Read Online Irrefutable by Dale Roberts - Free Book Online Page B

said.
    “Dad,” Carmen said tenderly, “She’s been gone for two years. She’s not coming back. So, what are you waiting for? The whole world is passing you by. It’s passing me by too.”
    “I just didn’t want you to ever think I was betraying your mother’s memory.” Alex said softly.
    Carmen looked him in the eye. “So it’s my fault?” She turned and slowly walked toward her room. “Unbelievable.”
     
    “That was nice.” Allyson said. “So what are you afraid of?”
    Alex stood silent for a time. “I’m afraid she won’t need me anymore.” He said, finally.
    Allyson laughed, “She doesn’t have you now.”
    “You’re not helping anything either.” he said.
    “I’m dead Alex. I’m not real. I can’t help you. That’s why you have such a mess here. If I were still alive, things wouldn’t be like this.”
     
_________
     
    She saw him from the elevator. His facial hair, well into its second day of growth, his red eyes and disheveled hair, made him look as if he had not slept, or showered for a week. He didn’t see her approach.
    “You look like hell.” Rachel said.
    Alex looked up from the file on his desk. “Thanks,” he said with an embarrassed grin. “I’ve been up all night. We had a body out on route nine.”
    “Really, like a homicide? Tell me about it.”
    “Not much to tell, so far. Thirty seven, male from Tampa.” Alex picked up a thin file folder and handed it to Rachel. “He was involved in a domestic battery in Hillsborough County. Evidently, the woman’s brothers took care of him.” Alex made quotation marks in the air.
    “Evidently?”
    “They had made threats in the past, but he just couldn’t keep his hands off her. He got her pretty bad I guess. She’s in ICU in Tampa. They dumped him just inside our city limits so I was called out.” Alex leaned back in his chair. “Did you realize how far out to the west our city limit is?”
    Rachel ignored the question. “So he was killed there and dumped here?”
    “That’s the way it looks. So it’s not our case.”
    “Good, then you can break away for breakfast.” She smiled.
    “I’m not really hungry.”
    “Well then drink some coffee. You look like you could use it. I’m buying. Besides, I need to talk to you.”
     
    They walked the short distance to Chelsea’s Diner. It was like any classic train car diner with the rattle of plates and spoons and the smell, a combination of coffee and bacon. They sat across from each other in a booth toward the back, without a window. The waitress quickly took their order.
    “I’ll have the three egg ham and cheese omelet with hash browns and a side of bacon, and coffee.”
    Alex ordered only coffee. He said nothing, but he must have had a surprised look.
    “What?” she smiled, “Don’t worry. I’ll work it off in the gym.”
    Wow, she’s actually real, unpretentious. Not afraid of who she really is. He sipped his coffee as Rachel opened a file folder. He couldn’t help but notice how attractive she was. It seemed he was noticing more often lately. Her long, flowing, brown hair perfectly framed the soft features of her face. Her dark brown eyes gave a hint of mystery. She was far different than the blonde, blued eyed Allyson, the type to which Alex had always been drawn. He found himself unable to look away.
    “I was looking over the files from the dealership I told you about, looking for commonalities. There are eighty four names on this list, everyone who bought a new car from them in the past six months. A large number of them live in The Cove, not surprising.” She turned the paper where Alex could read it. Several names were highlighted in yellow. Two of those names were circled.
    “Nine of them are on the same street, but two of the names from that street looked familiar. At first I couldn’t figure out why or where I had heard them, and then it hit me. They are your two rape victims.” She paused to let it register.
    Alex sat, staring at her