Read Online Nothing Sacred (FBI Agent Dan Hammer Series Book 1) by Douglas Wickard - Free Book Online Page B

the receiving end.
                 
    In the beginning, Janice couldn’t get arrested. No leads. Nothing. She was poison, except of course to Donny. And those leads were few and far between. It was almost expected that Donny would squeal, so anytime a story hit the press with Janice’s byline attached, the finger automatically pointed in Donny’s direction. It caused some grief at home and at work, and with Janine expecting a baby at the time, Janice stopped asking. A pushy broad she was, but she wasn’t out to make anybody’s life miserable. Or, get somebody fired, which is what they threatened to do to Donny. Bastards.
                 
    The Emergency Room buzzed with its own distinct order as Janice approached Madden. He was sitting down on one of those generic, orange plastic chairs. Janice called out his name and he jumped a bit. He wasn’t expecting to have a conversation with her, she guessed. A woman. After all, he was waiting for Hammer. The man.
                 
    “George Madden?”
                 
    “Yeah, that’s me.”
                 
    “May I have a few words with you? Is that okay?”
                 
    “Who are you?”
     
    “Janice Porter. I’m from the Post and Courier .” Janice showed him her press card. Legit. Professional.
     
    George looked at the ID and at her picture. He glanced for a second at Janice then back down to the floor again. “ Post and Courier ?”
                 
    “I’m wondering if you might be able to give me some information about the girl you found this evening.”
                 
    George took another long take at the photo before speaking. “What do you want to know?”
                 
    “What time did you find the girl? Where did you find her? How old is she, guessing that is? You know, the usual questions. You watch the same TV shows I do, don’t you?” Go for humor. Lighten him up a bit.
                 
    “This has never happened to me before.”
                 
    “I hope not.” She flipped to a fresh page in her steno book.
                 
    “I’m kinda nervous. My wife, Edna, she’s not here. She’s at home.”
                 
    Janice sat down beside him. Of course, he was nervous. Little dots of perspiration were beading up on his forehead. His thumbs were rotating in and out of each other like an overzealous water mill. She was getting dizzy just watching them.
                 
    Go for sweetness.
                 
    “I understand,” she said in her most syrupy of voices. She reached out and touched his wrist. Dry, pale skin with sporadic patches of thinning dark hair. She should be ashamed of herself, but she continued. She checked the time. She had to squeeze out this information before the Hammer got back. She looked outside. Evans and Rogers were still there. Still smoking. Still shooting the shit. They would let Janice know if Hammer was coming. Hammer was no saint. And, he hated reporters. On several occasions, he’d been known to throw the press out. Literally. Pick them up and boot them out the door. It was known. Don’t mess with Detective Dan Hammer. Particularly since his partner’s death. Everybody knew. Everybody abided. Charleston was a smallish community. Reputations spread quickly. Like swamp water.
                 
    “Have you talked with Detective Hammer yet?”
                 
    George cleared his throat. “Well, when the Detective first got here, he started askin’ me some questions, but then that nurse over there…” he pointed a crooked arthritic finger toward the ER where a nurse was talking on a telephone. “… called him over to the desk. After she stopped talkin’, well, he ran back there, to the elevator, I guess.”
                 
    “Did he say he’d be back?”
     
    “Nope. But those cops outside there,