Read Online Valentino Pier (Rapid Reads) by Reed Farrel Coleman - Free Book Online
Authors: Reed Farrel Coleman
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strong. The skies clear, as they were the day Ellis Torres had run into Gulliver on Valentino Pier. But almost everything else had changed. Mia’s bruises had faded. She had a new job. Gulliver and Mia had eaten dinner together every evening since that night at the yacht club.
“The kid gets out of the hospital today,” Patrick said. “He’s got to go into foster care until his mom gets out. I hope he doesn’t run again.”
Gulliver shielded his eyes from the sun. “He won’t. We talked about it. Last time, he ran because of the dog. I’m taking care of Ugly until he and his mom can get back to being a family. You know that old lady I told you about. She[enhohat happened’s got an empty apartment they can live in. There’ll be someone around to keep an eye on the mom and the kid.”
“Your pal Dr. Prentice won’t be getting out of the hospital anytime soon. You shot up his knees pretty bad.”
“I’ll send him a get-well card,” Gulliver joked. “Is he still not talking?”
“No. That’s why I asked to meet you here. I wanted to tell you. His lawyer cut a deal with the Brooklyn DA and the Feds. He confessed to it all. You were right, Dowd. He and Hugo were smuggling rare animals into the States. Some were for private zoos. Some were for rich-men hunting clubs. How sick is that?”
“It must have paid well.”
“Millions,” said the detective. “They would take the boat out to meet cargo ships waiting to come into the harbor. Then they would off-load the animals from Prentice’s boat in Red Hook behind the warehouse. From there they would take them to his office. He would check them out. Give them whatever shots they needed. Then they would be trucked to the zoo or the club.”
“What went wrong?” Gulliver asked.
“The animals were all supposed to be knocked out with drugs.”
“But the night the kid woke up the animals woke up too.”
“Right,” Patrick said. “The drugs wore off too fast. And it was a shipment of monkeys. I guess the monkeys were pretty pissed off after a long ocean voyage. They musta been screaming their heads off. What I don’t figure is why Prentice fed you that story about the Indian beetles.”
Gulliver laughed. “He wanted to know if the kid would live. Also if you and Rigo were making progress on the case. I was Prentice’s only source. He had to get me into his office somehow.”
“It was still dumb, because it got you curious.”
1" class="tx" aid="K0RQJ">“It’s my height. People underestimate me all the time. Because I’m little, they think I’m stupid. Or deaf. Or weak.”
“You’re none of those, Dowd. But you should have kept me in the loop.”
“Sorry about that. I’m stubborn that way. I’ve gotten too used to doing s8221;
“Forget it.” Detective Patrick’s cell rang. “I’ve got to take this,” he said. “Hang around. It will only take a minute.”
“Nah,” said Gulliver. “It’s a beautiful day. tuff my way.&#
“The kid gets out of the hospital today,” Patrick said. “He’s got to go into foster care until his mom gets out. I hope he doesn’t run again.”
Gulliver shielded his eyes from the sun. “He won’t. We talked about it. Last time, he ran because of the dog. I’m taking care of Ugly until he and his mom can get back to being a family. You know that old lady I told you about. She[enhohat happened’s got an empty apartment they can live in. There’ll be someone around to keep an eye on the mom and the kid.”
“Your pal Dr. Prentice won’t be getting out of the hospital anytime soon. You shot up his knees pretty bad.”
“I’ll send him a get-well card,” Gulliver joked. “Is he still not talking?”
“No. That’s why I asked to meet you here. I wanted to tell you. His lawyer cut a deal with the Brooklyn DA and the Feds. He confessed to it all. You were right, Dowd. He and Hugo were smuggling rare animals into the States. Some were for private zoos. Some were for rich-men hunting clubs. How sick is that?”
“It must have paid well.”
“Millions,” said the detective. “They would take the boat out to meet cargo ships waiting to come into the harbor. Then they would off-load the animals from Prentice’s boat in Red Hook behind the warehouse. From there they would take them to his office. He would check them out. Give them whatever shots they needed. Then they would be trucked to the zoo or the club.”
“What went wrong?” Gulliver asked.
“The animals were all supposed to be knocked out with drugs.”
“But the night the kid woke up the animals woke up too.”
“Right,” Patrick said. “The drugs wore off too fast. And it was a shipment of monkeys. I guess the monkeys were pretty pissed off after a long ocean voyage. They musta been screaming their heads off. What I don’t figure is why Prentice fed you that story about the Indian beetles.”
Gulliver laughed. “He wanted to know if the kid would live. Also if you and Rigo were making progress on the case. I was Prentice’s only source. He had to get me into his office somehow.”
“It was still dumb, because it got you curious.”
1" class="tx" aid="K0RQJ">“It’s my height. People underestimate me all the time. Because I’m little, they think I’m stupid. Or deaf. Or weak.”
“You’re none of those, Dowd. But you should have kept me in the loop.”
“Sorry about that. I’m stubborn that way. I’ve gotten too used to doing s8221;
“Forget it.” Detective Patrick’s cell rang. “I’ve got to take this,” he said. “Hang around. It will only take a minute.”
“Nah,” said Gulliver. “It’s a beautiful day. tuff my way.&#
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