And the bloodhellip;
Her heart leapt to her throat.
Mom? Had she come to the lab and surprised the thief?
She strode forward, panic making her heart race.
My God, its Tom-Tom.
Eve whirled to see her mother standing in the doorway. Relief turned her knees weak.
Her mother was staring at a corner of the room. Who would do that to a poor little cat?
Eves gaze followed hers and her stomach lurched. The Persian was covered with blood and barely recog-nizable. Tom-Tom belonged to their neighbor but spent a lot of time in their yard chasing the birds at-tracted by the honeysuckle.
Mrs. Dobbins is going to be heartbroken. Her mother stepped into the room. That old cat was the only thing she was close to in the world. Why would Her gaze had moved to the floor by the side of the desk. Oh, Eve, Im sorry. All your workhellip;
Her computer had been smashed, and beside it lay Mandys skull, shattered and destroyed with the same cruelty and efficiency that had been used on everything else in the room.
She fell to her knees beside the pieces of the skull. It would take a miracle to put it together again.
Mandyhellip; lost. Maybe forever.
Was anything taken? Sandra asked.
Not that I can tell. She closed her eyes. Mandyhellip; They just destroyed everything.
Vandals? But weve got such nice kids in the neighborhood. They wouldnt
No. She opened her eyes. Will you go call Joe, Mom? Ask him to come right away. She looked at the cat, and tears rose to her eyes. He was almost nineteen and deserved to have a kinder death. And get a little box and a sheet. While were waiting, well take Tom-Tom to Mrs. Dobbins and help her bury him. Well tell her he was run over by a car. Its kinder than telling her that some mindless savage did this.
Right. Sandra hurried outside.
Mindless savage.
The destruction was savage, but it was neither mindless nor random. Instead, it was thorough and systematic. Whoever had done this had wanted to shock and hurt her.
She gently stroked a piece of Mandys skull. Vio-lence had touched the girl even in death. It shouldnt have happened to her any more than brutality should have ended the life of that poor little cat. Both were wrong. So wrong.
She carefully gathered up the skull pieces, but there was no place to put them. The pedestal across the room was smashed like everything else. She laid the pieces on the blood-smeared desk.
But why was the skull on this side of the room? she wondered suddenly. The vandal had deliberately carried it over before smashing it. Why?
Then the thought flew out of her mind as she saw the blood dripping from the top drawer of the desk.
Oh, God, more?
She didnt want to open the drawer. She wouldnt open it.
She did.
She screamed and jumped back.
A river of blood inside and, in the middle of the sticky pool, a dead rat.
She slammed the drawer shut.
Ive got the box and sheet. Her mother had reappeared. Do you want me to do it?
Eve shook her head. Sandra looked as squeamish as Eve felt. Ill do it. Is Joe coming?
Right away.
Eve took the sheet, braced herself, and then moved toward the cat.
Its all right, Tom-Tom. Were taking you home.
Joe met her on the doorstep of the lab two hours later. He took one look and handed her his handkerchief. Theres a smudge on your cheek.
We just buried Tom-Tom. She wiped her tear-stained cheeks. Moms still with Mrs. Dobbins. She loved that cat. It was her child.
Id want to kill someone if they did anything to my retriever. He shook his head. We dusted but didnt come up with any prints. He probably wore gloves. We did find partial footprints in the blood. Big, probably belongs to a man, and only one set, so Id bet it was a single perpetrator. Is there anything missing?
Not that I can tell. Justhellip; destroyed.
I dont like it. Joe glanced back over his shoulder at the wreckage. Someone took a long time to do that thorough a job. It was pretty vicious and it doesnt look random to me.
I didnt think so either. Someone wanted to hurt me.
Any kids in the neighborhood?
None Id suspect. This was too cold.
Have you called the insurance company?
Not yet.
Better do it.
She nodded. Only the day before shed told Logan she wasnt worried about leaving the lab unlocked. She hadnt imagined anything like this could happen. I feel sick, Joe.
I know. He took her hand and squeezed it com-fortingly. Ill have a black and white keep an eye on the house. Or how about you and your mom coming to my place for a few days?
She shook her head.
Okay. He hesitated. I should get back to the precinct. I want to check records, see if theres been any similar crimes in the area lately. You going to be all right?
Ill be fine. Thanks for coming, Joe.
I wish I could do more. Well question your neighbors and see if we come up with anything.
She nodded. Except for Mrs. Dobbins. Dont send anyone to her house.
Right. If you need me, just call.
She watched him walk away and then turned back to the lab. She didnt want to go inside. She didnt want to see that violence and ugliness again.
She had to do it. She had to make sure nothing was missing and then call the insurance company. She braced herself and then walked in. Again, the blood struck her like a blow. God, she had been so frightened when she had thought that blood might be her mothers.