Crooked Idols by Z.J. Cannon

Author:Z.J. Cannon [Cannon, Z.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Z.J. Cannon
Published: 2022-06-22T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

Ashworth had more to lose if the truth of our encounter came out than I did. I knew that. Still, when you’re depending on a mortal enemy to work in your best interests, it can’t hurt to have a backup plan. Mine was parked in front of my office, window down, his gray-eyed scowl going darker with every word I said.

His passenger side door was still dented. I thought it best not to comment.

“You realize it will cost me what little credibility I still have in the department if I try to cover up something this big and fail,” Sullivan said when I was done. “And probably a lot more than that. You and I would be sharing a jail cell by the time it was over.”

“Then if you don’t want me as a roommate, consider it extra incentive to do the job right.” I flashed him a smile, but my heart wasn’t in it. You see a bunch of innocents come that close to death, you lose your appetite for heckling the local law enforcement. At least Sullivan had his moral compass pointed in the right direction.

“With any luck, it won’t come to that,” I said. “Ashworth’s got a vested interest in keeping this out of the news.”

“So you said.” Sullivan’s eyes bored into me. “But you weren’t clear as to why. What would it cost him if people found out his campaign headquarters was assaulted by an axe-wielding madwoman? It seems to me that it would only gain him public sympathy.”

And here was the trouble with working with people who didn’t know the truth of the world. “Let’s just say, if the full story came out, the city would see a side of him they didn’t much like.”

Sullivan, understandably, looked less than satisfied with that answer. “And when are you going to tell me what your associate was doing there in the first place?”

“You said you’d help if I needed it,” I reminded him. “You never mentioned anything about needing to hear all the details first.”

“You’re asking me to trust you.” Sullivan eyed me from under the growing cliff of his brows. “You.”

“You’re the one who made the offer, not me.”

Sullivan took a slow breath. His fingers tightened around the steering wheel like he wished it was my neck. “This will help with whatever you’re doing to protect Lew Larimer and his son?”

I nodded. Well, it was true in a roundabout sort of way. My face getting splashed all over the news wouldn’t help Larimer or anyone else.

“Right now they’re calling it a robbery,” Sullivan said. “All the eyewitnesses confirm the story. It seems no one got a good look at the attacker’s face. No one mentioned an axe, either.” He gave me a long look, clearly waiting for some kind of explanation as to why my story didn’t line up with what the witnesses had to say. I gave him my best poker face.

At last, Sullivan looked away. “Let’s hope you’re right and nothing more comes of it.

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.