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

There was some shifting and scraping of chairs and we sat on Sly’s left. Every seeing eye in the company was fixed on Dehan. Their expressions were appreciative, but not exactly complimentary. I felt edgy but tried to hide it.

“Well,” I said, “Aside from the pleasure of your hospitality, we are looking to do some business in Colorado, and we were thinking you might be the man to do business with, or you might know somebody.”

There was something serpentine about his smile and his voice. “What kind of business, John?”

“We are looking to buy good quality weed in fair quantities and sell it back in New York. It could be profitable to all, while only we would shoulder any risk.”

His face became serious. “What you are proposing is illegal.”

I allowed the smile to show in my voice. “Only half of what I am proposing is illegal. And that half doesn’t concern you, except in that you would receive a higher price than if it were entirely legal.”

He raised an eyebrow and I could visualize his sightless eyes behind the black lenses of his shades. “Do I look like a criminal to you?”

He was trying to intimidate me and I am not good at being intimidated. My answer probably wasn’t wise, but my edginess was turning to anger and I was finding it increasingly hard to hide it. I looked him over, and then around at the company. I shrugged and said, “Yeah, you do.”

There was a moment of tension and I was half hoping they’d get mad. Instead, Sly started laughing. “You might be a dumb motherfucker, John, but you sure as hell got balls. I’ll give you that.”

“Impressions can be deceiving, Sly. I’m not as dumb as I look. How about we operate on a footing of mutual respect and see if we can do business? Straight off, I can distribute throughout the Bronx. I have friends in the Sureños whom I can work with and who will safeguard the territory.”

“Oh man, that is big talk. You telling me the Sureños ain’t got a supplier already?”

“No. I am not telling you that. I am telling you that they can use another supplier and that their current supplier hasn’t got the quality or the quantity I figure I can get from you.”

“Is that so…?” It didn’t seem worth answering, so I waited. Finally, he asked, “How much?”

“How about we start with ten kilos. Can you supply that much?”

He wheezed his high-pitched laugh and everybody joined in. “Oh, I can supply that much, and much more. The question is, can you provide the money for that much dope?”

“That depends on what price you’re looking for.”

“How much you willing to pay?”

Dehan spoke suddenly, and there was an edge to her voice. “How much was Pat paying? We’ll pay the same.”

Everybody went very still. Sly tilted his head to one side. Coy stared at her with his nasty, pale blue eyes. Sly said, “Excuse me?”

“Let’s cut the crap, Sly. We’re here because of Pat. She said you could supply us. We’ll deal on the same terms you had with her.”

He turned to Coy, leaned close to his ear and muttered something. Coy didn’t remove his eyes from Dehan. He muttered something back and Sly nodded.

“We haven’t seen Pat for… oh, five or six years. What makes you think I had any kind of deal with her?”

Dehan snapped, “She does. She didn’t mention you by name, but she said she had a supplier in the Shack. So we came here. I figure she was talking about you. Unless there’s somebody else we should be talking to. You got a problem with Pat?”

“Is that any of your business?”

I was about to intercede when Dehan said, “Yeah. It’s my business. She recommended you and you seem to have a problem with that. I want to buy weed from you. So yeah, if you have a problem with her, that’s my business, because I don’t want to have the same problem as her. That make sense to you, Sly? Coz it makes sense to me.”

There was absolute stillness at the table. In my mind I was already reaching for my piece. Dehan was completely unfazed. She looked around the table and gestured at the bottle of tequila. “Are we going to just sit here and look at this mother or are we going to drink it?”

Sly threw back his head and let out a loud whoop. “Man! I do like a strong woman. You like black meat, baby? Coz I sure as hell am into you.”

I spoke without thinking and the aggression in my voice surprised even me. “She’s my wife. Back off.”

He raised both hands and laughed. Dehan’s eyes went wide. Sly said, “OK, my man, take it easy. No offense. You don’t know ’less you ask, am I right? Open up the bottle, Coyote. Let’s drink.”

Dehan glanced at me and smiled. We had a round of shots and I broached the subject again. “Carmen’s right, Sly. If you have a problem with Pat, we need to know. We don’t want to tread on your toes or cause any offense. She told us about the Shack, but she didn’t mention any names.”

He let out a long sigh and reached in a woven bag he had hung around his neck. He pulled out a tin of buds, some papers, and a grinder, and started preparing a long joint.

“Pat…” he said. “Pat, Pat, Pat… She used to hang out with that cowboy dude. She had a pretty sister. Am I right?”

I shrugged. “I have no idea.”

“All the guys liked her sister. She never came here, you understand. Her sister was a nice Catholic girl.” He made an obscene noise in his throat that turned into