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Back Lost Hills Save as PDF
Chapters (49)
  1. TITLE PAGE
  2. COPYRIGHT PAGE
  3. DEDICATION
  4. Contents
  5. CHAPTER ONE
  6. CHAPTER TWO
  7. CHAPTER THREE
  8. CHAPTER FOUR
  9. CHAPTER FIVE
  10. CHAPTER SIX
  11. CHAPTER SEVEN
  12. CHAPTER EIGHT
  13. CHAPTER NINE
  14. CHAPTER TEN
  15. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  16. CHAPTER TWELVE
  17. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  18. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  19. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  20. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  21. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  22. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  23. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  24. CHAPTER TWENTY
  25. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  34. CHAPTER THIRTY
  35. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  36. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  43. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  44. CHAPTER FORTY
  45. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  46. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  47. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  48. Author’s Note and Acknowledgments
  49. About the Author

“We’re going outside,” she said. “Keep your hands on your head until I tell you otherwise.”

Coyle walked barefoot out of his room, his hands on his head. As they stepped out, Eve peeked into the other bedroom. It obviously belonged to his mother and seemed untouched since she’d died. It even smelled like perfume.

She followed Coyle and Ross down the hall, through the open kitchen and living room, and outside, where two more deputies were waiting.

“You can lower your hands,” Eve said, confident that Coyle didn’t present a danger to anyone right now. She saw the CSU van moving in. “Is there anything you want to tell us about before we start going through your house?”

“I didn’t put the toilet seat down and I might not have flushed the last time I used it,” Coyle said. “We’re in a drought, you know, and I’m doing my part. I wasn’t expecting guests. Sorry about that.”

“Where are the keys to your car?”

“On the kitchen counter,” Coyle said. “Oh, and if you’re done admiring my physique, could you bring me some clothes?”

She liked that he wasn’t comfortable being nearly naked in front of her and his second attempt to sexualize the situation didn’t give her any incentive to make him feel any better. In fact, it encouraged her to prolong his discomfort.

Eve glanced at Ross. “Put Mr. Coyle in the back seat of a patrol car where he’ll be warm and can protect his modesty.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Eve went back into the house to start looking for evidence. The kitchen and living room were basically one space separated by a countertop. There was a pink easy chair, a bloated black vinyl recliner, a 1970s-era couch, an antique coffee table, and stacks of DVDs piled on the floor in front of a big-screen TV that was almost as wide as the trailer.

She went back to Coyle’s bedroom and regarded his collection of Planet of the Apes posters and lobby cards as she put on her gloves. The artwork was all from the original movies from the late 1960s and early ’70s, not the later remakes. It was still a kid’s room and not a man’s bedroom.

There was a T-shirt, jeans, and socks on the floor beside the bed and some loose change, half a roll of breath mints, and a wallet on the bureau. The mirrored sliding closet door was open a crack and Eve saw the toe of a hiking boot on the floor inside.

She slid open the door to get a better look at the boot but was distracted by what was hanging among the shirts and jackets inside: a big, furry ape suit, complete from head to toe. It didn’t look like a real ape but rather one of the distinctive “ape men” from the original Planet of the Apes movie.