Bad Habits by Keith Gilman

Author:Keith Gilman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Down & Out Books

Jason got back to the station and found the front door of his office hanging open. The room had been ransacked. The desk drawers hung open and loose papers littered the floor. There was no way they’d found what they were looking for because it wasn’t there. They were right though. He had the money. He’d put it in a safety deposit box at the Fidelity Bank, enough money to start a new life, money enough to fly out of there, just him and his daughter and never be seen again. The name on the account was Katherine Jones.

Jason pulled off his wet jacket and hung it over the back of the chair. His shirt was soaked underneath. His hands were cold and stiff as he leaned over the desk, turning up the volume on the radio.

“How do you read me, County?”

“Loud and clear, Chief.”

“How does it look out there?”

“Not good. Blue Mountain Road is flooded out south of Carbondale Road. National Weather Service has posted severe thunderstorm warnings, heavy rain, gale force winds and major lightning strikes. Flash flood warning on top of it. Looks like you’re on your own up there for a while.”

“Keep me posted, County.”

“Okay, Chief. Good luck.”

In his basement office, Jason felt insulated from the weather outside. There were no windows and the concrete was thick enough to keep out the sound. He turned down the radio, leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. He just wanted to be alone for a little while. He wanted to be out of reach, far from the raging wind and the searing rain. He wanted no more of duty and responsibility if only just for a little while. He reached into his suitcase and pulled out a silver flask full of warm Kentucky Bourbon. He unscrewed the top and put it to his lips.

The phone rang and he answered it quickly with the taste of whiskey in his mouth.

“We’re done playing, Jason, and we’re done asking. Now we’re telling. Get the money and get up here with it. If you don’t, that pretty little girl of yours isn’t going to be so pretty anymore.”

“If you hurt her, Link, I’ll hurt you.”

“Don’t be like that, partner. We’re here trying to figure out why you gave all this up. Now you want to get it back and we don’t blame you. If anybody hurt these ladies, it was you, not us. And you’ll hurt them again. You burn your bridges, Jason, and when it comes back to haunt you, you act surprised. You blame everyone but yourself. You need to wake up. A reality check, that’s what you need.”

Link’s monologue would have gone on a little longer but a sharp crack of thunder cut it short. It seemed to have come from directly overhead. The old building shook to its foundation and the phone went dead in Jason’s hand. He never saw the flash of lightning that followed. The lights flickered and the room went black.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.