Read Online Shadows of Deceit (A Series of Shadows) by Mell Corcoran - Free Book Online
Authors: Mell Corcoran
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Before Dillon could even snicker, Vinny pulled the hundred dollar bill he had gotten from the ATM from his pocket and threw it across the desk. Dillon didn’t mean to laugh out loud, but he did.
“Who’s that laughing?” Lou could hear the hearty guffaws through the phone but it didn’t sound familiar.
“What? Oh that’s just candidate number eight getting a little too comfortable. One sec.” Vinny stuffed his cell under his armpit and scowled at Dillon. “Make yourself useful and get us some coffee before I stuff that bill up your nose, smart ass.”
“Sir, absolutely.” Dillon caught himself and regained his composure. “I am so sorry, I...”
“Yeah yeah, coffee.” Vinny cut him off and waved him on before he resumed his conversation with Lou. “OK, I’m back.”
“Well?” Lou got straight to the point.
“Well what? Candidate number eight or the case?”
“Both, actually.” She was more interested in the candidate if truth be told.
“You know I can’t discuss the case with you.” Vinny looked around the room to see who was within earshot. “I’ll fill you in when I bring lunch.” He whispered into the phone. “Cole, Dillon Cole is his name. I only got a sec before he comes back but I think I want to bring him with me. He’s got a shot.”
“Really?” Lou was definitely surprised to hear Vinny was optimistic about this one. He had nothing but crap to say about the previous contenders.
“Yeah. I’d like to see what you think. Shevaun too. This is a complicated gig since your family comes with the package.”
“Alright, if you think it’s worth it. Bring him. Bring me a copy of his file too would you?” She wanted to find out who this guy was on paper at least.
“I just emailed it to you like five minutes ago. He’s sharp. Not what you’d expect when you’re going strictly by what’s in his file. I’d swear he’s got military in his background somewhere.”
“I’ll give it a read before you get here.” Lou was already heading for her computer. “What are you bringing for lunch?”
“Gotta make it quick so am thinkin chili dogs.” Vinny checked his watch. They were meeting the Arcano executives at 2 p.m. downtown so he was calculating the travel time in his head. “We’ll be there by 11:30 a.m. but we need to head out by no later than 12:45 p.m. to make it to our interviews. It’s Sunday but traffic is still gonna suck and I gotta check in with Caroline before we head out and see if we got I.D.’s on our vics yet.”
“Vics? Plural?” Lou was trying to drag some information out of him.
“Three. That’s all you’re getting so quit it.” Vinny could see Dillon coming back from the breakroom with two Styrofoam cups. “Here comes eight so I gotta go. See ya in a bit.”
“Four chili and cheese only.” She put in her order. “Two for me, two for mom.”
“Got it.” Vinny already knew what they wanted so he didn’t even bother writing it down. He ended the call and stuffed his cell back into his jacket pocket.
“One of the guys brought caramel macchiato creamer from home.” Dillon sat Vinny’s cup in front of him then took his seat. “It’s one of my favorites, hope that was good for you too?”
“Seriously?” Vinny eyeballed Dillon for several seconds. Only his wife and Lou knew he was a caramel macchiato addict. This seemed a little too coincidental for Vinny’s detective radar.
“I’ll get you plain black.” Dillon started to get up.
“No.” Vinny grabbed his cup and sniffed the aroma. “I like the caramel. Thanks.”
“You ever try hazelnut with the caramel?”
“No. I burned out on hazelnut a couple years ago. My wife was grinding hazelnut bean and using hazelnut creamer too. Way too much.” Candidate number eight was looking too good to be true. If this kept up, Vinny was going to have to have the talk with him soon. It was a solid twenty minutes drive to Lou’s, excluding the stop for hot dogs. Vinny figured he would
“Who’s that laughing?” Lou could hear the hearty guffaws through the phone but it didn’t sound familiar.
“What? Oh that’s just candidate number eight getting a little too comfortable. One sec.” Vinny stuffed his cell under his armpit and scowled at Dillon. “Make yourself useful and get us some coffee before I stuff that bill up your nose, smart ass.”
“Sir, absolutely.” Dillon caught himself and regained his composure. “I am so sorry, I...”
“Yeah yeah, coffee.” Vinny cut him off and waved him on before he resumed his conversation with Lou. “OK, I’m back.”
“Well?” Lou got straight to the point.
“Well what? Candidate number eight or the case?”
“Both, actually.” She was more interested in the candidate if truth be told.
“You know I can’t discuss the case with you.” Vinny looked around the room to see who was within earshot. “I’ll fill you in when I bring lunch.” He whispered into the phone. “Cole, Dillon Cole is his name. I only got a sec before he comes back but I think I want to bring him with me. He’s got a shot.”
“Really?” Lou was definitely surprised to hear Vinny was optimistic about this one. He had nothing but crap to say about the previous contenders.
“Yeah. I’d like to see what you think. Shevaun too. This is a complicated gig since your family comes with the package.”
“Alright, if you think it’s worth it. Bring him. Bring me a copy of his file too would you?” She wanted to find out who this guy was on paper at least.
“I just emailed it to you like five minutes ago. He’s sharp. Not what you’d expect when you’re going strictly by what’s in his file. I’d swear he’s got military in his background somewhere.”
“I’ll give it a read before you get here.” Lou was already heading for her computer. “What are you bringing for lunch?”
“Gotta make it quick so am thinkin chili dogs.” Vinny checked his watch. They were meeting the Arcano executives at 2 p.m. downtown so he was calculating the travel time in his head. “We’ll be there by 11:30 a.m. but we need to head out by no later than 12:45 p.m. to make it to our interviews. It’s Sunday but traffic is still gonna suck and I gotta check in with Caroline before we head out and see if we got I.D.’s on our vics yet.”
“Vics? Plural?” Lou was trying to drag some information out of him.
“Three. That’s all you’re getting so quit it.” Vinny could see Dillon coming back from the breakroom with two Styrofoam cups. “Here comes eight so I gotta go. See ya in a bit.”
“Four chili and cheese only.” She put in her order. “Two for me, two for mom.”
“Got it.” Vinny already knew what they wanted so he didn’t even bother writing it down. He ended the call and stuffed his cell back into his jacket pocket.
“One of the guys brought caramel macchiato creamer from home.” Dillon sat Vinny’s cup in front of him then took his seat. “It’s one of my favorites, hope that was good for you too?”
“Seriously?” Vinny eyeballed Dillon for several seconds. Only his wife and Lou knew he was a caramel macchiato addict. This seemed a little too coincidental for Vinny’s detective radar.
“I’ll get you plain black.” Dillon started to get up.
“No.” Vinny grabbed his cup and sniffed the aroma. “I like the caramel. Thanks.”
“You ever try hazelnut with the caramel?”
“No. I burned out on hazelnut a couple years ago. My wife was grinding hazelnut bean and using hazelnut creamer too. Way too much.” Candidate number eight was looking too good to be true. If this kept up, Vinny was going to have to have the talk with him soon. It was a solid twenty minutes drive to Lou’s, excluding the stop for hot dogs. Vinny figured he would
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