Blood Red

“You’re obsessing, Richie.”

“I do not obsess. I get results.”

“Save it for O’Neill.”

“O’Neill can kiss my hairy ass.”

“Better be careful. He might if we actually figure out what’s going on around here.”

“You’re starting to whine again.”

“I got a headache.”

“Suck it up.” Boyd reached for the coffee again. If he kept drinking it this fast, he’d be pissing all night.

“Don’t go getting all grumpy bear on me, Richie. Only one of us can be bitchy at a time and it’s my turn.”

“Okay. Good point.” He stole one of Danny’s shrimp. “So here’s the deal. I think Soulis is dirty.”

“We already discussed that.”

“I know, but I want to talk about it again.”

“Well, he gave a good excuse for dealing with Tommy, didn’t he?”

“Yeah, but it was almost too good.”

“How do you figure?”

Danny stole a French fry from his plate. Then the bastard went and took a bite of his burger.

“He didn’t say how he knew about Tommy’s death.”

“Yeah? It’s a small town.”

“Yes, it is. But that doesn’t mean everything that happens is spread around town to a stranger.”

“Maybe he gets the paper.”

“Maybe we need to look at this morning’s paper . . .”

They both called for Sally at the same time. She sighed and moved their way.

“Yeah, guys?”

“Sally, love of my life, flame of my heart.”

“Don’t make me sick, Boyd.”

“Hmmph. Okay then, you got any copies of this morning’s paper lying around?”

“I knew you wanted something.” She shook her head and walked toward the kitchen door.

“I love you, baby, honest.”

“You tip like we’re already married, Boyd.”

“You gotta start tipping her better. She’s gonna start spitting in your coffee or something.” Danny took another bite of his burger and Boyd scowled. One shrimp was not worth that much of his burger.

Sally came back out with a slightly wet newspaper. “It’s all yours. It’s been in the trash, so have fun.”

“Yeah?” Boyd smiled at her. “Want to order me another burger?”

“Sure, hon.”

“And Sally, my love?”

“Yeah?”

“Wash your hands for me, okay?” He stole another shrimp and opened the paper.

“Boyd, I’m bored.”

“Stop whining or I’ll make you read, Danny Boy.”

When Danny didn’t comment, he looked up to see why. Ben Kirby was walking into the diner with a bombshell on his arm.

“When the hell did he get popular?”

“Maybe he’s spending some of Tommy’s money.” Boyd watched the two sit down and saw Sally move over to them in a hurry, a smile on her face.

“More power.”

“Amen, brother. On the other hand, if he’s giving out loans, I could use a new car.”

“You could use a car that doesn’t belong to the department, you cheap bastard.”

“I ain’t cheap and my parents were married.”

“Not according to Sally.”

“Yeah? What would she know about my parents?”

“You’re a funny man, Richie.”

Boyd went back to reading. He scanned every headline and then threw the paper into Danny’s lap just as his partner was finishing off his burger. “See if you can find any mention of a dead pimp bastard in there, Danny.”

“Nothing?”

“Not a damn thing. And that’s the other thing that bugged me. Why did Soulis talk to us about the frat fire? Far as that article says, it started and it burned; the article didn’t say anything about who died or missing bodies.”

“That might be stretching it, Richie.”

“The fuck it might be. We’re gonna go pay our new friend another visit.”

“What? You’re getting my second burger to go?”

“Touch that burger, Danny Boy, and I’ll bust your head open.”

Danny waved until Sally looked his way. Ben looked over, too, and the girl next to him smiled tentatively. Sally walked over and put her hands on her hips. “What?”

“Sally? If I make Boyd give you a good tip, can I have another burger, and maybe they could both be to go?” He was putting on his pretty-boy pouty face with the big baby eyes. Sally fell for it the same as all the women did.

“Sure, hon. But I’m not letting you off the hook for crappy tips, either. I dug into trash for you boys.”

“But, Boyd loves you . . .”

“Yeah, love like that I can get on the radio.” Boyd wasn’t quite sure what that meant, but he laughed anyway. Five minutes later Sally put the burgers in a bag and handed Danny the check. Danny put down enough cash to pay for five times that much food. Seeing as she only charged them for around half of their orders, she earned a fat tip now and then.

On their way out, Boyd smiled at Ben and stopped. “How’s things, Ben?” He noticed the bruises on the kid’s face, but most of his attention was stuck in his peripheral vision, where the girl was sitting and watching him. Danny didn’t even pretend to notice Ben. He was almost drooling.

“Good, Officer Boyd. How did things go with our mutual acquaintance?”

“Which one? Tommy or Freemont?”

“Freemont.”

“He’s out on bail for now. But not for long. Waiting for a few test results to come in.”

“Do you think he’ll go away?”

“Oh, hell yeah, kid. He’s already gone, he just don’t know it.”