainly better than husband number three, who was a sixty-four-year-old lawyer with the disposition of a feral cat. But sometimes the age thing is strange. I mean, I’m closer to this guy’s age than my mom is. And he’s a total babe. It’s hard to think of him as ‘Daddy.’”
    “I see your point.” Mac used an eyedropper to apply a solution to the sample. “The whole situation must be really hard on you.”
    She shrugged again. “It’s okay. I have my dad and he’s great. Seriously, the best dad ever. And I have my Aunt Veronica, Ronnie for short. She’s my dad’s younger sister. She’s been dating Dr. Mark for about ten years. I keep hoping they’ll get married and provide me with a couple of cousins, but so far no go.”
    “Wow, ten years is a long time to date and not take it to the next level.” Alyson stood behind Mac, watching what she was doing over her shoulder.
    “Tell me about it. I’m not sure what the problem is. They’re both really great people and they seem to really love each other. I asked Aunt Ronnie about it once and she just said it was complicated. Whatever that means.”
    “I think I’ve got it,” Mac interrupted. “It’s definitely skin. I guess we should hang on to this in case the police decide to do an investigation.”
    “Any way to tell whose skin?” Andi asked.
    “Not without DNA testing and a possible match,” Mac told her.
    “So what are we thinking?” Alyson asked. “That our victim was in a struggle before his death and scratched someone?”
    “Possibly. Of course he could also have been in a bar fight or even scratched himself at some point. Short of additional evidence, I’d say we’re at a standstill. Let’s get back to the guys to see if they found any other evidence.
    Devon, Trevor, and Eli were sitting on the counters discussing the latest basketball stats when the girls returned. They seemed to be in a fairly heated discussion as to which team was due to reach the finals that year. Devon seemed to favor the Lakers, although it sounded like his opinion was in the minority.
    “Did you find anything?” Mac interrupted.
    “No. We couldn’t find any evidence of foul play,” Trevor said. “Maybe the guy really did freeze to death. It’s certainly cold enough to cause hypothermia in a pretty short amount of time, especially if the victim was