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"Are you implying I'm screwed up?" |
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"My, aren't we just a barrel of clichés today? Well, let me try one out on you: Spill the beans, Josie. Who killed the McCalls?" |
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"No one knows. It was a robbery. From Christian's description, three thugs from Chicago, up for the night. The police never caught anyone." |
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"Hmm." For some reason Josie's description of the crime set off warning bells in D.J.'s head, but she couldn't think why just now. In the back of her brain an idea began to tumble forward. From past experience she knew if she allowed the tidbit to roll around in her brain unfettered, the knowledge would come to the front eventually. |
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"A random theft," Josie continued. "The murders weren't planned. A trigger-happy kid with a gun he shouldn't have had. You won't find a motive in that crime for what's happening now." |
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"No. I'm sure we won't. McCall's parents were killedwhateighteen years ago?" Josie nodded. "A bit too long to hold on to a motive. And if they wanted to kill McCall, for whatever sick reason they might have had to kill a kid, they'd have killed him right then. When he was twelve years old and helpless, not thirty and" |
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D.J. broke off. How could she have been so dense? No wonder McCall had trained all those years in karate. No wonder he could fire a gun as well as she. After what had happened to him as a child, McCall never wanted to be helpless again. |
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The flash of understanding made her smile softly and tilt her head toward the steady thunk-thunk |
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