Night's Favour Read Free Page B

arm through her jacket sleeve, she scrabbled around the clutter on her desk for a notebook.   “What I don’t get is why you’re so happy.   This is only going to prove that I’ve won the bet.”
    Elliot nodded.   “I just took your view, opened an office pool.   I might lose to you, but I’m going to win against — so far — five other fine detectives.”
    “Even if you lose, you win?”
    “Yep.”

    ☽ ◇ ☾
    “Officers.   Please.   Try and understand my position.”   Carlisle and Elliot were seated on two small, uncomfortable chairs in front of a hideous desk.   The man had no courtesy and worse taste.
    Carlisle sipped her coffee — say what you will about the man, but his PA made a good brew.   Better than the slurry at the station by a long shot.   “Mr. Davies.   We just want to ask him a few questions.   It’s in relation to a multiple homicide.   People with families aren’t going to see their kids tonight.”   Something about this Davies guy made her skin crawl — for some reason a lot of guys who made it in management were like that.
    “We could always come back with a warrant.   It’s just easier on you this way.”   Elliot hadn’t touched his coffee.   He’d eaten the chocolate that came with it, marks of brown still muddy against the white china.   He loved his role as the bad cop, said it was one of the things that gave him job satisfaction.
    Davies put down his cup — pinky out — and tugged at his cuff, straightening it. “It’s not that I don’t want to help.   Really.   I do.   I’ve got the file right here.”   He patted a manila folder closed on the desk, opened it.   Scanned the first page, closed it again.   “Mr. Everard and I had a meeting just this morning.   Legal’s advised me not to divulge any information without the appropriate paperwork.   For the company’s protection.”
    “That’s his file?”   Carlisle was faintly surprised.   She wasn’t a great believer in serendipity.
    “I can tell you — because it’s an item that the company tabled — that Mr. Everard is on leave for a little while.   I really can’t comment further though.”
    “Medical leave?”   Carlisle sighed.   “That figures.”
    “I’m sorry?” said Davies.
    “The accident.   His hand.”   Carlisle held up her left arm.
    Davies looked between the two of them.   “I’m sorry, Detective.   I’m not sure —”
    “You disgust me.”   Elliot stared hard at Davies, his tone suggesting he’d just stood in something unmentionable.   “You’re worried about your clerical process when people are dead?   I’ve half a mind to just take the damn file.”   Elliot started to rise from his chair.   “You know —”
    Carlisle already had a hand on Elliot’s shoulder, making a show of pulling him back to his seat.   “Thank you for your time, Mr. Davies.   You can be sure we will be back with a warrant.   If you change your mind — here’s my card.”   She flipped the small rectangle onto the desk.   “C’mon Elliot.   Let’s leave the man to his day.   Thank you for your time.”
    On the street outside Elliot rounded on Carlisle.   “Why’d we leave so soon?   We’d barely got started.   He would have given us something.”
    “Two reasons.   First, because the guy was a cockroach and I didn’t want to breathe the same air for too long.   Second reason?   Because I know where Everard is.”
    “Fuck off.   How can you possibly know that?”   Elliot didn’t get many opportunities to be the bad cop.   He’d be grumpy until lunch, like a kid who’d missed his chance on the roller coaster.
    “Well, ok.   I know where he’s going to be.”
    “Tell me you didn’t steal something.   We’re cops.   We can’t steal shit.   You’re always stealing shit.”
    “That was one goddamned time.   Give it a rest.   Anyway.   You really should learn to read upside down.”
    Elliot grinned.   “The file.   You