Peak Road - A Short Thriller (Jon Stanton Mysteries Book 10) Read Online Free Page A

morning, I went to Julie’s house. When she answered the door, she didn’t say anything.
    “I’m sorry I didn’t come over yesterday.”
    She nodded. “It’s okay.” She folded her arms.
    “Could I impose on you for a bit? I need to go to Nevada for a little while. I was hoping you could take Hanny. If you can’t, I completely under—”
    “No, I’d be happy to watch him.”
    I nodded, never letting go of her gaze. “I’m sorry.”
    “Don’t be. I don’t know what the problem is, but we all have our demons, don’t we?”
    “Yeah, we do.”
    I left my keys with her then texted my captain, Kai, saying that I would need to use some leave. Laka didn’t have a problem covering my cases for a week, and I told her I would make it up to her. Luckily, the captain didn’t micromanage his team, and he trusted me when I told him I had a good reason to take time off.
    The airport was bustling with tourists, as it always was. I took an Uber ride down, and the driver didn’t speak a word until we actually arrived at the airport.
    “Where you goin’?” he asked.
    “Nevada.”
    “Las Vegas?”
    “No, a town called Peak Road.”
    “Never been.” He took out a pack of gum, shoved a piece into his mouth with the wrapper still on, then spit out the wrapper onto the passenger seat. “Don’t sound like much.”
    “Probably isn’t much.”
    “Why you goin’?”
    I watched a plane lift off and rocket into the air. Its engines drowned out the sound of traffic for a few seconds. “I don’t actually know.”
    “Weird thing to go someplace and not know why.”
    “It is.”
    I paid on my phone at the terminal and left a good tip. I’d brought only one gym bag full of clothes, and I slung it over my shoulder then headed in. The security agent had to call a supervisor because of my gun, then I was allowed through. Law enforcement officers were allowed to fly with firearms, but that didn’t mean the TSA gave us an easy time for it.
    Mickey was sitting in one of the seats near our gate, one leg crossed over the other. He was wearing a suit and tie, and I was in my jeans and leather jacket. I suddenly felt underdressed.
    “I didn’t know we were on a date. I would’ve worn a dress,” I said.
    He grinned. “Old habits. The Bureau always had strict dress standards.”
    “From Hoover, right? I remember something about him and a dress.” I loved teasing Mickey about J. Edgar Hoover. If ever there was a tyrant who hadn’t respected the Constitution, it was Hoover. He stood for everything the Founding Fathers were against: the ends justifying the means and the shredding of personal liberty.
    “You know,” he said, leaning back in the seat, “I interviewed this old-timer down in Florida in the eighties. He was a capo in the Bonanno crime family. Worked with Luciano and Meyer Lansky personally. He swore to me he’d seen the photos of Hoover cross-dressing. That he was a transvestite and homosexual but knew he’d be run out of the director position if it ever came out. Obviously, I have to consider the source in that story—those guys can’t be trusted for anything. They’ll lie even when there’s no benefit to lying, but it made me wonder.”
    “Would it make a difference to you if he was a cross-dresser?”
    “No. It’d make me pity him more than anything. That he had to hide his true self his entire life.” I understood what Mickey meant—the idea of hiding one’s self gave me an uncomfortable tightness in my chest.
    I turned to watch the planes landing and taking off. I was still impressed that humans had conquered flight. Of all the animals on the planet that have ever lived, we were the only ones who could fly without being born with the ability.
    “How did you know I would come?” I asked.
    “Because you’ve never been able to say no to this type of case.”
    “What type is that?”
    He held my gaze for a second. “Hopeless.”
    Our flight was called, and we filed into the plane with the