No Safe Place (Joe Hunter Thrillers Book 11) Read Free Page A

social call, Bryony?’
    ‘Depends on what you’d like to confess to,’ she said.
    ‘His undying infatuation?’ Rink asked, and expelled a wet laugh that smelled of beer. Bryony shook her head at him, but there was a gleam in her hazel eyes, and a quirk on her lips. I tutted at him, and would have prodded my elbow in his gut but that would only have made me look as immature as his humour.
    ‘I think Rink already told you about the job I’m offering,’ Bryony said.
    ‘ You want to hire me? A Major Crimes Bureau detective?’ I said.
    ‘Not me personally,’ Bryony corrected. ‘I’m here on behalf of someone else, a private client. But,’ she strung out that word, ‘you would be working alongside me, Joe. Whether or not your client needs to know about our arrangement is another matter.’
    I gave Rink a look. ‘You said this was an easy job. Sounds as if there could be some complications you didn’t mention.’
    Rink showed his gleaming white teeth. ‘Easy doesn’t mean things have to be boring,’ he said. He recalled his duty as our host. ‘C’mon…now the greetings are done with, lets go outside. I’ve more beer on ice.’
    We went out onto the balcony, where recliners were arranged around a low glass table that was ringed with moisture. As promised there was an ice bucket with bottles sweating inside. Rink handed me a Corona before I could even sit down. There was a chair placed for me, and the others took the ones they’d already used. Rink was opposite me, Bryony to my left. It was warm despite the late hour, and the cicadas were in full volume. I aimed my untouched Corona at Bryony. ‘Want to tell me about this job, seeing as I rushed to get here.’
    ‘And I thought you broke the speed limit just to see me,’ Bryony teased. She held up a finger. ‘Except Rink didn’t tell you it was me who was hiring, did he?’
    ‘ Rink likes to keep Hunter on his toes,’ said Rink, purposefully emphasising the third person POV.
    I wondered how many beers he’d already drank, and by his shit-eating grin decided it was more than his usual intake. He was tipsy, and enjoying playing matchmaker. He’d told me numerous times I was nuts to let Bryony go, and to be fair, looking at how beautiful she was I couldn’t agree more. But this wasn’t about rekindling a love affair, it was about employment, so I made sure one of us from Rington Investigations remained professional.
    ‘Want to tell me about it?’
    ‘Have you been following the news lately?’ Bryony asked.
    ‘I tend not to: it’s too depressing,’ I said.
    ‘You haven’t heard about the spate of home invasions that have happened these past few weeks?’
    I had. We’d talked around the office about the violent robberies that had recently plagued the city, but that was as far as we’d gone. Tackling the gang responsible for the home invasions was in the remit of the Major Crimes and Strategic Investigations Bureaus of Tampa PD, and they wouldn’t welcome the interference of a lowly PI outfit. But that shows you what I knew.
    ‘You want me to help bring this crew to justice?’ I wondered.
    Bryony laughed, then excused her disbelief with a wave of her hand. ‘No, Joe, I’d prefer you kept out of the way of this one. We want arrests, not a blood bath.’
    I held up my palms, made an “I have no idea what you mean” face, but didn’t really take any offence. Bryony wasn’t easily fooled though. She knew about some of the things I’d done in the past, and even if in private she silently applauded me, she couldn’t go on the record to do so. It’d ring the death toll of her career.
    ‘I’ll give you the short version,’ Bryony said. ‘There have been six home invasions to date. Thankfully, though the crew used firearms and other weapons, the fatalities have been few. An elderly widower died, but that was due to cardiac arrest, when he tried to fight for his wife’s jewellery back. The other fatality was Ella Clayton. Shot to death