Read Online Cut and Run by Donn Cortez - Free Book Online Page B

suddenly became even more friendly. Subtle signs, but to Horatio the man might just as well have put up a sign saying, The next words out of my mouth will be a lie. “The cell from hell? I’ve heard of it, sure, everybody in the fish business has, but it’s not the kind of thing that we worry about. It’s an algal bloom, happens in the wild under very specific conditions; we raise our stock in concrete tanks and control every aspect of their environment. It’s like worrying about an outbreak of malaria on the space shuttle.”
    Horatio smiled. “And you’re not the worrying type, Mister Perrone?”
    Perrone spread his hands in a universal “who, me?” expression. “Hey, I raise fish for a living. People fish to forget their worries, right?”
    â€œUh-huh. Perhaps you’re simply not worrying about the right thing, Mister Perrone. Such as the consequences of lying to a police officer.” Horatio met the man’s eyes, let him see what was in his own. After a second, Perrone looked away. “I have Timothy Breakwash’s files, and I know what he was doing for you. So let’s drop the aw, shucks act, shall we?”
    â€œAll right, all right.” Perrone’s voice was much more subdued. “Tim was analyzing our runoff to make sure we weren’t at risk. You have to understand, this is all about public relations—when a bloom hit Virginia last year, sales of fish from that state dove like a marlin trying to break a line. People hear the words ‘red tide’ and all of a sudden anything with fins is poison. Even the rumor that our tanks might be contaminated would be enough to cripple business; I was trying to stay under the radar by going to an independent contractor instead of a big commercial lab. Tim told me he could do it himself and keep the results quiet no matter what they were.”
    â€œAnd what were those results?”
    Perrone shrugged. “You tell me—you said you have his files. I was waiting to hear from him when I heard about his death.”
    â€œWhen was the last time you spoke to him?”
    â€œYesterday afternoon. I called him about the tests and he said he was waiting to hear back from his subcontractor.”
    â€œSubcontractor?”
    â€œYeah. Identifying Pfiesteria takes an electron microscope, and they’re not cheap. Tim said he had a friend with access to one, somebody he trusted.”
    â€œDo you have a name?”
    â€œYeah—Lee Kwok. I think he was an old college buddy or something.”
    Horatio nodded. “Tell me, Mister Perrone—how much would Timothy Breakwash’s silence have been worth to you?”
    Perrone sighed. “A lot. But if you’re suggesting he would have blackmailed me, you didn’t know Tim. He was—well, he wasn’t a very practical guy. Head in the clouds, in a very literal sense. He’d devote every second of every day to some crazy idea that was going to make him rich, but stabbing a friend in the back just wasn’t in him.”
    â€œMaybe not,” said Horatio, getting to his feet, “but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t in someone else.”
    Â 
    â€œWhat the hell,” Alexx said, looking down at the huge fish Delko and Wolfe had just wheeled in, “do you expect me to do with that ?”
    â€œI was going to suggest a nice beer batter, maybe some fries on the side,” said Wolfe, “but Eric tells me they’re not really good eating.”
    â€œTake it easy, Alexx,” said Delko. “I’ve got a guy from Fish and Game coming down to do a necropsy. I just need someplace cool to store it until he gets here.”
    Alexx raised her eyebrows. “Let me get this straight—you think someone murdered this fish?”
    Wolfe’s grin got even wider. “That’s right. We’ve got a BOLO out on a guy with a wooden leg. He may be armed with a harpoon.”
    â€œOh, you