Lost Souls. Lisa Jackson
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Название: Lost Souls
Автор: Lisa Jackson
Издательство: Ingram
Жанр: Ужасы и Мистика
Серия: A Bentz/Montoya Novel
isbn: 9781420109559
isbn:
She listened raptly to Dr. Grotto, taking in the man’s appearance. He was tall with thick, expressive eyebrows, a strong jaw, and a nose that looked as if somewhere along the way it had been broken a couple of times. His eyes weren’t red or black, but a deep brown, his lips thin, his body honed, as if he worked out. There was an arrogance about him, but an affability as well, and Lucretia’s words rang through her brain. He’s a wonderful man. Educated. Alive.
As opposed to dead? No…as in animated, Kristi berated herself. All this vampire talk was getting to her. Lucretia was certainly quick to defend Dr. Dominic Grotto, despite her suspicions. She’d acted as if the man were nearly a god, for crying out loud, and then there was the matter of the ring….
Kristi watched the professor’s hands. They were large. Strong looking. Veins apparent when he wrote on the board. But his left hand was bare. No wedding ring. No tan line or indentation suggesting he’d recently removed it. What had Ezma at work said? That Lucretia was rumored to be involved with one of the professors? A big secret? Hmmm.
She studied Dr. Grotto and tried to imagine him with Lucretia. It just didn’t fit. Grotto was smart enough, that much was evident, but he exuded an innate sexuality in his beat-up jeans and casual black sweater. Lucretia was the egghead’s egghead. Not unattractive, just socially a step off, almost snooty in her pseudo-intellectuality, but then, maybe that air of superiority was what had attracted him to her.
Stranger things had been known to happen.
Kristi settled back in her desk chair and scrutinized her new professor.
As Ezma had warned, Grotto was definitely “hot.” Was he involved with the missing coeds? The man who’d maybe inspired the vampire cult that had attracted Rylee?
When Kristi had first driven to Baton Rouge, her father’s warnings had fallen upon deaf ears, but now that she was here, on the campus of All Saints, she was beginning to think there might be some merit in Rick Bentz’s fears. Four girls were missing. Maybe dead. All had taken Grotto’s class on vampires.
Coincidence?
Kristi didn’t think so.
In fact, she was going to find out. She’d start calling the family, friends, and neighbors of the girls today, in between classes, if she had to. Something had happened to the missing students. Something bad.
Kristi was damned well going to find out what it was.
Jay stepped out of the shower and toweled off after a weekend of ripping off paneling and repairing the tears to the plaster that had been beneath the wooden facade. His muscles ached from hours with a chisel and hammer, but the house was taking shape. Most of the deconstruction was about finished. He had only a bit of linoleum to rip up and then he’d be ready to rebuild. He threw on boxers, a pair of khakis, and a cotton sweater, then yanked on a pair of socks and stepped into his shoes as he checked his watch. Less than an hour until his first class. With Kristi Bentz. He’d had no notes of anyone, including Kristi, dropping out, so he expected to see her.
Brace yourself, he thought, then chided himself for being childish. They were both adults now. So they’d gone together as teenagers. So what? Time had marched on and other relationships had come and gone.
The phone rang and he recognized Gayle’s number. What the hell did she want and why now, when he was just getting ready to deal with Kristi, did he have to talk to her? He almost didn’t answer. But the thought that she might really be in trouble, might really need him, caused him to take the call. Good old trusty Jay. “Hi,” he said, without preamble. They both knew about Caller ID.
“Hi, Jay, how’re you?” she asked in that soft, dulcet drawl he’d once found so intriguing.
An interior designer who adored antiques and New Orleans architecture, she’d grown up in Atlanta, the only daughter of a judge and his wife. Jay had found her cultured, smart, beautiful, and fun-loving. Until they’d gotten serious. Then he’d recognized her strong, unbending will and almost obsessive attention to detail. How many times had she insisted his tie hadn’t matched his shirt and jacket, or that his shoes were out of style, or that his jeans were far too “ratty to even be considered hip, darlin’?” Her temper, too, had come to the fore. What did it say about his personality that he always picked hardheaded, smart, sassy women who could blow at any minute. For a half a second, he thought of Kristi Bentz. Talk about a temper! Kristi’s was practically legendary. Jay figured his choices in women were a major character flaw.
“I’m doin’ fine, Gayle,” he said, realizing she was waiting for a response. Tonight, he didn’t have time for niceties. “How ’bout you?”
“All right, I guess.”
“Good, good.” He was gathering up his keys and wallet, making certain he had everything he needed. His gaze scraped the interior of the cottage as he made certain he was leaving everything secure.
“But I have to be honest. Sometimes I get lonely. Sometimes I miss you,” Gayle said, drawing his attention back to the telephone conversation.
His gut tightened. “I thought you were dating someone—an attorney, right? Manny or Michael or something?”
She hesitated, then said, “Martin. But it’s not the same.”
“Nothing ever is. It’s always different, sometimes better, other times worse.” Why the hell was he even having this conversation?
As if she knew she’d pushed him too far, she said, “I know this is the night of your first class and I wanted to wish you luck.”
Yeah, right. “Thanks.”
“You’ll do great!”
The woman did know how to stroke his ego.
“Hope so.”
“Believe me, those kids will be enthralled with all that creepy forensic stuff.”
“Yeah?” He checked his watch. Time to go. Where the hell was the leash? He didn’t want to take Bruno anywhere without it. Oh, maybe in the truck!
“Oh, yeah, honey. I’ve heard you speak. You know, I was wondering—”
Here it came, the real reason for her call.
“I know you spend most of your weekends up there at your cousins’ house, but when you’re back in the city, give me a call. I’d love to go out for a glass of wine or dinner or something…. You know, no strings attached.”
The no strings part, he didn’t believe.
“I doubt I’ll have any time before the end of the term,” he said. “Pretty busy.”
“I know, Jay. You always are. That’s the way I like it.”
Again, a fairy tale. She liked a man she could boss around. That’s where most of their problems began and ended. “Listen, Gayle, I gotta run. Take care.”
“You, too,” she whispered as he hung up and whistled to the dog. He was not going to be pulled into the trap of dating Gayle Hall again. Not ever. He’d learned his lesson and had the scar above his eyebrow to prove it.
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