The Tangerine Killer Read Online Free Page B

You left without talking to me.”
    He had me now.
    “I was kind of pissed you guys took so long. No offense.”
    “None taken.”
    “I guess we’re even then,” I said.
    He cracked a smile. I tried not to look at his dimples or the way his brown eyes softened when they looked at me. Instead I stared at the floor. It was no good. I just couldn’t get involved with him. I’d broken too many rules already.
    “So what did Frank say to you?”
    “Not much. He was pretty drunk and out of his mind with grief.”
    “Did you think he was really going to kill you?”
    I rubbed my bruised chest, remembering the glazed look of desperation in Frank’s eyes. I shouldn’t have trusted him. But trusted him about what? Whatever secrets Frank was keeping, he’d just taken them to the grave. I didn’t think Olin would understand. He didn’t look like the kind of guy who kept any secrets at all.
    “I guess. I don’t know. He never would have got that far.”
    Olin raised an eyebrow.
    “Kill or be killed,” I said.
    “You know, you shouldn’t tell me stuff like that.”
    “Why? Self-defense is legal.”
    He raised an eyebrow. “I don’t even want to know.”
    They loaded Joe into the back of an ambulance and took off in a blaze of lights. I figured I’d probably said too much already. I needed to keep my mouth shut around Olin but he was just so damned easy to talk to.
    “So what happens now?” I asked, desperate to change the subject.
    “I really need to get your statement,” he said. “I know it’s late and you’re tired. Can you come down to the precinct tomorrow?”
    “I’ve got the funeral tomorrow.”
    “You’re going then?” He looked surprised.
    “Someone told me I should show I cared.”
    “Yeah, right before you hung up on me.”
    “What? No, I didn’t hang up on you. I dropped my phone in the river.”
    “Really? You think I buy that?”
    “It’s true.”
    “Well perhaps I could meet you after, for lunch?”
    I knew it. He wanted a date.
    “I’ll stop by the precinct. I think it’s in everyone’s best interest to keep things professional.”
    “Professional. Right,” he smiled.
    But I was pretty sure I hadn’t dissuaded him.
    “This is my last night here. I have to get back home,” I added.
    “Uh huh,” he nodded.
    “Seriously. I have a life to get back to.”
    “And I’m sure your boyfriend will be glad to see you again.”
    “I told you, Joe’s not my boyfriend.”
    I snuffed out my cigarette with the toe of my boot.
    “Good. I’m glad.”
    He turned to leave, then pulled something out of his pocket.
    “I’m supposed to give this to all victims of sexual assaults. In case you need to talk or something.”
    I snatched it out of his hand. Victim’s services. Please. This thing with Joe was hardly a blip on the radar considering everything else I’d been through. If I hadn’t called them by now, I never would. Did I really look that weak and pathetic to Olin?
    “Let’s get this straight. I’m not now nor have I ever been a victim.”
    I tore the card up and tossed it at his feet.
    “I know,” he said as he walked away.
    Even from the back I could tell he was smiling.

EIGHT
     
     
    I always swore I’d never go to another funeral but guilt made me go. Guilt over Lisa. Guilt over Frank. Always so much God damned guilt about every single failure. Usually I’d just drown out all that guilt with mindless sex and alcohol but neither of those seemed appropriate on the morning of my ex-best friend’s funeral. Instead I left the motel early to stop and buy more cigarettes. As a result I was the first one to arrive. The last thing I wanted was to sit in the church alone. I wandered about until I found a stone bench set in a little flower garden. It was shaded and quiet. I sat and smoked. I was tired, worn down by the job. Hell, worn down by life. I really needed a vacation. Somewhere quiet, peaceful, remote. Some desert island where no one would bother me.
    The hearse