Read Online DEAD BY WEDNESDAY by Beverly Long - Free Book Online

said.
    “No problem. There’s a deli on the corner calling my name,” Sawyer said. He got out fast, but still cold air came in and Robert turned the heater dial to the max.
    “This is Robert Hanson.”
    “It’s Horton Davis. I had a message from you, Detective.”
    “Yeah. Thanks for calling back. I’m working with a family who has a teenage son at Mahoney High School,” Robert explained. “I wanted to see if you recognized his name. Raoul Jimenez. Dark hair, slight build. He’s a freshman. No sports. Plays in the school band.”
    “Not ringing a bell,” the man said. “But then again, there are fifteen hundred kids at this school. I can do some checking.”
    “Thanks. I don’t want the kid to know that I’m asking about him,” Robert said.
    “No problem. I’ll call you in a couple days,” Horton Davis said.
    Robert thanked the man and hung up. Then he took a deep breath and dialed Carmen.
    She answered on the third ring. “This is Carmen.”
    “Hi. It’s Robert. Robert Hanson. Are you busy?”
    She seemed to hesitate. “I have a few minutes,” she said finally.
    “I...uh...wanted to thank you for dinner last night,” he said. “It was really good.”
    “You’re welcome,” she said. She paused. “Was there something else, Detective?”
    Yeah. I’d like to kiss you again. “Uh...I talked to the officer who has primary duty at Mahoney High School. He didn’t recognize Raoul’s name.”
    “Oh.”
    “That’s a good thing,” Robert said. “They know the kids who are in trouble or who are trouble.”
    “Thanks for checking,” she said. She sounded disappointed, and Robert knew it wasn’t because she wanted Raoul to be a known troublemaker. She just wanted some explanation for why he was pulling away.
    “I wanted a chance to pay back your hospitality. How about I treat for dinner tonight?”
    “Dinner?” she repeated.
    Her tone suggested that she was figuring out a way to say no.
    “Now, I know you’re familiar with the concept. I can’t promise, however, that the food will be as good as last night.” He kept his tone light, which was a damn miracle of the human body, because he was literally holding his breath. “We did talk about the need to spend time together. Of course, I’d want Raoul to come, too.”
    There was absolute silence on the other end. He covered his phone and gulped in some air.
    It was his nature to push, to force the solution he wanted, but he backed off to give her some space. He counted to ten.
    “I guess dinner would be okay,” she said finally.
    Robert smiled. If he always needed an enthusiastic welcome, he wouldn’t have become a cop. “Good. I’ll see you about seven.” That would give him time to swing by his mom’s house first. He hung up before Carmen could think of a reason to change her mind.
    He was still staring at his phone when Sawyer opened the door. He reached out and accepted the large coffee and the plastic container. Blueberry pie. And it felt warm.
    “Thanks,” he said.
    “News?” Sawyer said, looking at Robert’s phone.
    “No. It was...personal.”
    “I should have figured a woman. It’s so cold that there are parts on my body that I’m not even sure Liz can heat and yet, you’re sitting here, grinning like a fool. Mandy or Janine?” he asked, proving that Tasha didn’t keep secrets well.
    “Neither,” Robert said, brushing off the question. “The pie looks good.” He opened his container and dug in.
    Sawyer stared at him, then very deliberately reached over and flipped the lid shut on the plastic container. “Damn. Please, please, tell me that you are not smiling over Carmen Jimenez. I know we all had some good pizza together and that you were helpful at the coffee shop and that she made you dinner as a thank-you. But Robert, it does not have to go beyond that. Really, it doesn’t.”
    It was the longest spiel that he’d heard come out of Sawyer Montgomery’s mouth.
    And he would not lie to his friend. Was not