Bottom Deal by Robert Gregory Browne

Author:Robert Gregory Browne [Browne, Robert Gregory]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Usernet, C429, Kat, Extratorrents
Publisher: Slam Bang Stories
Published: 2011-03-21T13:00:00+00:00

12

failure. Snatched out of her own bedroom while he and Cassandra slept just six

feet and a wall of plaster away. They never heard a thing. And two weeks later,

her body was found in a drainage ditch.

While Cassandra somehow managed to find the internal fortitude to continue

on with her life, Jennings fell hard and still hadn't landed.

Now, he felt an itch rising inside him and for the first time in years it wasn't

the thought of a game that got it going. It was a different kind of itch, the one he'd always felt at the beginning of a new case.

A sudden sense of resolve washed over him and, despite his ex-wife's admonitions and his own protests, he knew he wouldn't rest until he'd scratched

that itch.

Cassandra was right.

There's nothing worse than an ex-cop on a mission.

"I'm sorry, what was your name again?"

"Kravitz," Jennings said. "Detective Jerry Kravitz."

"And did you wish to speak to Mr. Hartley or Mr. Fine?"

"Mr. Hartley."

"I'm afraid he's out of the office. Can I have him call you back?"

After discovering that cell phones don't react well to pool water and cursing

himself for never getting a land line, Jennings had found a battered pay phone

about a block down from his apartment building. This was a long distance call

using an old phone card he'd managed to scrounge up, and there weren't too many

minutes left.

"It can't really wait," he said. "Is there another number I can call? A cell phone maybe?"

"Actually, Mr. Hartley's on vacation and doesn't want to be disturbed. He does check in a couple times a day, but --"

"It's about his wife."

Up until now, the voice on the phone had been generic. A typically efficient

female receptionist in tenor and tone, which, to Jennings, was practically a miracle at eight o'clock in the morning.

Now the voice faltered. "Is Mrs. Hartley in trouble?"

"Why would you ask that?"

"I just assumed that since you're with the police..."

"Do you know Mrs. Hartley?"

"Just in passing. They split up several months ago."

"That's right," Jennings said. "Any idea what caused the break-up?"

"I'm afraid I wouldn't know."

"Come on, now, you're right in the middle of rumor central."

"Sorry, detective, I don't believe in speculating about people's private lives."

"Sure you do," Jennings said. "Otherwise why would you ask if Mrs.

Hartley's in trouble when most people would've asked if she's okay?"

"Is there a difference?"

"You know there is."

Another pause. This one longer. "Las Vegas," she said, finally. "He's spending the week in Vegas."

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