Chapters (95)
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Sixty-Two
- Sixty-Three
- Sixty-Four
- Sixty-Five
- Sixty-Six
- Sixty-Seven
- Sixty-Eight
- Sixty-Nine
- Seventy
- Seventy-One
- Seventy-Two
- Seventy-Three
- Seventy-Four
- Seventy-Five
- Seventy-Six
- Seventy-Seven
- Seventy-Eight
- Seventy-Nine
- Eighty
- Eighty-One
- Eighty-Two
- Eighty-Three
- Eighty-Four
- Eighty-Five
- Eighty-Six
- Eighty-Seven
- Acknowledgements
- About the Author
- Also by David Swinson
- Thank you for buying this ebook, published by Hachette Digital.
“Same ol’, same ol’,” she says with a sweet voice. That’s why I use her often and pay her so well. She is good on the phone, and I have to do these sort of okeydokes a lot in my line of work. More when I was a cop.
I light a cigarette. She does the same. We both crack the windows a bit.
“Stifling out there,” she says.
“That’s why most of my work is in the car or at home these days.”
After a deep drag she turns to me, blows the smoke toward the roof of the car. Doesn’t matter. It still bounces off and curves down to hit me in the face. I hold my breath, but in a way so she can’t tell.
“Why doesn’t your boy Luna call me no more? He find him a new girl?”
“Seriously doubt that. There’s no one like you.”
She has a deep-throated smoker’s laugh.
“Department’s probably got him caught up on quick buy busts, shit like that. I’m sure he’ll get in touch with you, though.”
“Damn hope so. I need that money. I got expenses.”
“I understand that. I’ll take care of you well for a short one today.” I realize how that sounds after I say it. So does she.
“That sounds good, baby,” she says in her sexiest voice.
It does sound sexy, but she sure doesn’t look the way she sounds. Doesn’t matter if she did. Nothing would ever come of it. I’d never allow myself to carry that kind of extra baggage.
“You just tell Luna to call me, honey, or I’ll have to start looking other places.”
“I’ll do that, Tamie.”
I take another drag and flick the cigarette out the window before it’s finished. I grab the burner cell that has Jasper’s number on it. I use my throwaway cell for the call.
“So this is easy stuff,” I begin. “All I want you to do is call this number, and if a man answers, just say, “Willy?” like you know him really well. That’s all. I want to know if his first name is Willy.”
“Simple enough.”
“Let me fill you in on a couple of details.”
“Okay.”
“He works at a club.”
“What club?”
“Come on now, Darling. You know better than to ask that.”
“Just testing.”
“Right. He works at a DC club. You don’t have to remember the name of it, only that he runs the door and that’s how you met. It was on a Thursday a few weeks ago. He gave you his card. If you get him in a conversation, just keep it going.”
I hand her a clean yellow notepad and a pen.