County Vices by A.M. McKnight

Author:A.M. McKnight [McKnight, A.M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781518661341
Amazon: B07567ZYJV
Goodreads: 36142040
Published: 2017-08-29T03:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Beverly Gordon rolled her eyes and thought about hitting the disconnect button. “Why are you calling me at work? This isn’t a good time,” she said.

“I just felt like it,” Chris said. “I wanna make up for not taking you out to dinner.”

“And it took you nearly two days to call?” Beverly wasn’t expecting an answer.

“Sorry, I got caught up in something yesterday. It’s hump day, so how about I treat you to lunch?”

Beverly was done with Chris. Her patience—thin.

“No,” she said. “We’re having lunch brought in for an office meeting, and I’m tied up rest of the week, too.”

“Okay, but what about dinner tonight?” Chris asked.

“I’m busy studying,” Beverly lied but didn’t feel guilty about it. She planned to stay clear of Chris after getting a call from her cousin Terry last night. Terry had been ordered by Cleo to find Chris—no matter what. She was raging about a suspicious warehouse robbery that put two people in the hospital. Beverly had read about the assaults in the morning paper and instantly thought back to Chris being on the phone at her place. The thought of him planning a crime while standing on her balcony first made her sick. Then it made her furious.

Beverly put her finger on the end-call button. She’d had enough of Chris. “I gotta go. Bye.” She logged out of the phone system for a coffee break.

***

Alex stood in front of Tina and whispered, “Raise your right hand and swear on your spiked crew-cut you won’t say a word to anybody.”

“You raise your right hand and swear on your badge you’ll go out with me,” Tina whispered back.

“Tina, get serious.”

“I am serious. I’m not spying on my co-worker unless I get something in return.”

“We’re not spying on her,” Alex said and looked over Tina’s shoulder toward the IRS call center cubicles. “I just need to find out what’s going on with her boyfriend.” Alex took Tina by the arm and led her into the center’s break room.

“Same difference,” Tina said. “And how am I supposed to help? She barely speaks to me.”

“All you have to do is ask about her weekend plans,” Alex said as she put quarters into the vending machine, “or make up something like…you’re thinking about buying a truck like the one her boyfriend drives.”

“I hate trucks. They make me look like some lesbian who forgot to comb her hair.” Tina reached in front of Alex and pressed the selection button. A strawberry pastry dropped into the pickup tray. Tina opened the pack, broke off half, and handed the other half to Alex.

“I wanted the oatmeal bar,” Alex said.

“I want to know why you’re dragging me into whatever this is. I deal with grumpy taxpayers all day. You’re the professional snoop. You talk to her.”

Alex handed the pastry back to Tina and put more quarters in the machine. She fished out the granola bar that dropped before pushing Tina to the far end of the break room table.

“You work with her, and I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important,” Alex said.

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