Read Online Shadows of Deceit (A Series of Shadows) by Mell Corcoran - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Mell Corcoran
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doubted they would give the matter the diplomacy it required. The image of bulls in a china shop popped into his head when he thought about it, but he figured he had plenty of time to decide given they were knee deep in surveillance footage still. He would decide after they met with the Arcano executives whether he and Dillon would handle that end.
By the time they pulled into the parking lot of the hot dog place Vinny had explained Lou’s Sleep Inertia problem in great detail. To his credit, Dillon had not even cracked a smile as Vinny explained that Lou often took upwards of an hour to get her bearings in the morning and it was not at all uncommon for Lou to physically wound herself during her disorientation. Vinny laid it all out and made it perfectly clear. Although the job description for an L.A. County Sheriff’s homicide detective did not include being Lou’s watchdog and voice of reason, it was mandatory for filling Vinny’s shoes. They were standing in line, waiting to place their order when Vinny finally finished going over his checklist. He stood waiting for Dillon to say something, or even walk away right then and there.
“Alright, so let me get this straight...” Dillon finally spoke and Vinny braced for the worst. “There’s no beans in the chili here?” He looked at Vinny long and hard, waiting for what appeared to be a serious response.
“No. No beans in the chili here.” When Dillon shrugged and stepped forward to take his turn ordering, Vinny realized that nothing he told Dillon had phased him one bit. He scanned his face for a hint of sweat or apprehension and there was none to be found. Dillon was all about ordering lunch.
“Hey Boss, I know the ladies want chili and cheese only, two a piece, but what do you want?”
“The works, but I’ll get ‘em.” Vinny was wondering if it could be this easy. If he could really have found someone he could trust to have Lou’s back.
“No way. I cleaned up in the pool today! Beginner’s luck, remember?” Dillon winked at him. “The least I can do is buy lunch.”
Vinny said a silent prayer that Lou liked the guy because so far, Vinny sure did.
It was 11:32 a.m. when Lou heard the doorbell ring. She had only just finished going over Dillon Cole’s personnel file and as Vinny said, on paper he was squeaky clean. A little too clean for Lou’s liking. According to the file, Dillon was born and raised in coastal Washington State and graduated top of his class in everything since kindergarten. Dillon had a sterling record with the Aberdeen Sheriff’s Department where he made detective in record time and earned numerous commendations. He had never been married and had no living relatives so picking up and taking off from the only home he had have ever known didn’t seem so odd at Dillon’s age. He was young and ambitious enough that he could make his mark in any town in the nation but it just felt a little too convenient to Lou. She needed to eyeball the man herself to get a solid feel for him.
Lou headed downstairs and found Vinny, her mother and the enormous stranger setting up lunch on the island in the kitchen. Lou noted immediately that her mother already had Dillon blushing and wondered what embarrassing story she was able to get out so quickly. When she made her presence known, Dillon stopped what he was doing and made his way towards her.
“Detective Donovan...” He reached out his hand to her. “It’s such an honor to meet you, finally.”
“Hello candidate number eight.” She shook his hand, ignoring her mother’s disapproving look and Vinny’s snicker. “Call me Lou. Park it, I’m starved.”
“Thank you, Lou.” He pulled out a stool for her to sit then moved back to where Shevaun had laid out his food for him.
“It seems Dillon is an animal lover.” Shevaun chimed in as she took her seat. “He saw our covey of quail running across the lawn as they drove up. Said it made him homesick.”
“You hunt quail up in
By the time they pulled into the parking lot of the hot dog place Vinny had explained Lou’s Sleep Inertia problem in great detail. To his credit, Dillon had not even cracked a smile as Vinny explained that Lou often took upwards of an hour to get her bearings in the morning and it was not at all uncommon for Lou to physically wound herself during her disorientation. Vinny laid it all out and made it perfectly clear. Although the job description for an L.A. County Sheriff’s homicide detective did not include being Lou’s watchdog and voice of reason, it was mandatory for filling Vinny’s shoes. They were standing in line, waiting to place their order when Vinny finally finished going over his checklist. He stood waiting for Dillon to say something, or even walk away right then and there.
“Alright, so let me get this straight...” Dillon finally spoke and Vinny braced for the worst. “There’s no beans in the chili here?” He looked at Vinny long and hard, waiting for what appeared to be a serious response.
“No. No beans in the chili here.” When Dillon shrugged and stepped forward to take his turn ordering, Vinny realized that nothing he told Dillon had phased him one bit. He scanned his face for a hint of sweat or apprehension and there was none to be found. Dillon was all about ordering lunch.
“Hey Boss, I know the ladies want chili and cheese only, two a piece, but what do you want?”
“The works, but I’ll get ‘em.” Vinny was wondering if it could be this easy. If he could really have found someone he could trust to have Lou’s back.
“No way. I cleaned up in the pool today! Beginner’s luck, remember?” Dillon winked at him. “The least I can do is buy lunch.”
Vinny said a silent prayer that Lou liked the guy because so far, Vinny sure did.
It was 11:32 a.m. when Lou heard the doorbell ring. She had only just finished going over Dillon Cole’s personnel file and as Vinny said, on paper he was squeaky clean. A little too clean for Lou’s liking. According to the file, Dillon was born and raised in coastal Washington State and graduated top of his class in everything since kindergarten. Dillon had a sterling record with the Aberdeen Sheriff’s Department where he made detective in record time and earned numerous commendations. He had never been married and had no living relatives so picking up and taking off from the only home he had have ever known didn’t seem so odd at Dillon’s age. He was young and ambitious enough that he could make his mark in any town in the nation but it just felt a little too convenient to Lou. She needed to eyeball the man herself to get a solid feel for him.
Lou headed downstairs and found Vinny, her mother and the enormous stranger setting up lunch on the island in the kitchen. Lou noted immediately that her mother already had Dillon blushing and wondered what embarrassing story she was able to get out so quickly. When she made her presence known, Dillon stopped what he was doing and made his way towards her.
“Detective Donovan...” He reached out his hand to her. “It’s such an honor to meet you, finally.”
“Hello candidate number eight.” She shook his hand, ignoring her mother’s disapproving look and Vinny’s snicker. “Call me Lou. Park it, I’m starved.”
“Thank you, Lou.” He pulled out a stool for her to sit then moved back to where Shevaun had laid out his food for him.
“It seems Dillon is an animal lover.” Shevaun chimed in as she took her seat. “He saw our covey of quail running across the lawn as they drove up. Said it made him homesick.”
“You hunt quail up in
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