Dark Debts Read Online Free Page B

Bye.”
    â€œRanda!”
    â€œWhat?”
    The line was silent as he thought. “Nothing. Just hurry.”
    R ay’s was the coffee shop where Cam all but lived. He ate there at least once a day, sometimes three times. His loyalty had mostly to do with the place’s proximity to his apartment. Cam lived in Hollywood, in an area Randa had always referred to as “the hills above Hell.” She had tried repeatedly to talk him into moving to a better neighborhood, but he said he couldn’t write in an antiseptic environment. She had offered that there was a wide range between antiseptic and “likely to be shot in the underground parking garage,” but he’d never listened.
    It was a little after two in the morning when she got to Ray’s. It wasn’t the first time she’d been there at that hour, so the clientele did not catch her off guard. Homeless people, rock-and-roll types, prostitutes of both genders taking a break from trolling, and an eclectic assortment of insomniacs. The “denizens of the deep,” Ray called them, with a certain amount of affection.
    Ray was in his early fifties, short and round with dark features and several visible tattoos. Where he had ever come up with the money to open a coffee shop was a mystery, as he was no businessman whatsoever. Half the regulars had running tabs that they never paid, and whenever someone approached the cash register holding a bill, Ray seemed pleasantly surprised. Randa was convinced he was in the witness protection program. But he was friendly to her, and extremely fond of Cam.
    Cam was nowhere to be found, and his car wasn’t in the lot. Ray was sitting on a stool at the counter, poring over a racing form.
    â€œRay?”
    â€œHey, Randa! Where the hell have you been?”
    â€œI’ve been around.”
    â€œYou ain’t been around here.”
    â€œNo.” The last thing on earth she wanted to do was explain it to Ray. “I’m looking for Cam. Have you seen him?”
    â€œNot since breakfast.”
    â€œBreakfast?”
    â€œNoon. His breakfast. So does this mean he finally unloaded that spook?”
    Ray called any woman with dark hair and heavy makeup a spook. Randa had tried before to explain the racial undertones, but Ray wasn’t interested.
    â€œI have no idea. I haven’t seen him in a long time.”
    â€œYeah, I know. I always ask him about you.”
    He must love that.
    She wondered what Cam had said. She moved away? She got hit by a train? Or had he told Ray the truth? Had the two of them had a good laugh and a moment of male bonding at her expense?
    She ordered a cup of coffee and stepped away to use her cell phone. She’d never taken Cam off her speed dial. The call rang twice before it was picked up by an answering machine and she heard Cam’s voice telling her to leave a message.
    â€œCam? It’s Randa. I’m at Ray’s and you’re not. Are you there?” She gave it a moment, but he didn’t pick up. “I guess you’re on your way. I’m giving it ten minutes and then I’m leaving.” Yeah, talk tough. You’ll sit here until Hell freezes over.
    She hung up and went back to the dining room. She could see a cup of coffee sitting at “their” table, where Ray had put it. There was also a Coke for Cam, and a chocolate chip roll. Ray had never been an ally in her effort to get Cam to eat better. Still, it was a thoughtful gesture.
    She sat down and tried to collect herself. She wanted to be as stoic as possible by the time Cam arrived. Over the past year she had dreaded the inevitability of coming face-to-face with him, because she had no idea how to act. Part of her still felt the same way about him as she’d always felt, and another part wanted him to die slowly and painfully at the hands of skilled torturers. She tried to will herself to stay calm. She would listen to what he had to say and react to