The Accomplice Read Online Free Page A

clattering against the inside of a tin cup rattled through the small room, followed by the sound of Holliday coughing twice into the back of his hand.
    “One down,” Holliday said. “Halfa bottle to go. Normally, that statement makes me so much happier. Of course, I’m usually referring to emptying the bottle glass by glass.” His thick southern accent colored every word, lending to his speech a smooth, rounded texture.
    Sitting in that chair, Caleb did everything he could to get his mind away from what was being done. That left only the dentist himself to occupy his thoughts, since that pale, sunken face was practically the only thing he could see. Fortunately, Holliday seemed more than happy to fill the air with the sound of his own voice.
    “I’ve been to the Flush more than once,” Holliday continued as another chunk of glass was plucked free and dropped into the cup. “Rough place. There are some good games held there, though.”
    Pain stabbed close to Caleb’s chin.
    Next came the light rattle of glass against tin.
    “I enjoy a good game or two, myself, now and then.”
    Not much pain this time. Caleb’s face was starting to numb.
    Another chip of glass fell on top of the bigger pieces.
    “From what I’ve heard, most of your games are fair enough.”
    A bit of pain that felt like a small insect bite.
    Another chip fell into the cup.
    “I’m sure you’re aware,” Holliday added, “that you’ve got a few cheaters in the mix.”
    Caleb reflexively turned to look directly into the dentist’s eyes. He was stopped by a firm hand that came up quickly to clamp onto Caleb’s chin.
    “Wha?” Caleb asked.
    Still holding onto Caleb’s jaw with his fingers splayed so as not to disturb any of the remaining glass shards, Holliday nodded and kept talking. “Oh, it’s true. I know at least one of them well enough. I was even tossing around the notion of trying to cut myself in on his action, but since you came to me first . . .”
    Trailing off, Holliday pulled at one more piece of glass. This time, the pain that shot through Caleb’s face was like a spike being twisted through the bottom half of his skull. The glass didn’t come free, since it was wedged into the jawbone itself rather than the flesh surrounding it.
    Holliday patted Caleb on the chest as he leaned back to reach for his rack of instruments. When he leaned forward again, Holliday smiled reassuringly down at Caleb. “Now don’t you move,” he said, holding up a pair of larger metal tongs, “or this might sting. The good news is that I should be able to work around the teeth you’ve got left. You do a fine job of maintaining them, by the way.”
    Before Caleb could say anything, he felt the dentist’s grip tighten on his head and then heard the distinct sound of metal clamping around glass. There was a crunch, which filled his head like a shotgun blast as the shard was pulled free.
    Caleb squirmed in the chair. His hands gripped onto the wooden arms, and his eyes became so wide that he could barely even see through them anymore. There was some pressure, a tug, and then the warm flow of blood. The sensation that followed was warm as well and would have been agonizing if it hadn’t already been eclipsed by the pain that soaked through every inch of his skull.
    When he was a kid, Caleb had loved to climb fence posts and walk along the rails surrounding his father’s land. One time, he’d slipped from the fence and landed the wrong way upon his left leg. The moment he hit the ground, he knew his leg was misaligned. When he reached down, he felt the bones in his knee poking out at odd angles.
    A doctor had tugged on his leg to set the bones right again. Any other time, and the thought of wrenching his knee like that would have seemed awful. Compared to the way it had felt when they were misaligned, however, that lesser pain was a blessing. At least things were being set right again in the process.
    Sitting in that uncomfortable chair with