Send Out The Clowns (Frank River Series) Read Online Free

you ever get used to it. Even Al
blanches on occasion, and he's been at it for years."
    Gerry straightened and took a deep breath. "What do you
want me to do?"
    "Are you still living in Kingwood?"
    Gerry nodded. "Pine Grove actually."
    "Okay. Drive me home and you take the squad car. Pick
me up at 0730. We'll go watch the autopsy before we eat, and then see if we can
run down any information on the clown AKA Monkey's Island."
    "You got it, Boss man." She held up her hand for a
high five, a grin spreading ear to ear. Frank decided that maybe she should
have gone on stage. She could definitely portray emotions.
    As they drove west on 1-10, Frank purposely did not give
directions. He won a bet with himself. Gerry turned into the apartment complex
where Frank lived and into a parking slot close to his apartment. They both sat
quietly, neither one obviously ready to put an end to their first acquaintance.
    Sports teams talk often about chemistry among the players,
Frank thought. Whatever chemistry is, it's important to fellow detectives. This
seems so right. I hope it's still there tomorrow. He glanced at Gerry. She was
looking at him.
    "You got a girl, Frank?"
    "What? You mean they left it out of my dossier?"
    "Yeah. Just the facts, man."
    "Her name is Paulette. I call her Pauley. We've been an
item for years."
    "Wedding bells coming soon?"
    Frank shook his head. "Never, probably. She doesn't
want to be married to a cop. Scared, not judgmental."
    "I can identify with that," Gerry said. "I
try to keep my social life as free of uniforms and stress as I can, but who
else is there to hang around with? Life's too short to try and balance this
career with a fawning civilian."
    Frank opened the door and stepped out. He leaned in before
he closed it and winked. "See you at 7:30, partner." Gerry grinned
and put the car in gear. Frank pushed the door closed and watched as she backed
out of the space and left the parking lot before he turned toward his
apartment. He was whistling when he let himself in. The morose mood from the
morning was gone. He was probably just tired. He got grumpy when he was tired.

Chapter 3
     
    Frank entered the empty apartment. One reason he did not
mind working weekends, was that Pauley worked late on Fridays and all day
Saturday. It was the best time for him to get some work done without
interfering with their social life.
    He checked the answering machine. Nothing. He did a quick
sweep of the room. No note from Pauley. He changed into a tee shirt and jeans,
and dug into a box he kept in the coat closet near the front door. He found
what he wanted in the far corner under other precious paraphernalia. It took a
half an hour to pull out the college textbook he was looking for and get
everything back in its rightful place. He took the book to the kitchen table
and opened the fridge. He chose a can of Keystone Light, opened it, took a swig
and sat the frosty can on the table by the book before heading to the living room.
    He started whistling again, caught himself and smiled. He
lugged the black leather case containing his laptop computer into the kitchen
and hooked it up. While it booted, he sliced some summer sausage and cheese,
and opened a fresh box of crackers. He took another sip of beer and started
leafing through the book.
    The book was required for a course he had taken while at Sam
Houston State - History of Homicide. The professor, Henry Rafferty, was a
retired homicide detective and one of the most demanding in the major. The man
remained Frank's favorite, his mentor. Often, in the early days of a new case,
Henry would intrude into Frank's dreams, cajoling him to do better work and
remove a murderer from the streets. Henry had not bothered Frank yet on this
case, but then Frank had not been asleep yet either. Maybe if he reviewed the
lessons he had learned, he could avoid a nightmare.
    When the computer beeped that it was ready, Frank activated
the web search and hunted for information concerning serial