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.
I move around the bed to the nightstand. The drawer and its contents also on the floor. No gun. Back downstairs, I sit on the living room sofa with Hurley. Millhoff is now outside, probably getting Jeffrey’s vehicle towed. I have a preliminary list of what I know to be stolen. The revolver’s serial number is on a concealed-carry permit in my wallet; I note the make, model, caliber, and serial number along with my rounds. I also note approximately two hundred assorted vinyl albums and a few of their titles; approximately three hundred assorted music CDs, also with a few of their titles; one old-model Technics turntable (no serial number); two Polk shelf speakers; a sixty-inch Samsung smart TV; a Samsung laptop (serial number unknown). Approximately three years old. I got the main stuff.
“Might discover more later,” I tell Hurley.
“Let me know.”
He hands me a card with his cell on it.
“I’m usually always working,” he says.
“I gotta tell you, I don’t like feeling like a victim. What pisses me off most is the turntable and the records. I inherited about sixty percent of the vinyl from my mother. And the turntable. She used to listen to all her records on that thing.”
He looks at me funny. “Sorry to hear that.”
“Thanks. I was a little kid when she died. Long fucking time ago.”
Jeffrey’s fallen body pops into my head, like he’s reminding me from beyond that he should be the focus, not the fucking records.
“But then there’s Jeffrey. There’s gotta be something I missed, something I didn’t see.”
“We both know Millhoff is one of the best, and personally, I’m pretty good at what I do. We’ll figure it out.”
“What task force you on?” I ask.
“We call it narco-fencing. It’s funded by the feds. We have the biggest burglary-closure rate in the nation. It’s all about that one burglar you get, and then working him up the ladder. Damn—crack houses, organized fencing operations, even mom-and-pop ops. Burglary is the nexus to all crimes, really. The .38 might be a tough one, though. It’s in the wind. Doubtful we’ll ever get that back unless we get lucky on a search warrant or find it on a body.”
“I hope it won’t come to that—the body, I mean.”
“Used records and CDs are pretty easy. Those items aren’t easily traded for narcotics. Burglars usually go to pawn shops or secondhand dealers and get the cash. That’s easy enough to check on. Their computers are linked to our database so we can monitor them.”
“I know that.”
“Yeah. Unless they purchase the stolen items under the table.”