A Reason to Live by Iden Matthew

Author:Iden, Matthew [Iden, Matthew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General, Mystery & Detective, Fiction, Hard-Boiled, (¯`'•.¸//(*_*)\\¸.•'´¯)
ISBN: 1475283334
Google: _bE2LgEACAAJ
Amazon: B0081MW9LM
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Published: 2012-04-30T04:00:00+00:00

. . .

Kransky eased up to the curb in a Corolla that looked like it had pulled duty in a war zone. It was an older model, the one that Toyota tried to make look sporty, all angles and sharp corners. At a guess, it had once been white; now it was a dingy gray that reminded me of a dirty sink. Where there was paint, that is. A quarter of the car was covered in patches and body work that gave it a leprous, diseased look. He got out of the car and slammed the door without locking it then hurried up the steps, hands in his pocket against the cold, without a coat or jacket as usual. I held the door for him as he ducked inside.

"What is that?" I said.

He stopped. "What?"

"That," I said, pointing at the car.

He glanced over his shoulder. "Impound. Some junkie's piece of crap."

"Is it going to make it? You can borrow my car if you need it."

"It'll be fine. I had it checked out last week," he said. "It just looks bad. It runs great."

I was about to say it was hard enough to keep Amanda alive without endangering her life on the road, but she clomped down the steps at that moment. Kransky turned to look up at her. I turned, too, but was still halfway facing the door, so I had a good view of his expression.

Kransky always had one of the best poker faces I ever saw. It had been indispensable when we questioned suspects or reluctant witnesses. I'm not exactly cut out to play the good cop, but when they got a look at Kransky's stark, unforgiving stare, I had no choice but to play the patsy in any two-on-one interrogation. It took me years to learn that it was when his face lost all expression that he was showing the most emotion.

As Amanda came down the steps, his face took on the flatness of a marble countertop. His skin was pale, the cheekbones and the lines in his face standing out in sharp relief. His mouth was a slash and his eyes were like small chips of glass. Amanda looked at him with a hesitant smile, then stuck a hand out as she got to the bottom step. "Hi, I'm Amanda Lane."

His hand shot out automatically and he pumped it up and down one, two, three times, before he said simply, "Jim Kransky." Then he stood there, mute. Amanda turned to me, eyebrows raised. I stepped in.

"Ah, you know where you're going, Jim? GW campus. Amanda will show you the building. A university cop will meet you outside."

He blinked. "Got it."

I turned to Amanda. "I'll catch a cab back from the doctor's. Call Kransky if anything goes wrong, looks wrong."

She nodded. "Are you going to be all right?"

"I'm going to ask them to take it easier on me this time. And I won't be driving, which should save some lives on the Beltway."

She smiled, then her eyes went wide and she said, "Forgot my backpack," as she ran upstairs.

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.