Read Online Hard Rain by David Rollins - Free Book Online Page B

a no.
    ‘Well, this scientist in the brain store sees that there aren’t any prices on the various types of brains on offer, so he asks the guy behind the counter, “How much does it cost for dentist brain?”
    ‘“Three dollars an ounce,” says the guy.
    ‘“How much does it cost for doctor brain?”
    ‘“Four dollars an ounce.”
    ‘“How much for lawyer brain?”
    ‘“Five hundred dollars an ounce.”
    ‘The customer’s amazed. “Wow,” he says. “So why’s lawyer brain so much more expensive?”
    ‘The salesman replies, “Do you know how many lawyers we have to kill just to get one ounce of brain?”’
    Masters was sitting back in her seat, her hands clasped on the table in front of her, not the barest hint of a smile on the horizon.
    ‘I know, you’ve probably heard that one too,’ I admitted, ‘but the whole cop-marrying-attorney thing . . . You know what they say, one good cliché deserves another.’
    ‘Maybe us taking this case together wasn’t such a great idea,’ she said.
    ‘I wasn’t aware we’d been given the choice.’
    Her face flushed with anger. ‘This isn’t easy for me either, you know, Vin. And why the big problem with attorneys? You read law at NYU, didn’t you, before you enlisted?’
    ‘Yeah, but I saw the error of my ways.’
    ‘Which was?’
    ‘The law might have everything to do with guilt and innocence, but the system doesn’t. It’s about who has the biggest wallet, or which party has the most power. The people who win nearly always have more of both than the people who lose. Guilt and innocence are just the bystanders.’
    ‘As a cop, you’re still part of the system.’
    ‘I like being a bottom feeder. Everyone’s equal down in the sludge. Down here, the evidence is the only thing that matters – at least to me. And I know it’s the same for you. So, are you going to tell me about this JAG lawyer fiancé of yours or do I have to tell you the one about the attorney and the devil?’
    ‘I wasn’t going to, no.’
    ‘Why not?’
    ‘Because it’s none of your damn business.’
    ‘So, anyway, there’s this lawyer and the devil and –’
    ‘Vin!’ Masters said it loud, to stop me. Both Brunhilde and her companion turned their heads towards us, which had the effect of making Masters turn down the volume. ‘You know it wasn’t great between us – it hadn’t been for a long time. You were in Washington, I was in Germany, and neither of us seemed willing to do anything about it. We agreed – you agreed – to call it quits.’
    I wasn’t going to disagree. I couldn’t. What Masters said was true. It did seem to me, however, that her reasons for wanting an end to our relationship might have had less to do with our forced separation and more to do with the fact that her former Istanbul romance was in town, sniffing about. ‘Where’s your fiancé based?’ I asked. The guy was JAG, which meant he could be stationed anywhere.
    Masters shifted uncomfortably in her seat, her eyes moving from the table to the light fittings and then out the window.
    ‘You going to plead the Fifth, Anna?’ I asked.
    Masters sucked in her top lip and her eyes shifted back to the view outside. ‘He moves around a lot.’
    ‘Where’s he stationed?’
    ‘What difference does it make where he’s based?’ she snapped, picking up a salt shaker and fidgeting with its top.
    ‘Maybe it doesn’t make any difference at all. It’s just that you keep saying that distance is what killed us. I’m assuming this JAG guy is waiting for you back in Germany, at Ramstein.’ I could almost understand that. Getting together for a week here and there was frustrating and difficult and –
    ’He’s in DC, okay?’ Masters blurted. It came spurting out like I’d just lanced a boil.
    ‘ Washington ?’ I said, uncertain I’d heard what I thought I’d heard. ‘He’s at JAG? At Andrews ?’
    Masters thumbed the top right off the salt shaker and fine white crystals sprayed