Dead Cold Mysteries Box Set #2: Books 5-8 (A Dead Cold Box Set) Blake Banner (read out loud books txt) 📖

He gave a big shrug and spread his hands. “I don’t know what to tell you, Detective Stone. That’s the guy. Adrian Philips, Mr. anonymous.”

Dehan sighed loudly and ran her fingers through her hair. “How do you know this? Why are you so sure?”

“Because I often talked to D’Angelo about him. In the beginning I used to complain that this guy got all the class A jobs and the big bucks. Then when I saw how he operated, I saw why. He was good, know what I’m sayin’ to you? Never no come-back from one of his jobs. He was a fockin ghost, man! A suicide, a fockin’ accident, a house invasion. Always untraceable.

“Then, when D’Angelo hired me to kill Thorndike, he wanted me to go after Philips, too. I told him to go fock himself. I ain’t no fockin’ suicide!”

I sat forward and stared at him. “They wanted you to kill him?”

“That’s what I’m tellin’ you.”

“Where? Where was he?”

He held up his hands and shook his head. “Oh, no! No way, man! No fockin’ way! I didn’t want to know. I told D’Angelo. ‘Don’t you fockin’ tell me where he is or nothin’ about him! No way, man!’ I’ll whack the reporter, but I don’t want to know nothin’ about that fockin’ guy.”

I thought for a moment. Suddenly, I needed to be out of there, in the cold evening air, to think. I had all the pieces, now I needed to put them together.

“Okay, Guzman. You’re going to be taken somewhere safe now. The Inspector will take care of you.”

He grinned. “So, I guess we’re on the same side now, huh? I joined the other family!”

He laughed and I left, with Dehan close behind me. Newman and the DA were in the corridor waiting for us. Neither of them said anything. They just stared at me.

I said, “I’m going home. I need to think.” I looked at the DA. “Just give me twenty-four hours. The interview was inconclusive. We need to nail this…” I shook my head and sighed. “We need to nail this Aspirin Ninja before we hand it over. At the moment, his testimony barely gives us D’Angelo.”

She nodded. “I’ll give you more than twenty-four hours, detective. I want the results from the prints on those paper bags before I call in the Bureau. I have given that top priority at the lab, so you have a couple of days. Find out if Philips is alive or dead. Do it fast.”

“Thanks.”

We left them there and went down the stairs. It had gone dark and as we stepped out, I searched the sky for stars, but I couldn’t find any. When we got to the car I leaned on the roof while she unlocked it.

“You want to drop me off and take the car? You can pick me up in the morning.”

She stared at me a moment, then did a comic imitation of Guzman, “Fock you! You know what I’m saying? You onerstand me? Fock you!”

I laughed. “Come on, Dehan. You have an apartment and a life. I can’t expect you…”

“What?” She jerked her head at me. “You don’t like having me around? Fock you! I’m a pain in your ass? Tough shit! You think I don’t know what you’d do if you were alone? Eat take out and drink whiskey. You can do that when you’re healed. Meantime I’m making sure you eat. Like my great-grandmother used to say, ‘You’ll die, but first you’ll eat.’ Now get in the fockin’ car. We’re going home.”

She got in and slammed the door, and I climbed in after her.

“Every time you quote that story, it’s a different person.”

“Yeah, well…” She turned the key and the big engine growled. “They all said it. And now I say it.”

She pulled out of the bay in the parking lot on Fteley Avenue, switched on the headlamps, and we headed home.

Twenty Three

She stood in the kitchen, still in her coat, looking down at the screen of her phone, while I lowered myself carefully onto the sofa. She had an open bottle of beer in front of her on the breakfast counter, and I had a glass of Bushmills on a small table beside me. When I’d finished wincing and easing myself into position, I said, “Everything okay?”

She looked up. She looked like a person who has just been awed into silence. Finally, she said, “It’s an email, from the stupa at Jetavanaramaya. It says that Ananda is no longer there. He hasn’t been for a long time.”

I groaned. “Shit! Do they know where he is?”

She nodded. “Yeah, he’s on a mission.”

“A mission? What is he, some kind of Buddhist secret agent?”

“Don’t be stupid. A mission, like the Christians had missions.”

“Oh, yeah. Okay. So where is he?”

“At the Top of the World Stupa…”

“Where? What? The Top of the World…?”

“The Top of the World Stupa. Stone… it’s eighty miles outside Phoenix, Arizona.”

I smiled and closed my eyes. After a moment I reached in my pocket and pulled out my cell. I opened my eyes again and Dehan was staring at me.

“What does it mean?”

“It means you have to book us onto the first flight to Phoenix in the morning. Get a car, too.” I smiled. “I’m going to call Newman.”

She stood staring at me while I dialed. Then, she opened her laptop and started rattling at the keys.

Newman listened in silence while I explained about the Buddhist temple. He stayed silent for a while after I’d finished, too. Then, he said, “This is it, isn’t it, Stone?”

I nodded even though he couldn’t see me. “Yeah. This is it.”

“Good luck. You’re there unofficially, you understand.”

“Yes.”

“You think Philips is dead?”

“I think so. I’m not sure.”

“Okay, keep me posted.”