Certain Dark Things by Erica Abbott

Author:Erica Abbott
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9781594932953
Publisher: Bella Books
Published: 2012-12-01T05:00:00+00:00

***

She was surprised to see Jack Calvin appear at four o’clock. “I thought Rivera came on at four,” she told him.

Calvin scowled, and CJ saw that his face settled organically into the expression, as if perpetual discontentment was his natural state.

“The girl called me this afternoon, asked me to cover her shift. Said she’s sick or something. I’ll be on until eight in the morning.”

She said, “Give me a minute.” Stepping out of the room, she called to McCarthy.

“Did you talk to Elizabeth Rivera to set up the appointment?” she asked him.

“Yeah. Isn’t she here?”

“No, Calvin showed up instead. Did she sound all right? Not ill, or anything?”

“She didn’t sound happy about it, but otherwise she sounded okay.”

“Call her again, at home, and see how she’s doing, will you? I’m going back in to talk to Calvin.”

“Will do.”

She returned to the interview room. CJ looked at Calvin and said sympathetically, “I’m sorry you have to cover for Rivera. A double shift is tough.”

He shrugged, the scowl still firmly in place.

“Yeah, it sucks, but I could use the overtime.”

“Has Rivera ever done that before?”

He rubbed a hand over the three remaining hairs on top of his head and said, “Nah, but she’s only been here a couple of months. The guy before her, Arnold, he was a real motherfucking pain in the ass. I got called every other week to cover him because he just didn’t show. Surprised it took them so long to fire his sorry ass.”

CJ asked, “You do need the money, don’t you, Jack?”

The frown deepened. “Hell, yes. I’m sure you know why by now. I’ve got three fucking jobs and I still have to live in a dump so my ex-wives and ex-kids can live in comfort. Husbands really get fucked over in court, y’know?”

CJ lacked sympathy for any man who referred to his children as “ex-kids,” but asked only, “Did you take the knife, Jack?”

He all but spat at her. “I don’t know where the hell it is, but I didn’t take it. I’m not that much of an idiot. I need this motherfucking job.” He looked at her sharply. “Is that what this is, just some excuse to fire me? White guys like me who actually work are a vanishing breed, y’know, everything these days is blacks and Mexicans and queers.”

Now she was mad. Carefully, she said, “So, now I’m curious. Was the remark about blacks a reference to Munro Wilson? Maybe Mexicans includes Elizabeth Rivera? Or were you perhaps referring to me?”

“What the fuck? Inspector…” He stopped suddenly, realizing what she meant.

“Get out, Calvin,” she said, her fury carefully controlled. “I’ve got your denial of any involvement in the theft on record. If I find out you did take the weapon, I’ll do everything I can to see that you are prosecuted for it. As it is, I think a transcript of this interview might be useful to Chief Wylie.”

His face went brick red, and he barked, “Why, you little—”

“Don’t finish that sentence,” she said sharply.

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.