Determinant Read Online Free Page B

knuckles he wore on each fist. Ray swung on the man named Thomas first. Connecting with his cheek, Ray felt his fist shatter bone. He swung three more times—two lefts and another right that sent Thomas to the ground. Ray reached down with his left hand and grabbed Thomas by his hair. Ray delivered three more rights. Jeff ran for his truck. Ray walked after him. Jeff got inside and locked the door.
    Ray walked up along the driver’s side of the truck and punched through the window. Jeff, covered in shattered glass, fumbled with the keys in the ignition. Through the void of the window, Ray struck him twice in the side of the face. Jeff rolled to his side on the seat. He scrambled to get to the passenger door to escape. Ray got the driver’s door open and yanked him out of the truck by his feet. As soon as he hit the ground, Ray swarmed him and rained down punches. When the blood started to splatter his suit, he stopped. Ray stood over Jeff on the ground. The man’s mouth hung open. Most of his front teeth had been broken out. His nose was crushed. Ray lifted his foot and stomped Jeff’s head until he stopped moving. He stuck a finger into the collar of his shirt and cracked his neck from side to side. “I think maybe you guys picked the wrong person to start something with.”
    Ray let out a large breath through his nose. He put his hands in the front pockets of his suit jacket and let the blood covered brass knuckles fall inside. “Amateurs.” He lit a cigarette and headed for his car.

Chapter 5
    It was a beautiful morning. The temperature was right around sixty five. The humidity was low. I opted to take the one mile walk from my condo to the station. I entered the building a few minutes before nine o’clock. A tall fresh cup of coffee accompanied me. Callie had just picked me up a new thermal mug. The last few times she stayed over she’d get up before me and make sure I had a cup for the road. I unlocked my office door and walked inside. As soon as I sat, Hank walked in.
    “Are you just getting here now?”
    I took the lid of my coffee mug and had a sip. “Yeah, I walked.”
    He sat on the couch at the back of the room. “Didn’t want to drive your fancy new car?”
    “It’s not that. It’s just nice out. I thought I’d enjoy the morning.”
    He pushed himself back into the cushions and made like he was steering a car. “If I had that thing I’d be driving the wheels off it.”
    I smirked. “Instead you’re driving the wheels off a pink hybrid.”
    “Raspberry. It’s raspberry.”
    I nodded. “Keep telling yourself that.”
    “So how did your date last night go?”
    “It was fine.”
    “I was looking for a six month anniversary card at the store last night, but I couldn’t find one.”
    I glared at him. He smiled and kicked a leg over his knee. I noticed he had reverted back to a normal suit and shoes instead of his high fashion attire from weeks past. Hank’s wife had recently signed with some high priced mail order suit subscription. The service came complete with a fashion consultant. I was guessing he finally saw the bill. “Did that outfit come from Box O’ Style? Looks pretty tame.”
    He shook his head. “I decided to cancel.”
    “Really?” I smiled. “Why is that?”
    “I just wasn’t into their selections.”
    I nodded. “You mean the bill came?”
    He was quiet.
    “How much per?” I asked.
    Hank looked down. “Twenty-three hundred.”
    I laughed.
    “How many boxes before you saw the bill?”
    “Five. In the last box was a four hundred dollar pair of socks. That was it.”
    I smiled. “So did you just come in here to shoot the shit or what? Don’t you have some police work to do?”
    “Not really. I was thinking about stepping out to grab a coffee? The coffee machine in the lunch room is on the fritz again.”
    “Hey, maybe you can find a coffee upstairs in Missing Persons while you’re seeing if they have anything on our floater.”
    He sat quiet for a second. A