P N Elrod - 09 Lady Crymsyn by P N Elrod

Author:P N Elrod
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2015-09-24T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

"Hey, Sport." Rita tapped my arm with the back of her hand. "Come on, ante up."

Because of my own murder, I was all too intimately aware of what Lena Ashley had gone through. The horror, the anger I felt on her behalf were understandable.

But of all the people in the world, I was in a unique position to give her justice.

Rita tapped again. "Come on. What's your payoff in this?"

"Nothing I can talk about."

"Sure you can. Fork over."

"Just think of me as being an advocate for the dead." Pretentious as hell, but if Escott could call himself a private agent and get away with it, then I could pick a title for myself, too.

"A what?"

"Someone who speaks for people like Lena. Can do something for them. Find and give them the justice they deserve."

She shot me a sideways glance. "You're crazy."

I drove sedately, seeing every detail of the passing streets and none of it registering. "Don't you want somebody to nail the guy who killed Lena?

Shouldn't he get what's coming to him?"

"Yeah, but some guys know how to duck out on what they got coming.

Whoever did that to Lena would be one of them."

"He can't duck out on me."

"Yeah? What makes you so special?"

I flashed her a quick grin and wink, because it was time to go to work on her, and this was the way to go about it.

"You already know that one, sweetheart."

She did, or thought she did, and gave a half smile in agreement, not catching on that my answer was no real answer.

"You got a cigarette? I'm dying for a smoke."

I carry a pack mostly for others to borrow from and produced it and some matches. She took both from me and lighted up.

"Talk to me about Lena."

"Oh, jeez. I told you—"

"None of it'll come back on you. I promise."

"Yeah, sure it won't, Sport."

"My name's Jack." I had the idea she'd forgotten it.

"Okay… Jack," she said, grudgingly.

"But I can't talk to you about this." She rolled her window down and blew smoke out onto the city.

"Because you're afraid of Shivvey?"

"Him? He doesn't—"

"The truth, Rita."

Her knee-jerk bravado melted. "He doesn't scare me, but I'd be stupid not to listen when he tells me something. An'

last night he told me to keep clear of you."

"So why did you jump off the table at me like you did?"

"Seemed like it would get a laugh, and show him up for taking off on me, and besides… you're cute."

"So are you."

"But I didn't think you'd be sweating me with questions all evening. I want another kind of—"

"All in good time, angel. I'll make up for it with you."

She grumbled something under her breath that sounded like "you'd better."

"Tell me about Lena. Those last days.

Never mind about what Shivvey said to do. He's not going to come into this."

"But he—"

"He's nothing, and I won't let him hurt you. You're doing this for Lena's sake."

"But it ain't gonna work, I already tried."

"It will. You'll have help this time. Real help."

Dark narrow look from her as she puffed the cigarette down to nothing.

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