Max Helms: Curse of the Relic (Max Helms - Private Investigator Book 1) Read Free Page B

He knew they couldn’t risk trying anything inside the station, so he made his way back to his car.
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    Max made it to his car without incident. He got in, started it up and backed out of the parking spot. He put the car into drive and noticed in the rear view mirror that the brunos were running towards him. He hit the gas and peeled out. He made a sharp left out of the parking lot onto Fourth Street.
    Max thought he had lost the brunos so he lit a cigar to celebrate. He had barely driven a block when he checked his mirror and saw the brunos weaving in and out of traffic trying to catch him.
    He made an abrupt left on Howard followed by a right on Fifth. The brunos were still behind him and had gained some ground. He crossed Market and heard a gunshot followed by a couple more shots. He checked his mirror and could see the passenger with his gun out the window. Max ducked down a bit and pulled his gun from its holster. Now Max could hear two guns being fired at him. Max stuck his gun out the window and fired a few shots in the return.
    The brunos had caught up to Max and rammed his car a few times. He made a series of two quick rights on Pine and Stockton. The evasive maneuvers gave him a little breathing room. He floored the car to try and get even more distance between himself and his assailants.
    He approached Market again and had an idea. He pulled into the intersection of Market and Stockton, slammed on his brakes, and turned the car sharply to the left. He did a power slide that ended on the other side of the intersection. He now faced the oncoming car and took aim.
    The driver of the pursuit car was so astonished with Max’s maneuver that he lost control and crashed into a lamp post. M ax drove past the car with his gun still drawn. He smirked as he noticed the two men knocked out in each other’s arms like two lovers cuddling at Lovers’ Lane. He put his gun back in its holster, lit up another cigar and continued on to Joey’s apartment.

Chapter 5: Joey’s Apartment…What a Mess
    Max arrived at Joey’s building and found a parking spot right in front . He put out his cigar and reached into the back seat to grab the sack.
    Exiting the car, Max noticed the bullet holes in it. He shook his head and ascended the stairs to the building’s front door.
    Max arrived at the top of the stairs and pushed the buzzer for Joey’s apartment. He looked over and noticed the door was slightly ajar. He nudged the door open slowly and entered the building.
    He stood in the foyer and closed the door behind him. He made his way up the stairs and turned right down the hallway.
    Max reached Joey’s apartment and saw the door was open. He pulled out his gun and peered into the room.
    Max slowly made his way into the apartment. The place had been ransacked. He looked towards the kitchen where he saw a man’s body face-down on the floor.
    Max approached with caution. When he reached the body, he looked to the right to see a second body further in the kitchen lying on the floor like a sack of potatoes.
    Max knelt down next to the body and slowly rolled it over. It was Rico. Rico’s face had a look of sheer terror on it as if he were frightened to death. “Rico, you poor bastard. You never could stay out of trouble, could you?” muttered Max.
    Max stood back up and made his way to the second body. He knelt down and rolled the body over. The man’s face looked very familiar to Max. He just couldn’t place a name to the face.
    Max stood back up and checked out the rest of the apartment. He didn’t find anyone else, living or dead. He went back to the kitchen to use the phone to call Polly. “Operator, patch me through to Max Helms Investigations.”
    “Yes sir ,” responded the operator.
    Polly answered the phone almost immediately . “Helms Investigations.”
    “Polly, it’s Max. I need you to use your resources and find out everything we can about Johnny