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

Outside, it was a bright morning. I looked at my watch. It was thirty minutes after six.

“I need a gallon of coffee and some breakfast. What do you say we head over to the hospital, see if Elizabeth Kelly is around and grab some breakfast in the café?”

“Sounds like a plan.” She paused, then, “Stone..?”

“What?”

She opened the car with a bleep and climbed in. I climbed in on the other side and slammed the door. She looked at me. “Why are people such assholes?”

“I don’t know, partner. I was hoping you could tell me.”

For the fourth time that morning we drove across the Bronx, this time toward the molten orb of the sun. Dehan spoke suddenly.

“There is only one way this makes sense. So far, nobody knows what the hell those boys were doing there at three in the morning. If Angela knows, she ain’t telling, Ed, Mary, and Sue all look shocked out of their minds that their boys were there…”

“And, did you notice how Ed and Sue both suggested the other boy was a bad influence on their son?”

“I got that. So I’m thinking, you have two basically good, hardworking boys who are not quite as saintly as their parents like to believe.”

“Agreed.”

“And, as I initially suspected, they have been taking certain medical substances from the hospital, probably fiddling the records, and selling the medication to somebody in the ’hood.”

“The barrio.”

“Exactly. Now, I am thinking also that maybe Angela was involved in some way, perhaps as a contact or a middle man. She was expecting them to arrive. That’s why she was up and not in bed. They pull up in their car, kill the engine, but, before they can get out, somebody gets out of the car ahead of them. He doesn’t need to see their faces, because he is expecting them to be there, and maybe he knows the car…”

“Note, we need to establish who the car belongs to.”

“Agreed, noted. Stop interrupting. So our shooter is there because they are selling on his turf. He strolls over and executes them, cowboy style, empties his magazine into them and leaves.”

“It’s coherent and makes sense. What about the two shots in the door?”

“A previous warning.”

“Hmmm… OK, it’s an hypothesis. Let’s see what we get from Elizabeth and the hospital. We also need a list of dealers in that area who might have been mad at them for encroaching on their territory. And this afternoon, we’ll grill Angela over exactly what her relationship with Sebastian and Luis was.”

We lapsed into silence again, but after fifteen minutes she said to me, “I know why you’re not happy.”

“Yeah?”

She turned into Seminole Avenue and then headed for the parking lots.

“You’re not happy because the drugs-pushing theory does not allow for a connection with Rosario’s murder fifteen years ago.”

I nodded. “And they are connected, Little Grasshopper. They are connected.”

“Maybe you’re wrong.”

I laughed.

“What? You can’t be wrong?”

“They are connected.”

“How?”

She pulled into a parking space, killed the engine, and turned to look at me. I stared out at the lawn, at the single plane tree with its silver peeling bark. After a moment, I shook my head and sighed.

“I don’t know yet, Carmen. But I’ll tell you this much. It is no coincidence that Rosario and Sebastian were killed within a few yards of each other. The house is significant. And I’ll tell you something else. Luis was not the intended victim.”

She frowned. “How can you know that?”

I shrugged. “Because he didn’t finish him off.”

She shook her head. “Nah! Seven rounds. His magazine was capped. It’s the law.”

“Come on, Dehan! Even if his magazine was capped. He went there for the purpose of making the kill. He didn’t bring a spare magazine? All he had to do was put in a new clip, walk around the car, and finish the job. But he didn’t. And he didn’t because he didn’t care that the passenger was getting away. His target was the driver.”

She made a face. “OK, if you say so. Let see what Elizabeth says.”

“And their other colleagues. And then please let’s have breakfast.”

We climbed out and headed for reception.

Five

We were lucky. We inquired in reception and discovered that Elizabeth Kelly was coming off duty at seven thirty that morning. So we went and had scrambled eggs and coffee and waited for her at a plastic table by a plate glass window overlooking the parking lots. She eventually walked in at ten minutes before eight, looking freshly showered but tired, in jeans and a sweatshirt. We stood as she approached, and shook hands with her. She was polite, but didn’t look happy to meet us.

“What is this about? I’m at the end of a twelve hour shift and I would really like to get home and sleep.”

I produced a smile that looked like an apology. “I understand, can we offer you a coffee?”

“No, thank you. As I said, I’d like to get home…”

I gestured to a chair and she sat reluctantly. Dehan smiled at her in a way that did not look like an apology and said, “We won’t keep you any longer than is absolutely necessary, Ms. Kelly. We’ve slept three out of the last twenty-six, so we are pretty keen to get moving, too. We just have a couple of questions. How well do you know Sebastian Acosta?”

She looked surprised. “Seb? We’re pretty close. First year residency doesn’t allow you much of a personal life, but we see each other when we can. We’ve talked about moving in together, a future some day. Why?”

Dehan gave a small grimace. “When was the last time you saw him, Elizabeth?”

Now Elizabeth looked worried. Her eyes flicked to me and then back to Dehan. “About twelve hours ago. He