BLACK COBRA (Aaron Quinn thriller series, No. 2) Read Free Page A

checked the glove box for the registration. The Hummer was registered in the name of Jason Souther.
    I knew it! Harness thought miserably. He had had the guy in his grasp! The thought sickened him.
    He shined his light around the vehicle’s interior and was shocked to see a young boy, twelve or thirteen maybe, asleep on the back seat covered in a wool blanket. He quietly opened the rear side door and laid a gentle hand on the boy’s leg, speaking softly.
    “Kid ... are you all right?” he said.
    Aaron jerked awake and tried to lift his head, but the pain was too great and all he could manage was a feeble groan through gritted teeth.
    Harness lifted the blanket gently to see what he was dealing with: The boy looked bad, his face blackened and bloodied. Two purple gashes were obvious on the left side of his face: one, partially healed, across his upper left cheek bone, and a fresh laceration running vertically from there to his lower jaw line. But both had clotted over and could wait.
     Harness opened Aaron’s oddly oversized, black overcoat. It was damp and smelled like wet dog. Fresh blood seeped from a bandage in the area of his chest and shoulder. He closed the coat and replaced the blanket, and then he pulled his sleeve down over the heel of his hand and wiped some of the dirt and blood from Aaron’s face.
    He thought of Jason Souther, finding it hard to believe that a man would drive so recklessly with his child on board. If he ever married and had children of his own, he would never do that.
    Sorry, kid , he thought sadly, but if we ever catch up with him, your daddy’s going to prison for a long, long time.
    ---
    Back in the diner, the officers were busy filling out a report. The two paramedics had zipped Officer Roberts and Johnny Souther up in fluid-tight body bags and were preparing to lift one of them onto the gurney.
    Harness leaned out of the Hummer and called to them. “Hey kids!” he shouted. “Leave those poor bastards for the coroner. Trundle your butts out here and help the living .”
    The paramedics looked at each other then quickly followed the detective’s orders.

Chapter 7
     
    Harness stood by while the paramedics transferred Aaron onto the gurney and carefully strapped him down in preparation for loading into the ambulance.
    Aaron was awake. He looked at Harness. “My mother,” he said weakly. “I-is she okay?”
    Your mother was with you? Harness thought, incredulous. He had assumed that the boy and his dad were the only passengers in the Hummer. He was about to ask Aaron to explain, when suddenly a clear image of the crash scene flashed into his mind and he made the connection. He’d been concentrating on the wrong vehicle!
    “Wait a minute ...” he said. “You and your mom ... you were in the Aston Martin?”
    Aaron nodded.
    Oh my God , Harness thought. “I thought you were —” He glanced at the Hummer and stopped himself. This was too much to believe. “Was anyone else in the Aston with you?”
    All hope drained from Aaron’s face. He knew what was coming next. “Yes,” he replied, “My best friend, Willy ... a-and my new dad, Michael.”
    Harness rested his hand on Aaron’s shoulder. “What’s your name, kid?”
    “Aaron Quinn.”
    “I am so sorry, Aaron ... but I’d bet my badge that with the exception of the little miracle I see lying before me on this gurney, no one could possibly have survived that wreck.”
    Aaron closed his eyes and turned his head away. God had given him everything he’d wished for ... and now He’d taken it all away.
    Harness took out one of his business cards and placed it in Aaron’s hand. “My name’s Jim,” he said. “Call me anytime, for any reason, okay?”
    Aaron nodded and closed his fingers over the card. Harness patted him on the arm, and the paramedics finished loading him into the ambulance.
    “I want hourly updates on this kid’s condition,” Harness ordered. “You got that?”
    “Yes, sir,” one said.
    Satisfied