AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Well, I had some errands to run, yeah.”
“Right.”
“Jesus, he hit that three from the parking lot,” he said, obviously watching the TV. “Damn kids these days. NBA’s recruiting out of pre-K. Jump a mile in the air and dunk like it’s nothing.”
“It’s not all about dunking,” said Gibson. “I couldn’t dunk.”
“That’s because you’re too short. And you’re a girl.”
“Girlscandunk, Dad.”
“Hell, I know. I just didn’t want you to think I was getting soft. How’d it go today?”
She told him about what she had found and what she had done, and she thought her father was going to come through the phone and punch her.
“You did what?” he exclaimed. “You took evidence? Do you know that’s a felony? Of course you do. What the hell are you thinking, Mick?”
“I’m playing it safe, Dad. For now, anyway. I need to know where things stand.”
“I’ll tell you where they stand. You don’t do what you just did. Now either go give it to the cop, or put it back where you got it and let them figure it out.”
“Are those my only two choices?”
“Do you need a third? Because I told you before. I am not raising your kids while you’re in prison for the next eight to ten years.”
“You going to rat on me?”
“I know you pushed the envelope back in Jersey City, Mick, but this is not a game.”
“Let me tell you my motives and then we can talk.”
“I don’t think you’re going to change my mind.”
She told him about going to see Nathan Trask’s father. “And Trask knows someone visited his father. And he can find out it’s me, if he really wants to.”
This did not mollify her father in the least. It only made him more irate. “Son of a bitch! Do you have a death wish? I told you not to go anywhere near that guy.”
“That guy is apparently part of this case. If I’m going to solve it, I have to go where I need to go.”
“Let the police solve it and go back to your computers.”
“Says the guy who hated the fact that I quit the force.”
“I understood why you did it,” her father corrected.
“But you still hated it.”
“Yeah, I did. Because what’s-his-fucking-name cratered your finances and your career. You expect me to be happy about that? And you were a damn good cop.”
“I’mnot happy about it, either. And I’m not walking away from this.”
“Why the hell is this case so important to you? It got dumped in your lap. And you’re taking a risk, I told you that. Think of the kids.”
“Iamthinking of the kids. And you. And Mom. I’ve crossed the Rubicon, so I’m involved in this thing whether I want to be or not. I can either wait for something bad to happen to me, or the kids or you or Mom, or I can work this thing like I worked my other cases.”
“Is that really the only reason?” asked her father.
He could read her so easily sometimes, mainly because the two were so much alike. “Someone used me, okay? I don’t like that. When that happens, I don’t run away with my tail between my legs. You taught me to punch the bully in the face, Dad. I can’t change who I am.”
