Thicker Than Water. Lindy Cameron

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СКАЧАТЬ what looked like a surreptitious deal going down between two more-than-likely crooks.

      Bloody hell, Kit moaned silently. With bastards like these haunting the edges of my old life and, it seems, threatening to enter my current one, it's no wonder I have inexplicable creepy nightmares, instead of dreamscape adventures with gorgeous Amazon warriors.

      "It's the same guy," Cathy was saying.

      "So it is," Kit said, peering at Unsightly Man, who featured in both photos. "Who is he?"

      Cathy shook her head. "I was hoping you'd know."

      "Sorry. I know who the other bloke is. Unfortunately," Kit volunteered. "But not him."

      "You know this guy?" Cathy was surprised.

      "Yeah. Don't you?"

      Cathy shook her head. "It's not my file. This was one of the photos that Charlie laid out for the uniforms this morning, so they'd know which of Gerry's associates to keep tabs on."

      Kit was intrigued. "Really? Which of these two did he want them to follow?"

      "I don't know," Cathy said, as she examined the picture more closely. "I wasn't paying attention at the time because, then, I hadn't seen these photos from The Terpsichore. Who is he? A friend of Anders, or an enemy?"

      "Either, neither, both; I don't know," Kit shrugged. "I can vouch that there's no love lost between him and a good twenty percent of the current police force, one detective in particular; as well as several retired cops, including me."

      "Goddamnit O'Malley, who is he?"

      "Edward Paul Jackson; affectionately," Kit sneered the last word, "known as Pauly-J. Ex cop, bad ex-cop. Taken down, and right out, a few years ago by a toecutter by the name of Graham Charles Parker."

      "Charlie was internal affairs?"

      "Cut his teeth and earned his dubious stripes by ridding the force of Pauly Jackson and a couple of his way-bent partners in crime."

      Cathy frowned. "I wonder why Charlie didn't mention his name this morning?"

      "The doggies would already know Pauly-J." Kit sighed deeply. "I've got to admit, Cathy, I really don't like it that Chucky and Pauly-J are now, and concurrently, impinging on my personal landscape when I've had nothing to do with either bastard since I left the force. It's like the bad elements in society have been regurgitated into my neck of the woods just for the hell of it." She got to her feet. "It's spooky, and enough to make a girl go home and hide."

      Cathy seemed amused by Kit's verbal eruption, but said, "Just like that?" when it was over.

      "Yep," Kit responded. "Encountering the Chuck yesterday was bad enough but this is an unpleasant coincidental blast from my past, and I hate coincidences. So, I'm going now."

      "I don't get you, O'Malley," Cathy remarked, with another half-smile that meant Kit couldn't work out whether she was disappointed or baffled or, in fact, why she was anything.

      "What's to get?" Kit shrugged. She pulled out a business card and placed it on Cathy's desk. "Thank you. If you need anything, or have anything for me, please call."

      Kit was at the door before Cathy reacted. "There was one thing you didn't ask, O'Malley."

      "Only one?" Kit said mockingly.

      "Yeah. The when did Gerry Anders die question."

      "Okay. I'll bite. When did Gerry's severe loss of blood result in his no longer being alive?"

      Detective Senior Constable Cathy Martin raised her eyebrows - and kept them there. "Ruth reckons last weekend - as in six or seven days ago. His body had evidently been kept on ice."

      "Oh, that's charming," Kit remarked. "Who the hell would want a dead Gerry Anders lying around in their freezer?"

      "He wasn't frozen, he was stored somewhere just cool enough to keep him fresh."

      "Oh, now you see," Kit noted, "that is way more information than I needed."

      Cathy laughed. "And it, all of it O'Malley, is for your ears only, okay?

      "Oh yeah," Kit agreed, as she opened the door. "And thanks, Cathy."

      CHAPTER SIX

      "So?" Erin demanded as Kit emerged from the interview room. "What have you found out?"

      "About what?" Kit teased, walking by the squad room towards the lift and chocolate cake.

      "About whatever it was you were in there to find out about," Erin said seriously.

      "Erin honey, this is a two cappuccino story, at least. And I'm not going into any details until we're sitting in some café with the appropriate..."

      Bang!

      "...ambience," Kit finished.

      Seven cops, from three or four crews, working a host of still-to-be-solved murders, raised their heads in a united squad reaction to the slamming of a single door. All eyes, Kit's and Erin's included, were on the detective standing alone and stunned outside Jon Marek's office.

      Marek himself paced fro then back to his door, wrenched it open and crowded the much-heavier-built-than-him detective back against the hall wall. "I don't want any more bloody excuses, Harper. Find that sick little creep, ask him the questions again and get us something we can use. If you can't manage that, then I can manage you a transfer out of this squad."

      "Right boss. Whatever you say, Marek."

      "Like there'd be any other way to do it!" Marek stepped back into his office, picked up a phone book and hurled it at his chair which sent it crashing into the back wall.

      Harper glanced at his colleagues, who returned their collective attention to everything else around them, so he headed down the hall in the other direction.

      "What's going on?" Erin whispered. "Do you think Jon's okay?'

      "No, I don't actually," Kit replied. "Listen Erin, I'm supposed to meet a couple guys you know at Leo's in an hour. Do you want to wait for me there? I think Marek-"

      "Go, Kit," Erin insisted.

      This time as Kit reached Marek's door, he stepped out and scowled at her. "Now what?"

      "We need to talk," she said quietly.

      "Not now, O'Malley."

      "Yes now, Marek. Please?"

      "What about for Christ's sake? Can't you see I'm busy?"

      "Can we go in here?" Kit asked, indicating the room behind her which had no windows to the rest of this interior world.

      "You do not want to go in there," Marek stated.

      "Is there anyone in there?"

      "No."

      "Then СКАЧАТЬ