Dead on the Island Read Free Page B

could
do."
    "Another favor from big-hearted Dino," I
said.
    "Yeah, another favor. Nothing wrong with
that. We take care of our own, you know?"
    "I know."
    "I know a few people on the cops," Dino
said. "They didn't ask to see the parents." He gave me a hurt
look.
    "They don't work like I do. They've got
computers and terminals everywhere, which is good in a way, but it
keeps them from doing some of the legwork they used to do."
    "Well, Evelyn--the mother--didn't want to
talk to them, and she didn't have to. I guess she'll talk to you,
but you gotta promise that you won't talk to anyone about her past,
uh, occupation.”
    "No promises," I said. "I don't really want
to do this."
    Dino looked at me for a second or two. "Go
call Evelyn, Ray. Tell her the deal. See what she has to say."
    Ray faded out of the room again.
    "This Evelyn have a last name?" I said. "A
job?" I opened the folder and looked at the picture again. "I'm
just curious, but I'm going to have to know sooner or later. Why
not now?"
    Dino walked back over to the sofa and sat
down. He picked up the button-covered TV control and turned it over
and over in his hands. "Her name's Matthews," he said finally.
"Evelyn Matthews. And, yeah, she's got a job. She works at the
Medical Center as a receptionist. I don't think she's going to want
to talk to you there, though."
    Ray came back into the room. I didn't hear
him coming, but there he was. "She'll talk to him," he said. "But
she's not too thrilled about it."
    "That's just because she hasn't seen me
yet," I said.
    Dino smiled faintly. "I forgot what a high
opinion you had of your looks. But somehow I don't think you'll
impress this one."
    "We'll see. When and where?"
    "Her house," Ray said. "After she gets off
work. I'll write down the address."
    This time he was back quickly. He handed me
a piece of white paper with the address written in black
ball-point. It was just off Ferry Road.
    "Easy enough to find," I said. "All the
streets over there are named after fish, though." I looked at Ray
and then at Dino. "There're probably a few more things you guys
want to tell me now."
    "Huh?" Dino didn't get it.
    "I mean, you must've found out something
about the girl, maybe something I should know. You must've done a
little nosing around here in town."
    "Oh," Dino said. "Yeah. We did that. A
little. But it's your turn now. Maybe we did it wrong, and anyhow,
everything we know, we got from Evelyn. If you're gonna talk to
her, you can get everything we got. After that, it's up to you.
You're the ace private eye."
    "Your faith in me warms my heart," I said.
"Especially considering my track record around here."
    "Look, Tru," Dino said. "You gotta quit
blaming yourself. We told you it wasn't your fault."
    "I know. I just can't convince myself."
    "Well, this may help you get it off your
mind. Working for somebody else, I mean."
    "Maybe." I didn't believe it any more than
he did.
    "Sure it will. Now, what's the freight?"
    "It's a favor," I said. “Like you did for
me."
    Ray laughed somewhere behind me. "How much
money you got in the bank, Tru?"
    I turned my head so I could see him. "A
little."
    "I bet 'little' is just the right word," he
said.
    "I never thought house painting was going to
make me rich."
    Dino stepped over to my chair. "I want this
official, and I want your best shot. What do you usually charge?
Two hundred a day and expenses? Tell me if that's not enough."
    "Well," I said, "it beats painting
houses."
    He reached into the pocket of his wool-blend
slacks and pulled out a sheaf of bills folded in half. He counted
out ten of them. "Here's for five days, not counting the expenses.
You can keep a record or not. I'll trust you on them."
    I took the money. It had been a long time
since I'd held that much. "What if I don't find her? I looked for
Jan hard for six months, a lot of the time for three more, and off
and on for the last three. I still haven't found a trace."
    "You get paid for doing the work, not for
the results," Dino