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 sip the wine, look at Leslie. Her heavy hair is pulled back in a ponytail. Her lips are closed, but she always looks like she has a bit of a smile. Unaffected. So pretty. I want to kiss her on the cheek. I do. She turns, shoots me a real smile, then leans over to give me a quick peck on the lips.
I notice a marked cruiser turning the corner, slowly driving the block our direction. The driver’s-side window is facing us. Gets closer, and I notice he’s a 10-99 unit. The window down with his arm hanging out like he’s enjoying the thick humidity. He slows down even more as he passes.
Leslies waves, and I shoot him a thumbs-up.
He just turns slightly toward us, gives us an odd, flat glare, speeds up, and takes the next right.
“That’s rude,” Leslie says.
“Maybe, but you gotta give him a break. It’s tough being a cop now, not knowing who’s out to get you, destroy your life.”
The delivery guy arrives after a few minutes. We go inside, find a mindless action-adventure movie on cable, eat, and drink more wine.
I know she’s worried. Hell, I’m worried. I should be more concerned with finding out who killed Jeffrey. But here’s the thing I can’t get my head around: Why was Jeffrey murdered in my house? Someone knows we’re connected. Someone’s pushing a pin into me.
Sure, Leslie wants to talk about it, but she knows me well enough to know I’m not gonna talk about it now. Right now, I want my focus to be on her. Tomorrow—well, that’s a fucking new day.
When I wake up beside her in the morning, I realize I didn’t do any blow the whole night. I slept soundly. Her company kept me from craving, kept me from worrying.
Twelve
Twelve
Before stepping out of my car I scan the area, check for newspeople or anything suspicious. When I get to my porch, I stand and listen before unlocking the door, like I’m worried that whoever murdered Jeffrey will come back.
I lock the door behind me, sit on the sofa, and light a smoke.
I check the Fox 5 app on my iPhone for the news.
Jeffrey’s mother is already in town. It’s a top story. I drop the phone on the end table and lean back on the sofa, try to rest my eyes.