Bargain Hunting by Rhonda Pollero

Author:Rhonda Pollero [Pollero, Rhonda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance, Suspense, Mystery & Detective, Women Sleuths, General
ISBN: 9781439101001
Google: 4SAYLiYM1GkC
Amazon: 141659082X
Publisher: Gallery Books
Published: 2012-10-29T16:00:00+00:00

Happiness covers all things except poverty and a bad haircut.

twelve

Deed in hand, I went to the nearest bail bondsman. It was a small, single-story building with glass partitions separating those who were arranging bail from those who were collecting the cash or collateral.

To say I was out of my element was an understatement. Very few people had all their teeth and at least three of the patrons looked as if they’d been in the same clothes for a week or more. Like some sort of deli counter, I pulled a ticket out of a machine and waited for my number to be called. Each minute felt like an hour and I was still ten people away from being picked.

I got a call from the IT guys at Dane-Lieberman and stepped out to take the call.

“Did you find the IP address?” I asked, hopeful that it would result in some sort of clue that would take us to a new place in the investigation.

“Yeah, but it isn’t good news. Know that coffee shop on Australian, Wired?”

“Yes.”

“The e-mail originated from one of their computers.”

Shit. Shit. And double shit.

He promised to leave my laptop in my office, then I went back inside to discover my number was next in the rotation. Even though I knew Liam was not capable of shooting anyone for no good reason, I still felt panicked at the thought of gambling with my much-coveted house.

If I thought getting to my number was a triumph, I was sadly mistaken. I was handed a hefty stack of forms, told to go over to the chipped Formica counter on the adjacent wall and fill them out. Once that was done, I was to take the paperwork and my deed to window number 7.

The questionnaire was lengthy and covered everything from my date of birth to my relationship—if any—to the inmate. The options were in black and white. You were either a family member or a friend. No box to check if you were just in lust with the person you were bonding out.

Number 7 was a bleached blonde with some miles on her. She was as wrinkled as a slept-in linen skirt and never smiled or sent out any sort of positive vibe. What did I expect? “Welcome to Fred’s Bonds, have a great day?” Instead she moistened her fingers, flipped through the pages, and stamped each one. She disappeared behind a door for a moment, then slipped some pages into the well between the glass and me.

On to step two. I went back to the courthouse and presented the bond to the clerk. He made a production out of making sure every i was dotted and every t was crossed. Then he told me I would have to wait an hour before the inmate would be released.

I wasn’t going to sit around. I grabbed a chicken salad sandwich to go from the courthouse cafeteria and walked the two blocks back to my office. All the while my brain was spinning. I dropped my things off, reclaimed my laptop and secured it in my briefcase, then buzzed Becky.

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