The Accomplice Read Online Free

help you?” asked a girl who was only slightly younger than Caleb. “Do you have an appointment?”
    Before Caleb could make a noise or even attempt to put an answer together, he saw the girl’s eyes become wide as saucers as she covered her mouth with one hand.
    “Oh my goodness,” she said. “Of course you don’t have an appointment. Did you fall down?”
    “No. I wa hi.” Even though it hadn’t been long since the last time he’d tried to speak out loud, Caleb felt as if his jaw had rusted shut. He winced partially from the pain and partially from the knowledge that he was going to have to repeat himself at least one more time.
    “You were hit?” the girl asked. “That’s terrible. Is your jaw broken?”
    Still a little stunned that he’d been understood at all, Caleb shook his head. “No. There jus the glass in—”
    The girl stopped him with a quickly raised hand. “That’s good enough. You probably shouldn’t try talking any more.”
    “Id Docto Seegar in?” Caleb asked against the girl’s orders.
    “Dr. Seegar is with a patient right now and he’ll probably be busy for a while. His partner is available, though.”
    Caleb’s eyes wandered over to a nameplate propped up on the edge of the desk in the reception area. The words on it were the same as the ones painted upon the shingle hanging outside the office.
    The girl stood up as one of the doors leading farther into the office was pulled open. “Dr. Holliday,” she said, “there’s someone here who needs to see you.”

[3]
    Caleb leaned back in a chair that allowed him to stretch out as though he was meant to take a nap. His feet were propped up off the floor, while his upper body leaned back far enough for the inside of his mouth to be examined by the slender man who sat beside him.
    Actually slender wasn’t exactly a proper word to describe Dr. Holliday. He was so thin that his skin hung on him like a sheet draped over a skeleton. His cheeks were pale and sunken, but his eyes glimmered with an inner light. Even with all of this, Holliday still kept from looking weak. It was a hell of a feat, but he pulled it off all the same.
    The dentist sat on a stool next to Caleb’s chair and was just finishing up his preparations when he looked over and gave his patient a personable smile. “Not exactly the most comfortable accommodations,” he said in a smooth, southern drawl. “But considering the scrape you got yourself into, I doubt a feather mattress would make much difference.”
    Caleb nodded, knowing better than to try to speak unless it was absolutely necessary.
    “I assume it’s safe to say this wasn’t self-inflicted?” Holliday asked.
    After waiting long enough to see that the dentist was truly expecting a response, Caleb shook his head. “I go hi wi a bo—le.”
    “A bottle? I usually prefer to keep the bottle on the outside and the liquor in, wouldn’t you agree?”
    Caleb couldn’t help but smirk at Holliday’s easy manner.
    Reaching out with both hands, Holliday eased open Caleb’s mouth and leaned forward for a better look inside. Short, blond hair was parted evenly upon the dentist’s head. A thin mustache covered most of his upper lip, and the closer he got, the more gaunt he looked. His skin was pasty, yet his hands were strong and unwavering. As he leaned in to examine Caleb’s jaw, a subtle wheeze could be heard under every one of Holliday’s breaths.
    “I do believe I’ve seen you before,” Holliday said while he reached for a pair of pliers and began tugging at the shards of glass embedded in Caleb’s jaw.
    Although Caleb couldn’t respond, the questioning look in his eyes was picked up immediately by Holliday.
    “You run the Busted Flush, don’t you?”
    The moment Caleb’s expression shifted, Holliday plucked one of the glass pieces from where it had been lodged. The pain came in a sharp jolt but faded quickly since the glass had only been wedged into skin rather than bone.
    The sound of glass