Read Online Denton - 03 - Way Past Dead by Steven Womack - Free Book Online Page A

the time, it wasn’t any kind of big deal. Some people are just like that. It’s the way they express affection. But if you don’t know that to begin with, then … well, it could look pretty bad sometimes.”
    I shifted in my seat and plopped my feet to the floor. Ray fidgeted uncomfortably. “Harry, if this gets nasty, you’ll help him, won’t you?”
    I felt a cramp in my chest. Oh, hell, I thought, here it comes. This was not something I had any interest in getting involved in; besides, even as cheap as I am, Slim couldn’t afford me.
    “I got an awful lot on my plate right now,” I said, with more than a hint of reluctance in my voice.
    “Aw, c’mon, Harry, he’s a buddy. You can’t let a buddy down now, can you?”
    I put my hands out in front of me. “Now wait a minute. There’s no indication whatsoever that Slim’s going to need any help. You just get in touch with him and tell him what I told you.”
    Ray stood up. “I don’t know, man. I got a bad feeling about this.”
    I rose and stood next to him. “Somebody you know got murdered, Ray. You’re supposed to feel bad.”
    He nodded. “Yeah, I guess so.”
    The phone rang as I was easing him out the door. My head was starting to hurt and I was about to let the machine take the call. On the third ring, though, I decided to pick it up.
    “Denton Agency, may I help you?”
    “Yeah, I’d like to phone in a pizza order, please. Can you deliver in thirty minutes or less?”
    I sucked in a gulp of air. “Hell, yes, just get me through that long blue line of cop cars.”
    “How are you, babe?”
    “I’m fine. More importantly, how are you?”
    “Gamier by the minute. But other than that, surviving.”
    I sat down in my chair and mashed the phone into my ear, as if that would make her closer.
    “Are you all right? Really? Have you got enough to eat?”
    “Enough for now. And the plumbing still works, so we’ve got water and a place to wee-wee. Other than being bored and stressed-out, we’re all pretty much okay. The only place we’ve still got electricity is the cooler, so we ran an extension cord into the offices. At least we can run the microwave and keep the cellulars charged.”
    “I tried to call you about a half hour ago.”
    “We’ve only got one battery pack, and it’s old as Moses,” she said. “When it’s charging, we’re cut off. And it’ll only hold a charge a few minutes.”
    “This is so frustrating,” I said after a moment. “I feel completely helpless.”
    “Me, too,” she said. “But it’s okay, really. We’re all fine, and it’s just a matter of time until this gets settled. I’ll tell you one damn thing, though.”
    “Yeah?”
    “Metro’s going to owe me some comp time when this is over, and by God, I’m going to take it.”
    I grinned. “Maybe we’ll get that vacation we’ve been talking about.”
    “You’re on.”
    “Listen, Marsha, I just—”
    “Ruh, roh, you’re about to get mushy on me. Don’t, Harry. Like I said, this isn’t a private line. Besides, I’ve got to call Spellman before the cell phone dies again.”
    “Spellman’s down there?” I asked. “Why homicide?”
    “He’s also head of MUST.”
    MUST is the Metro Unusual Situations Team, the local equivalent of SWAT.
    “Listen, babe,” she continued. “I’ve got to go. I’ll try you later if I can. You be at home?”
    “Yeah,” I answered. “Call me later. And please be careful.”
    She hung up, leaving me once again with that hollow, damned electronic silence.
    So my old buddy Lieutenant Howard Spellman was manning the barricades. Maybe there were some possibilities here, after all.

I thumbed through the Rolodex again until I came up with Howard Spellman’s office number. Howard and I went back a long way, back to the days when I had the police beat for the newspaper. Jeez, that was over ten years ago. I think I was still young then, although I can no longer remember that far back.
    Our relationship hadn’t