Read Online Ladykiller by Lawrence Light, Meredith Anthony - Free Book Online Page B

know, we ought to
call the cops.This guy is dangerous.” He gestured that they should go
inside together.
Nita didn’t budge. “I will. I’ll call them in just a minute. I want to
catch my breath.You head back. Listen, thanks, Reuben.Thanks a lot.”
“I’ll wait. I don’t mind. I want to help you. I want to make sure
you get inside okay. Hey, your hands are shaking. Let me have those.”
He snatched the keys from her quickly. She made an effort to
grab them back, but was too late. He turned toward the door, easing
his bulk past her. Reuben started trying the keys in the lock and
looked back at her over his shoulder. He smiled with pleasure.
“I’ll make sure you get in and get settled,” Reuben said. “Maybe
mix you a drink.Your nerves are probably shot.”
He had tried all the keys in the door. Then he turned slowly, inspecting the dangling keys in the penumbral light, puzzled.
“Hey,” he said thickly, “none of these keys fit.”
Nita had slipped on her gloves. She reached into her bag and produced the .45. She spread her legs and brought the gun up,
two-handed, to his head. Combat shooter style.
Reuben’s jaw hung open. A small gagging noise came from his
throat.
Nita’s face was terrifying, a Kabuki mask of rage. Her unearthly
snarl was the last sound he heard.
The bullet tore perfectly through Reuben’s right eye, blowing
out half his skull.

SIX
    Nita quickly returned to the crisis center. No messages on the machine. Good. She stood peering into the quiet utopia of the fish tank,
as if for inspiration, while her bright-scaled subjects darted randomly
about. Nita’s breathing fogged the glass.
    With effort, her swirl of thoughts coalesced. This was the first
time things hadn’t gone according to plan. Had she been right to kill
Reuben? She had acted on instinct, but had it been a good one? The
man had learned that she didn’t live at that building. Even someone
with his sea urchin’s intellect could figure out something strange was
afoot.
    From a broader perspective, however, Nita was better off rid of
Reuben. He seemed to have a fixation on her and was bent on being a
pest. From an even broader perspective, he wasn’t doing the clients
much good at the crisis center.
“It was for the best,” she murmured to the fish, finally.
    She was actually pleased with how well she had improvised. Her
plan had been to take care of Ace on the way to the coffee shop, as
they passed through a deserted playground. After he surprised her by
spilling her purse onto the sidewalk — thankfully, the .45 was safe in
its zippered compartment — it was the inspiration of a moment to
leave the key ring. It was a challenge, and she had proved up to it. Unfortunately, Ace remained to be dealt with.
The phone rang.
“Crisis center. Can I help you?”
The crazed laughter on the other end was very familiar.The line
went dead.
    “She’s hot for you, Dillon,”Wise said.
“Very hot,” Safir agreed.
They were bellied up to the bar at McSorley’s, long after midnight. A lot of four-to-twelve uniforms were there, not ready to return to the wives and kids. Deep-throated male laughter punctuated
the whiskey-sweet air.
    Dave smiled and shook his head. “Let’s leave her alone tonight,
guys. Besides, you’re imagining things.”
“A man gets a feel for this,” Wise said.
“A sixth sense,” Safir said.
“You two got no sense,” Dave said amiably and finished his draft.
“Listen, I got to get back to my cat.There’s a lot of work to do tomorrow.”
“I hope we get luckier than we got today,” Wise said.
“Hookers ain’t such good witnesses,” Safir said. “What do they
got against cops, Dillon?”
“I wouldn’t know,” Dave said evenly.
Safir realized he had strayed into forbidden territory. He held up
his hands. “Hey, I didn’t mean nothing by that. Honest.”
The bartender told Dave he had a phone call.
“Excuse me, gentlemen,” Dave told the older detectives.
It was Blake. “Looks like the Ladykiller