Last Panda Standing by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

Author:Jarrett J. Krosoczka
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2015-03-11T16:00:00+00:00

KALAMAZOO CITY STREETS, DOWNTOWN, 9:20 A.M.

Detective Corey O’Malley steered the cruiser angrily through the streets toward Kalamazoo U. Plazinski had told him and Cooper to go back there to see if they could dig up any more clues about the assaults on Pandini. O’Malley was pretty sure the trail there was cold, but he didn’t have any better ideas. For an instant, he wished Zengo were riding shotgun again. That crazy kid would probably have come up with some half-baked theory by now that just might lead to a break in the case.

He glanced over at his new partner, who was flipping through the case folder. Cooper’s work habits were like his—methodical, slow and steady, by the book. He was better off teamed up with someone like her. A break would come, sooner or later. Sooner, he hoped.

He was stopped at a red light when his phone beeped. He slipped it out of his back pocket and flipped it open. It was from Zengo.

The light changed. “There’s a text from Zengo,” he said, passing the phone to Cooper before stepping on the gas. “What’s on his mind?”

“Not much,” said Cooper. “‘Pandini says investigating McGovern is a dead end. Had argument with Nutter’s Nuts exec.’ Is he trying to give us a tip?”

O’Malley also wondered what to make of it. Zengo was in a tough spot, instructed to stick to Pandini like feathers on a duck. Was this some sort of signal?

“I wonder if the comment about Nutter’s Nuts has something to do with Pandini’s campaign pledge about nut allergies,” said Cooper. “You know? How he’s going to reduce the amount of nuts in his restaurants and then, if he wins, across the whole town?”

“The folks over at Nutter’s must be none too pleased,” said O’Malley.

“Does that sound like a possible motive to you?”

O’Malley smiled and nodded at his partner. “Just might be,” he said. “Shall we take a swing by there?”

“Sounds like a plan,” said Cooper. “Except . . .”

“Except what?” said O’Malley, turning onto the ramp to the highway.

“If there is anything going on at Nutter’s, the last thing we need would be for the culprits to see us sniffing around the place. And I wonder if we’re jumping the gun by pointing the finger at a disgruntled vendor?”

“A vendor that sells nuts,” said O’Malley. “Foraging and selling nuts is the backbone of the squirrel economy in this city, and Nutter’s Nut Factory has been owned by the same family for generations. Pandini Enterprises runs nearly a quarter of all the restaurants in town. Losing his account is going to be devastating to the Nutter family.”

“But does that make them potential assassins?”

“Of course not,” said O’Malley. “But it’s a big company, there’re bound to be a few wing nuts. . . .”

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