Dirty Work (Rapid Reads) by Farrel Coleman Reed

Author:Farrel Coleman, Reed
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Published: 2013-02-28T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

Ahmed drove away from Todt Hill and headed back to Brooklyn. After Keisha’s murder, Gulliver had left Long Island. He’d moved into the loft space his little sister had bought in Red Hook. Red Hook had once been the toughest neighborhood in New York City. Now it was kind of hip. But it wasn’t quite tamed. First Keisha and now Gulliver liked it that way. Red Hook reflected their lives—orphaned, rough around the edges, but good at heart.

Ahmed told Gulliver he had done a little phone work. He had gotten the name of Anka’s boyfriend at Bloomfield Prep. From what Ahmed had heard, Dillon Kent was a good kid. A smart kid.

“That all you got?” Gulliver asked.

Ahmed grinned. “So far…except maybe his cell-phone number.”

“And how’d you manage that?”

“Hey, little man, you’ve got your ways, I’ve got mine.”

Gulliver agreed. “Fair enough. What’s the number?”

Ahmed remained silent. Gulliver repeated the question several times. Then it hit him. “Oh, the bet about Vespucci not seeing me. You owe me how much? A hundred on top of the hundred I don’t have to give back to you? Okay. You give me Dillon Kent’s cell number. I’ll forget about the second hundred you owe me.”

Ahmed pretended not to hear. “Did you say somethin’, little man, or is there, like, a mosquito buzzin’ in my ear?”

Gulliver gave up. He handed five twenty-dollar bills to Ahmed. “All right, we’ll make it like the bet never existed.”

Gulliver entered Dillon Kent’s number into his cell phone. He didn’t press the Call button. Gulliver had reached his limit for the day. And talking to high schoolers could be delicate. Their hormones and emotions ran high all the time. One false step, and you could lose them. One wrong question, and you might lose their goodwill. There were many reasons Gulliver would never ever want to go back to high school. Just recalling how intensely he had felt everything back then was enough to make him feel sick to his stomach.

Mostly what he’d felt in those days was shame and anger. The pain of his high- school years was never going to go away fully. It was etched into him. Working this case was bringing it all back to him. He was having a hard time controlling his feelings. He was being pushed and pulled in all directions. He needed to go home to rest. To collect his thoughts before going back to see Nina.

“Drop me off at Visitation Place, Ahmed,” Gulliver said. He looked out the window at the Statue of Liberty.

“Will you need me anymore today or tomorrow?”

“Not tonight. Maybe tomorrow. We’ll talk in the morning.”

Ahmed pulled the Escalade up in front of Gulliver’s building. Gulliver hopped out without a word. He stood on the sidewalk in front of the old factory building. No wonder Keisha had picked this place. He stared up at the chipped brick. At the cracked door glass. At the worn steps. This place was like them. It was like Red Hook. Worn down. Beaten up.

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