House of the Rising Sun Read Online Free

assistants zipped Peter Messina’s body into a black plastic bag. Then they slung him onto a gurney and wheeled him toward the front door.
    â€œAre you okay?”
    Ray jumped. He turned and found Jenny Porter standing next to him. Surprised, he stared at her for a couple of seconds, wondering how she had gotten so close without him noticing, wishing he had seen her coming so he could have walked away. That’s how much he wanted to see Jenny Porter. Still, he hadto admit she looked good in her cocktail waitress uniform. It was a black one-piece with a short skirt, a sleeveless top with a plunging neckline, and a pair of high spiked “fuck me” pumps. She didn’t wear stockings. She didn’t need to; her legs were tanned and smooth.
    But seeing her made Ray feel like throwing up because he couldn’t look at her without thinking about her being shacked up with Tony Zello. As she reached a hand toward his swollen eye, Ray ducked.
    â€œI heard you got hurt,” Jenny said.
    â€œYou talking about the guy in the mask pistol-whipping me, Tony slugging me in the eye, or Landry punching me in the stomach?”
    She smiled. “I heard you had a rough night.”
    â€œGood news travels fast.”
    â€œI’m worried about you,” she said, the smile falling from her face.
    â€œDon’t be,” he said. “You’re the last person in the world I want worrying about me.”
    She looked hurt. “Why are you so hostile to me?”
    â€œYou know why.”
    â€œWhat happened between you and Tony?”
    â€œNone of your business.”
    â€œRay,” she said, reaching to touch his arm.
    He pulled away. “Your boyfriend is an asshole.” He said it loud.
    Jenny glanced around, nervous. She kept her voice low. “Tony isn’t my boyfriend.”
    â€œThat’s not what I heard.” Keeping his voice loud.
    â€œThat’s over. It’s been over. I’ve told you that a dozen times.” Ray didn’t say anything.
    â€œTell me what happened, Ray. Maybe I can help you.”
    â€œI told you what happened. Tony was being an asshole.” He said it loud again.
    Jenny looked around again. “Keep your voice down.”
    â€œYou afraid I’m going to reveal some big secret about Tony? I got news for you . . .” Ray raised his hands and faced the cops and crime-scene geeks who were still working and the few customers who hadn’t been cut loose yet. He shouted, “Everybody already knows that Tony Zello is an asshole!”
    Jenny turned away and looked down, embarrassed.
    After a moment she looked back at Ray. “Why is he pissed off at you?”
    â€œHe thinks I should have done more, somehow kept the retarded kid from getting his face blown off.”
    â€œDon’t say that.”
    â€œDon’t say what?”
    â€œDon’t call him . . . don’t call Pete that.”
    â€œRetarded?”
    She nodded.
    â€œWhy not?” he said. “That’s the medical term for it, isn’t it, retarded?”
    â€œHe was your friend. He looked up to you.”
    Ray shrugged. Truth was, Pete had been his friend, his only friend at the House, but that wasn’t the point of this conversation. This was about getting back at Jenny any way he could. “You want me to call him something more respectful,” Ray asked, “like mentally handicapped or IQ challenged?”
    She stared at him without speaking.
    â€œI don’t think Pete cares,” Ray said. “He’s dead. Besides, it’s a fact, isn’t it? He was retarded. If you’ve got a hundred and fifty IQ, you’re a genius. If you’ve got a room-temperature IQ, you’re a retard.”
    â€œYou’re an even bigger asshole than Tony.”
    â€œIt’s touching that you stand up for your boyfriend like that. It really is.”
    She stamped her foot and shouted, “He’s not my goddamn