Cold, Cold Bones Quotes
"Because I'm a nerd scientist and you're a badass combat veteran?"
"I approved of your service. I hated that much of it was done in a war zone."
"Life in the field artillery agreed with my daughter."
"What's the sitrep with Monsieur le détective?"
"Let's see what's in this goddam shitter so we can get outta here."
"Shifting the grocery bag to my left hand, I turned and smiled with a warmth I didn’t feel."
"You must bring me a note from Dr. Chee stating that the turtle is causing Finlay emotional discomfort, I will be happy to do so."
"The house seemed very empty without Katy. Very quiet. Except for the running toilet in my bathroom."
"I considered getting up to jiggle the handle."
"The groundhog must have issued a memo. Temperatures plummeted and Wednesday’s non-weather became a fond memory."
"The phone rang as I was preparing to leave the annex."
"His features were a combo of fury and exertion."
"I tried phoning Ryan. Got his voice mail. Left a message."
"Every time we pass it, Finlay has an attack."
"Again, the cells in my id nudged those in my forebrain. Pssst!"
"That crew’s like one big bleeding-heart Sunday-school choir."
"It’s a manner of speech. I could have said Peoria."
"Was I creating drama where none existed? Injecting unwarranted suspicion?"
"The silence in the car was deep enough to drill for oil."
"I’m a control freak. I can’t rest until I’ve cracked a case, solved a puzzle, or fixed a problem."
"It’s like rotating items on a blackboard menu. Monday: hurricane. Tuesday: good/bad jobs report. Wednesday: mass shooting."
"I don’t often lose my temper, but when it happens, I go full-on Kilauea."
"The truth can be elusive and slippery, more likely to slide through your fingers than to stick."
"Preparing for the apocalypse? Armageddon. The end of life as we know it."
"The discourse made the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks look like parlor games."
"Every half hour I dialed Slidell. Either Skinny was busy or, more likely, he was avoiding me."
"Volunteers come and go as they please. Perhaps your daughter needs some me time."
"Life be a short course and I’m nearing the finish line."
"I wasn’t in my office ten minutes when the landline rang."
"The last thing my neurons needed was more caffeine."
"My eyes did another sweep, straining to pick out details."
"My gaze roved the mounds of steel and the gaps between."
"I crept several yards closer, instincts clamoring for retreat."
"The following sequence unfolded as if in slo-mo, the surrealistic tableau seeming to go on forever."
"My first impulse was to race to the girl. Maybe girl."
"Adrenaline rushing to every cell in my body."
"Trying to save my battery, I killed the headlights and wipers and leaned back to wait."
"A cruiser sat behind my car, engine running, doors wide, bubble lights flashing."
"The air was frigid and leaden with moisture."
"It was dark. The air was frigid and leaden with moisture."
"I saw blood. Mangled limbs. Skin white as bleached bone."
"The headache was gone, but my mood was similar to the day before."
"The room was silent except for the beep of the machine and the soft whirl of the air conditioning."
"I see violent death on a regular basis. I know the cruelty and stupidity of which humans are capable."
"Despite my best effort, a tear broke free and tricked a warm path down my cheek."
"Many males are embarrassed in the presence of strong female emotion."
"I fell instantly into a dark void. No ghostly apparitions, no melodramatic reenactments. Just dense, deep nothing."
"The only movement the occasional leaf winking light then dark as it tossed on a breeze."
"Every alcoholic, no matter the years or decades sober, there are times when the body craves booze."
"For every alcoholic, no matter the years or decades sober, there are times when the body craves booze."
"The smell of coffee. Bacon? Momentary confusion. Recall."
"The intensity of Slidell’s emotion surprised me."
"My mind played images of a pigtailed girl shivering in a cold February rain. Frightened. Alone."
"The mother says they don’t belong to her kid."
"During that time, he made mint tea. Like Gran, Ryan sees brewed herbs as the panacea for every ill."
"The unnecessary intro was a soporific for my anxiety."
"Lizzie’s corpse had been carefully arranged by the hands of her abductor."
"Slidell wasn’t buying into the sexual predator 'horseshit.'"
"The last time I saw your daughter she was with another chick."
"I'm going crazy here, Ryan. This is torture."
"February has a way of messing with North Carolinians."
"The sky was immaculate, the sun going for a personal best."
"You see Beyoncé on a tricycle your ass stays in this crate."
"I've been working up to her all these years. And this time the great doctor gets to observe."
"You’ll have the best seat in the house, Doc."
"You have a gun," I managed to croak. "Shoot me."
"I won’t watch," I said. "You can’t force me to be a player in your sick theater."
"If you harm my daughter, you will spend the rest of your life behind bars."