Two Guys Detective Agency Read Online Free

felt numb.
    “I tried to reach you at home this morning,” Klo offered, “but kept getting a fast busy signal.”
    Linda recalled dropping the phone after Oakley had called. She probably had compromised the system
    somehow. “Thank you anyway.” She gave the woman’s hand a squeeze, remembering her earlier comment
    that they hadn’t had appointments today. Business was lousy, and she wondered if Sullivan had paid his
    secretary recently.
    “I, um, couldn’t get through to your cell either,” Klo said carefully.
    “It’s probably turned off.” Linda rummaged in her purse, debating whether to call Sullivan’s widowed
    mother in Florida, or to wait until she had more news. She and Marbella Smith had never really gotten
    along — Linda sensed the woman still thought she’d gotten pregnant in college on purpose in order to ruin
    her son’s life. Marbella had never considered the fact that Sullivan had been equally complicit in the
    unplanned pregnancy and that Linda’s plans had been waylaid as well. That his mother had gotten two
    gorgeous grandchildren out of it hadn’t seemed to matter — the woman was an iceberg.
    Linda pulled out the cell phone and powered it up, only to see a message on the screen to please contact
    her carrier about her account. Translation: Her service had been cut off, which Klo probably suspected.
    “Battery is dead,” Linda mumbled, then stuffed the phone back into her purse. She felt sick…er.
    “Use mine,” Stone said, extending a phone with lots more bells and whistles than hers.
    She smiled and thanked him, then stepped away to call Sullivan’s mother. Thankfully, Marbella didn’t
    answer. Linda left a brief message that Sullivan had collapsed and was in the hospital, but he was stable and
    she would call again as soon as she knew more.
    She disconnected the call and wondered if she should call anyone else, but no names came to mind.
    Sullivan was an only child and was only casual friends with other men in their neighborhood. Besides
    Oakley, she couldn’t think of anyone her husband would want her to call. As for her family, her father
    was… indisposed , so there was only Octavia, an hour away in Louisville. But married to a rich attorney,
    living in a gated community, and looking down her nose at her sister’s life choices, Octavia might as well
    be a million miles away.
    Linda realized she hadn’t spoken to her sister since she’d called to thank her for the makeup kit a couple
    of months ago. The conversation had been fast and frosty and forced. She knew that for her sake, her sister
    would be sorry to hear that Sullivan was hospitalized, but suspected Octavia would somehow add it to the
    heap of shortcomings she attributed to the man Linda had married.
    She walked back and handed the phone to Stone. “Thank you. You said Sullivan wanted you to meet
    him this morning?”
    He was instantly on guard. “That’s right.”
    “Do you know why?”
    “I assume he needed help on a case.”
    She turned to Klo. “Would that be the big case he’s been working on?”
    Klo pursed her mouth. “I don’t know…Sullivan has kept me a little out of the loop lately.”
    Stone wasn’t the only employee of Sullivan’s with a checkered past. Klo was a former stripper, and
    according to Sullivan, her network was extensive. He trusted the older woman; Linda sensed that he even
    relied on her. The fact that he wouldn’t share details of a case with Klo was puzzling.
    Oakley returned with a cardboard holder of large coffees to pass around. Linda drank deeply,
    welcoming the bitter burn and the zing of caffeine. It crossed her mind that she probably should be praying
    for Sullivan’s recovery. Considering she hadn’t been to church in a while, it seemed disingenuous to ask
    for a favor now, but she sent a request heavenward anyway.
    “Mrs. Smith?”
    She looked up to see a female nurse offering a tentative smile.
    “I’ll take you to see your husband now.”
    Linda handed