Blood Oath (Jessie Black Legal Thrillers Book 12) by Larry A. Winters

Author:Larry A. Winters [Winters, Larry A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-06-07T00:00:00+00:00

24

Leary flicked his thumb across his phone’s screen as he drove, looking for the number that the girl he knew only as Jane had given him when he’d met her at St. Joe’s, and hoping it was real.

When he heard her voice after several rings, he let out a pent-up breath. “This is Mark Leary. We spoke recently about Lily Merrick.”

“Did you find her?”

Leary sighed. “Not yet. When we spoke, you mentioned that her ex-boyfriend Craig Karson was partying with some buddies at a casino. I need to track him down.”

“The Keystone Palace. It’s in Chester, I think.”

“Got it. Thanks, Jane. I appreciate your help.”

“I hope you find her.”

“I will.”

Leary ended the call, his mind already planning a route to Chester, Pennsylvania, where Craig Karson was living it up with no apparent concern for his ex-girlfriend. The thought made his blood boil. He didn’t fight the feeling—sometimes anger was helpful, and there would be more than enough time to cool off during the two-hour drive.

It was night when the garish neon lights of the Keystone Palace assaulted his eyes. He pulled into a crowded parking lot and pulled up the photo of Lily and Craig on his phone, committing the boy’s face to memory.

Inside, noise washed over him—buzzes, beeps, and electronic tunes, along with a barrage of voices and someone’s whoop of victory. Leary tried to block out the sensory overload, shouldering his way past slot machines and table games, scanning the crowd for Karson’s face.

The search did not take long. He found Karson standing with a group of rowdy frat types, red-faced and hooting like dimwits. Beer sloshed from bottles clutched in their fists as a ball tumbled across a roulette wheel.

“Craig Karson? I need to speak with you.”

“What?” Karson looked Leary up and down through bleary eyes. “I’m busy here, man.” He high-fived one of his sloshed companions.

Leary let out a tired sigh. “Listen, Craig. You can give me a few minutes now, and then get back to wasting your parents’ money. Or, I can have a nice chat with casino security about the minors guzzling beer in their establishment, and your night will be cut short. Your choice.”

Karson’s eyes widened. “Okay, I’ll talk to you. Jeez. No need to be a narc.” He turned to his posse. “Be right back.”

Leary led Karson to a small lounge on the edge of the casino floor that looked relatively quiet. Relatively, in this place, meaning a few decibels below ear-splitting.

He chose a small table as far from the slot machines and cheering gamblers as possible. Leary sat across from Karson, trying to ignore the kid’s belligerent stare and clenched jaw.

“At least buy me a beer,” Karson said.

Leary laughed. “A root beer, maybe.”

“Yeah, fine. Whatever.” Karson’s fingers drummed on the table, impatient to get back to his buddies.

Leary caught a waitress’s attention and ordered Karson a root beer. After a moment’s thought, he ordered one for himself, too.

“I’m looking for Lily Merrick.”

“Why are you asking me? We broke up months ago. I’ve got nothing to do with her anymore.

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.