Nightbird Read Online Free

Danny watched through the window.
    “Did you notice anything on the cab?” Ryan said.
    “Don’t you want to know why she called me?”
    “A medallion number would be nice,” Ryan said, ignoring him. Checking his watch.
    “It was yellow, that’s all I know.”
    “Did you see or hear from Gillian after that?”
    “No,” Danny said softly. “Not until I heard her name on the radio this morning.”
    A sudden crash made Danny jump. A UPS truck rear-ended a baby Mercedes whose driver had stopped in the middle of Twelfth Avenue
     to gawk at the USS
Intrepid
.
    “You need to call that in or something?” Danny said, pointing at the instant traffic jam.
    “Nobody’s hurt. The Mercedes has a phone if he wants help.”
    “I thought maybe you had some official duty here. Some regulation to follow, rule eighteen point five or something.”
    “Let’s concentrate on this right now. Was Caramanica’s crowded?”
    “Jammed. All the beautiful people du jour. Sorry, editorializing.”
    “It’s okay,” Ryan said, starting to relax a little. “I can see there’s no stopping you.” He rolled down the car window. Water
     slapped against the pilings beneath them. “So then some of those beautiful people saw Gillian leave alone. And beautiful witnesses
     can verify that you stayed behind?”
    “Absolutely. I stayed to watch the last inning of the Mets game. Maybe another twenty minutes.”
    “Did you go straight home after that?”
    “Absolutely.”
    “How?”
    “Cabbed it. All by my lonesome. Got home in time to catch the news at eleven.”
    “What were you catching at one A.M. ?”
    “Nothing but zees. Snug in my bed.”
    “All by your lonesome?”
    “Don’t sound so surprised. It happens.”
    “Yeah, but for once it’s not a good thing.”
    “Am I a suspect?”
    “No suspects, Danny. It’s a suicide, remember.”
    “Then why the third degree?”
    “To make sure you’re out from under.”
    “Out from under what?”
    Ryan didn’t know exactly
what
. Probably nothing. It was too complicated to explain. Just an instinctive reaction to protect someone he loved.
    “There’s more to this, isn’t there,” Danny said. “It’s not a suicide, is it.”
    “I thought you came here today to
give
information.”
    “The minute you finish your interrogation, I’ll be glad to give you everything.”
    “It’s not an interrogation. I want you to understand that another detective will be running the show.”
    “I thought you said you were working this?”
    “Not after what you just told me. So if you need me to do anything for you, let me know immediately. While there’s still time
     to maneuver.”
    “I have nothing to hide,” Danny said, wondering what his uncle could possibly do if he was involved. What maneuvering room
     could there be?
    “Good,” Ryan said. “Good.”
    “I can give you a solid suspect in this case. This producer, Trey Winters. He’s a big mucky-muck on Broadway.”
    “I know who he is,” Ryan said, putting the car in gear.
    “That scumbag had something to do with this, Uncle Anthony. I know it.”
    “Save it for a few minutes. We’re going up to her apartment.”
    With the window open Ryan could feel heat rising from the blacktop, warning that the day would be another scorcher. He knew
     his nephew wasn’t finished talking. He hoped he wouldn’t complicate things any further.
    “Last night,” Danny said, “I couldn’t get her out of my mind. I remembered her smell, stupid jokes she’d told me. I kept thinking,
     She could have called anybody… but she called me. That means something to me. Then, this morning…”
    Danny Eumont had his mother Nancy’s good looks, her deep brown eyes and fair skin. The same coloring as her sister, Ryan’s
     wife, Leigh. And their son.
    “Why did you break up with her?” Ryan asked.
    “She dumped me, that’s why. It wasn’t my idea. She dumped me for a part in
West Side Story
. Her almighty career. She knew taking the role and