Red Death by Alan Jacobson

Author:Alan Jacobson [Jacobson, Alan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Amazon: 1504063570
Publisher: Open Road Media
Published: 2020-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

34

Vail stood in the resort’s lobby yawning repeatedly before shaking her head and hoping it would somehow wake her up. She caught a guy ogling her, so she pulled back her thin leather jacket and deliberately exposed her holstered Glock and brass FBI badge.

The man looked away faster than a Rottweiler can snatch a hunk of steak.

A moment later, her phone rang.

“Good morning, Adam.”

“Not really.”

“Why?” she asked. “Not enough sleep?”

“Not enough sleep. And.”

Vail waited a beat, but Russell did not finish the thought. “And what?”

“And we’ve got a list, remember?”

“Last night the list was good news.”

“Only by comparison to—”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever. But I thought Ferraro said we couldn’t go that route.”

“He said we couldn’t devote manpower to go door to door. Didn’t say we couldn’t do it.”

“When are you picking me up?”

“I’m parked out front.”

“You could’ve said so.”

“I just did. Get your ass out here.”

Vail strode into the sunlight and saw Russell’s car parked near the valet stand. She descended the steps and climbed into his sedan.

A moment later, they were pulling out of the resort.

“So when we visit these women, I don’t think I should introduce myself as FBI. Might freak them out.”

“You mean freaking them out more than the police coming to their doors and telling them not to wash or shower … until further notice?”

Vail shrugged. “Yeah.”

“We’re not seriously going to tell them that, right?”

“No, Adam. We’re not. You’re going to introduce yourself as HPD Detective Adam Russell and then say, ‘This is my partner Karen Vail.’”

“Thanks. I couldn’t have figured that part out.”

“The key is not saying FBI.”

“Do you think I took a stupid pill this morning? Move on.”

“Right. So we tell her that we’ve gotten an anonymous tip and she should not buy any homemade soap.”

“And you don’t think they’re gonna wonder about us?”

“How so?”

“Like maybe we’re imposters—or cops who’ve lost touch with reality?”

“Sell it. You want me to give you a script?”

Russell frowned at her. “No thank you.”

Vail tried to hold back her smile but failed.

“So which Mary do we visit first?”

“Might as well save time. Go by proximity. Which is closest?”

Russell pulled to the curb and looked over the list he had printed out. “This one. Mary Pollard.”

A mile later, they parked in Pollard’s driveway. Russell took the lead and knocked on her front door, which featured a wreath made of wine corks and silk flowers.

“Pretty,” he said.

“If you like that kind of thing.”

They waited, then rapped on the wood again.

“Now what? Leave a note?”

“No,” Vail said, pulling the list from her back pocket. “We’ve got phone numbers. Let’s call. Maybe she doesn’t hear us.”

“Are those cells or landlines?”

“You’re asking me? It’s your list.”

“Don’t know.”

He dialed and they waited. They did not hear the phone ring inside the house, but Mary Pollard answered. Russell explained who he was and went through the spiel they had agreed on. After hanging up, he turned and headed back to the car.

“Well?”

“Good news is she’s still alive. And she hasn’t bought any soap.”

“How’d she take it?”

“There was some pausing.

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.