Deadly Politics: A Nichelle Clarke Crime Thriller by LynDee Walker

Author:LynDee Walker [Walker, LynDee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Severn River Publishing
Published: 2019-03-24T16:00:00+00:00

19

My legs carried me all the way to the car before they started shaking. Two knock-kneed blocks away, I glanced in my rearview—and almost plowed into a parked catering van.

“Kessler! Are you kidding me?” I choked out when I could breathe and the car was pointed in the right direction again.

“What gives, Nichelle?” He didn’t even blink, like he broke into people’s cars every day. Which I knew damned good and well he didn’t—he’d beat me to stories way more often if this were part of his regular playbook.

I swerved into the empty parking lot in front of the biggest law firm in town, my knuckles going white around the steering wheel as I tipped my head back, staring at the towering gray marble building and inhaling for a slow ten count.

Talk about a morning. I was more than a little scared and a whole lot mad, and confident I could wring Dan Kessler’s skinny neck in less time than it took to reapply my lip gloss.

But I didn’t want to hurt Dan.

Yet, anyway.

“Come on. We all know—” he began, putting a warm, sticky hand on my shoulder.

“I would take that back before I lost it if I were you.” The words slid through teeth clenched so tight I wasn’t sure how sound made it out.

He snatched it away.

Another breath.

Another ten count.

I closed my eyes and opened my mouth. “I am not having the best day ever, Dan.” Even I was impressed with how calm and (honestly) sane I sounded. “And I have no intention of spilling my guts to anybody, but even if I had gut-spilling plans, why in the name of Christian Louboutin would you think I’d confide in you?”

He cleared his throat, his suit rustling against the leather seat as he squirmed. I checked the mirror.

“You can talk now,” I said.

“If you’d let me finish my sentence, what I was going to say was, we all know you didn’t make up the thing about the dead whore.”

My head snapped around. “Watch it. Her name was Lakshmi.”

His hands flew up in mock surrender. “Lakshmi, Lakshmi. Didn’t know you two were buds.”

“I have to be buds with someone to remind you not to be a demeaning, misogynistic ass? Since when?”

“Now hang on,” he said. “I wasn’t trying to be insulting.”

“Yet you said not a word about the men who were in any of those videos.” I arched one eyebrow.

He was quiet for three blinks. “Point taken. Truce?”

I nodded.

“I mean, I can tell Charlie’s hoping you’ve cracked, but even she knows better, deep down.” He leaned forward, practically rubbing his hands together. “The truth is your whole deal. A person’s inherent personality doesn’t just change overnight.” He flashed his I-belong-on-the-anchor-desk smile.

I sighed. “What do you want, Dan?”

“I want to know how you knew about her. We all know the cops tell you juicy stuff they don’t tell anyone else, but with the governor saying you’re wrong, I smell a rat. All I’m trying to figure out is where it’s rotting. Come on, Clarke.

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