An Evil Mind Read Free

shut – not that unusual due to the noise – but so were the blinds on the oversized internal window that faced the floor, and that was undoubtedly a bad sign.
    Hunter slowly started zigzagging his way around people and desks.
    ‘Hey, what the hell are you doing here, Robert?’ Detective Perez asked, looking up from his computer screen as Hunter squeezed past Perez and Henderson’s desks. ‘I thought you were supposed to be on vacation?’
    Hunter nodded. ‘I am. I’m flying out tonight. Just having a quick chat with the captain first.’
    ‘ Flying? ’ Perez looked surprised. ‘That sounds rich. Where are you going?’
    ‘Hawaii. My first time.’
    Perez smiled. ‘Nice. I could do with going to Hawaii right about now too.’
    ‘Want me to bring you back a lei necklace or a Hawaiian shirt?’
    Perez pulled a face. ‘No, but if you can manage to slip one or two of those Hawaiian dancers into your suitcase, I’ll take them. They can do the hula up on my bed every goddamn night. You know what I’m saying?’ He nodded like he meant every word.
    ‘A man can dream,’ Hunter replied, amused by how vigorously Perez was nodding.
    ‘Enjoy yourself over there, man.’
    ‘I’m sure I will,’ Hunter said before moving on. He paused before the captain’s door, and instinct and curiosity made him tilt his head to one side and check the window – nothing. He couldn’t see past the blinds. He knocked twice.
    ‘Come in.’ He heard Captain Blake call from the other side in her usual firm voice.
    Hunter pushed the door open and stepped inside.
    Barbara Blake’s office was spacious, brightly lit and impeccably tidy. The south wall was taken by bookshelves packed by perfectly arranged, and color-coordinated hardcovers. The north one was covered by framed photographs, commendations and achievement awards, all symmetrically positioned in relation to each other. The east wall was a floor-to-ceiling panoramic window, looking out over South Main Street. Directly in front of the captain’s twin-pedestal desk were two leather armchairs.
    Captain Blake was standing by the panoramic window. Her long jet-black hair was gracefully styled into a bun, pinned in place by a pair of wooden chopsticks. She was wearing a silky white blouse, tucked into an elegant navy-blue pencil skirt. Standing next to her, holding a steaming cup of coffee, and wearing a conservative black suit, was a slim and very attractive woman, who Hunter had never seen before. She looked to be somewhere in her early thirties, with long, straight blonde hair, and deep blue eyes. She looked like someone who would normally be entirely at ease in whatever situation she found herself in, but there was something a little apprehensive about the way she held her head.
    As Hunter entered the office and closed the door behind him, the tall and slim man who was sitting in one of the armchairs, also in a soberly dark suit, turned to face him. He was in his mid-fifties, but the heavy bags under his eyes and his fleshy, saggy cheeks, which also gave him a somewhat hound-like look, made him look at least ten years older. The thin flock of gray hair he still had left on his head was neatly combed back over his ears.
    Taken by surprise, Hunter paused, narrowing his eyes.
    ‘Hello, Robert,’ the man said, standing up. His naturally hoarse voice, made worse by years of smoking, sounded surprisingly strong for a man who looked like he hadn’t slept in days.
    Hunter’s gaze stayed on him for a couple of seconds before moving to the blonde woman, and finally to Captain Blake.
    ‘Sorry about this, Robert,’ she said with a slight tilt of the head, before allowing her stare to go rock hard as it honed in on the man facing Hunter. ‘They simply turned up unannounced about an hour ago. Not even a goddam courtesy call,’ she explained.
    ‘I apologize again,’ the man said in a calm but authoritative tone. He was definitely someone who was used to giving orders, and having them