Total pages in book: 17
Estimated words: 14425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 72(@200wpm)___ 58(@250wpm)___ 48(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 14425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 72(@200wpm)___ 58(@250wpm)___ 48(@300wpm)
"Fuck your job. Let's go, Detective Bennett."
As soon as I turn to walk away, he grabs me by the arm and stops me in my tracks. The assertive tone he uses is a warning. "You leave that title with my badge. Where are we going first?"
"How's my father?"
"Awake, last I saw. I didn't hang around much. Why?"
"To determine how far I need to take this. If he were still in a coma or dead, this list would take us a lot longer to get through."
He nods at my reasoning. "So what's your plan?"
"When I spoke to Kush last night, they still hadn't split the take from the robbery. He was supposed to meet up with the guy, Hammer, today. They planned to go to their fence, some pawn shop in the next county. They agreed to split the money after."
Victor shakes his head briefly. "Did you get that information during or after your carving session?"
"During, of course. Is it going to be too complicated of a cleanup?"
"He's the suspect in a few active cases but only the victim in one. Did you have to leave him such a mess?"
"I wasn't sure how many people I needed to talk to. I thought that making the first body look like a ritual killing would help me look like the least likely suspect."
Victor slowly moves his head up and down with understanding. The conversation falls quiet for the most part as we drive out of town to the next county over. Under the circumstances, I shouldn't tell Victor anything about the body, but if he's going to help me cover it up like he always does, honesty is best.
It takes us about an hour to reach our destination. A rowdy bar on the edge of town with live music playing while over a dozen people drink beers out front. The chatter is loud and the place is slightly crowded. Music and a yellow cast of light come out of the back doors onto an outdoor deck.
"Are you going to lead him out the front or out of the back?" Victor asks as we head into the fray.
"The back," I tell him. "Once he's near the railing, I can toss him over to you. Right side and as close to the building as possible."
"Got it." Victor walks away to get himself ready.
In the meantime, I scan the faces of the crowd. I need to be careful that this guy doesn't see me before I see him. It's smart for them to agree on such a public place, lively and so much going on that no one would think about two guys having a couple of drinks. No one would spare a glance at two men deciding what to do with the jewels and cash they stole from my father and my family. It's time for me to do what I'm dangerously good at, but I'm going to need a little bit of help.
The kind of person I need right now isn't hard to find in a place like this. Somewhere between too stupid to remember and just drunk enough to forget. The bubbly giggles of someone trying too hard to seem friendly draw me toward her. Blonde, young, and a smile bright enough to shine in the crowd.
As soon as she sees me, I know her type, the misery on my face is like a beacon calling outgoing women like her to make me as happy as they are. The live band covers a few hit records to get the crowd dancing. Thankfully, it only takes one dance with the overeager woman to snag her attention.
"Hey, hun, why the long face?" the blonde asks as she gyrates around me, bumping me playfully with her hips and twirling around me with a drink in her hand.
I nudge my chin at the robber sitting by himself at the bar. "I've been trying to get his attention. I just need to serve him with divorce papers for my sister. Miserable little asshole got that nose after slapping her around. She hit him with a pan and ran out. She wanted to get out and finally gave me the papers to serve him. I just want to hand it to him like a napkin under a drink. Can you help me?"
"Of course, honey. Us gals gotta stick together, right? What do you need me to do?" she asks, eager to assist me.
After buying a round of drinks for my little helper's group, she convinces the robber to meet her outside for a fuck on the deck and sends him my way with a wink. I tip my head and wait outside as he approaches. The look in those dark brown eyes, when I step out of the shadows, has the asshole speechless.
My moves are swift as I spin him quickly to push his back against the railing. I dip low, threading my arm behind his legs to send him over the edge with a single flip. After sparing a glance, I see Victor already has him silenced and drags him away from the bar into the shadows of the parking lot beside it.