The Honorary Jersey Girl by Albert Tucher

Author:Albert Tucher
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Down & Out Books

24

When she had everyone in her office, she started thinking aloud.

“We still need you,” she said to Drake and Tulla. “I thought you might be done, if the cops weren’t coming after Hank anymore. But it wasn’t them, and as long as Orozco is out there ...”

“Is she the one gunning for Hank?” said Don Savage.

“I guess, although I can’t find her motive. Maybe the cops can get it from Thomas Hanbun.”

“Did she kill Marci?”

“I think so. When we finally get a look at her, Hank will know whether she’s the hooker he met in the bar. Even if she isn’t, she still might be the one who’s behind it. She recruited Rachel Park. She must know other women.”

“You know,” said Savage, “I won’t know until I see her, but Orozco might a hooker I busted. Modesty? I think that’s what she called herself.”

“You busted her? There’s an actual arrest record? Or did you take a freebie and her earnings for the day?”

Savage said nothing. Agnes glanced at Tulla and saw the woman adding it up. The sum was apparently something she could live with.

“How much did you get from her?”

“Fifteen hundred.”

To Agnes that sounded like at least three dates. She tried to imagine spreading her legs for three unpleasant or downright repulsive men and then watching a fourth man pocketing her payday.

“So here’s a hooker with a grudge against you.”

“I guess.”

What filled the silence was her cell phone, with the ring tone that said Lanny needed her attention.

“The cops have the Wrangler,” he said. “Up by Hawi.”

Agnes pictured the map of the northern tip of the island. A short off-road trip of the kind that the Wrangler was designed for would have put Orozco on Highway 200, which would have given her a straight shot to the tiny town.

“Was she in it?”

“Doesn’t sound like it.”

“I’ll bet she just got out and caught a ride.”

Hardbitten mainlanders often didn’t understand the open, trusting nature of Big Island residents. Many people who saw a woman hitchhiking would have stopped without hesitation or ulterior motives.

“Meaning she could be anywhere.”

Agnes realized that she was thumbing numbers into her cell phone. When she looked at the digits on the screen, she further realized that she hadn’t considered the time difference. It was close to midnight in New Jersey, but the voice that answered sounded alert.

“Diana Andrews.”

Agnes filled her in. She could feel Andrews thinking.

“Let me make some calls.”

“I’ll owe you big time.”

“You have my people. I want them back. Preferably the way you got them.”

And now Agnes couldn’t think of any place to go but home, which brought her face to face with the strangeness of her life. She liked her home. She might even love it, but going there always took an effort of will. It was a haven, but that was also a problem. Nothing ever happened there, and sometimes the silence unnerved her.

She knew one person on the island who would understand. This huge island had the population of a medium sized city, and it was sometimes hard not to hear about people’s business.

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.