The Devil You Know by Steven Henry

Author:Steven Henry
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Clickworks Press
Published: 2021-09-18T00:00:00+00:00

“I thought you were going home,” Vic said when he saw Erin.

“I was. Then I came back.”

“Forget something?”

“No, I thought of something. I know why our guy picked out an ordinary girl and dressed her as a hooker.”

“Because real hookers are expensive?” Vic guessed.

“No, because they’re suspicious,” she said. “Any street girl who’s been around knows better than to take a drink from a stranger. It’s hard to kidnap a prostitute.”

Vic nodded. “Yeah, you got a point. Working girls fight back. Plus, there’s the pimp to consider. One of those guys sees a john carrying one of his girls out of a club, there’s a good chance he pulls a knife or a gun.”

“Too many variables, too much risk,” Erin said.

“Okay, I believe you,” Vic said. “But that couldn’t have waited until tomorrow?”

“I had some other stuff to take care of. I don’t live that far away.”

He shrugged. “If this is how you get your kicks, I’m not gonna tell you how to spend your downtime. But you might have wanted to get some sleep.”

“Vic, it’s not even seven o’ clock. That hasn’t been my bedtime since I was three.”

“You know the reason for early bedtime for toddlers is so mommy and daddy can have grown-up time, don’t you?”

“Vic…” she began warningly.

“You’re picturing it right now, aren’t you,” he said with a grin. “Your mom and dad, in their bedroom…”

“You asked me to shoot you earlier today,” she reminded him. “I’m still armed. I could change my mind.”

“Speaking of angry women with loaded firearms,” he said, “I just talked to Zofia. She says her squad is working a case with a Lucarelli dealer and she might have something for me. She said it’s kismet. I dunno what that is. Some new street drug, maybe.”

“I think it’s another word for fate,” Erin said.

“Oh.”

“Vic, is it possible for English to be your second language if you don’t have a first language?”

“I do have a first language.”

“What is it?”

He held up a large fist, showing the scars on the backs of his knuckles.

“So… Piekarski?” Erin prompted.

“She’s on the Lower East Side, Little Italy,” he said. “They’re setting up in a surveillance van. I said we’d drop by in a couple hours. I was about to call you. You want to catch some Zs before then?”

“Not if it means sleeping on the break room couch.”

“I’ve slept on that couch.”

“Yeah, you and God only knows what else. Hard pass. I’ll just drink lots of coffee.”

“Mountain Dew for me,” Vic said. “Everybody’s got their chemical dependencies. See? I can speak English just fine. I got your kismet right here.”

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