NYPD Puzzle Read Free Page A

Barney.”
    “Oh. Hi,” Barney said. He looked very uncomfortable.
    “So, how you been?”
    “I, eh…”
    Cora smiled. “No good at this, are you, Barney?”
    “Good at what?”
    “Post-breakup confrontations. You haven’t had much practice.”
    “You’re not making it easy.”
    “Yes, I am. Have I tried to rip your face off? Have I burst into tears and made a public scene?”
    Barney looked nervous at the thought. “You wouldn’t do that.”
    “You’re speaking from your vast experience?”
    “Cora.”
    “How’s your wife?”
    Barney took a breath. “I really must be going.”
    “Yes. You have patients this morning.”
    “Yes.”
    “Amazing you got away.”
    “I had a break in my schedule.”
    “A break between patients? Wow. I’ve never heard that before. A doctor with a break between patients. Usually a doctor’s patients tend to fill the time allowed, even if there’s a cancellation. Don’t you double- or triple-book? Most doctors do. You sign in at the front desk and find out two other patients have signed in for the exact same time. So, you’re back with your wife. How much did you have to grovel?”
    Barney looked hurt.
    “Oh, don’t make those sad doe-eyes at me. Poor little boy wronged. Taken advantage of by the wicked, scheming hussy.”
    A woman on her way into Cushman’s Bake Shop turned her head.
    “I thought you weren’t going to make a public display,” Barney said.
    “You call this a public display? This is an amiable chat. Trust me, if I make a public display, you’ll know it. Just ask Melvin.”
    “I’m not your ex-husband.”
    “I’m glad to hear it. Marrying you would have voided my alimony. Plus making you a bigamist. Much better this way.”
    “Well, I must get back.”
    “When?”
    “Huh?”
    “When do you have to get back? You were on your way into Cushman’s Bake Shop. Aren’t you going to get your coffee?”
    “Oh.”
    Cora grinned. “You don’t have a break between patients, do you? You were checking out the bakery because you know I hang out there. You wanted to run into me. I think that’s sweet. But that’s one of those fantasies plays much better in your head. When it actually happens, you don’t know what to do. Relax. You’re not alone. Most men don’t. So, you going to get your coffee or not?”
    Barney nodded stiffly, turned, and walked away.
    Cora watched him go with mixed emotions. Damn the son of a bitch. It was hard enough dealing with an ex-lover who knew the ropes. But a babe in the wilderness was annoying, even if he was sweet.
    Especially if he was sweet.

 
    Chapter
    5
     
    Becky Baldwin piloted Cora’s red Toyota down the Saw Mill River Parkway toward New York.
    “Got your gun?” Becky said.
    Cora reached into her floppy drawstring purse and whipped out a revolver.
    “Hey, don’t point that thing at me! I didn’t ask to see it, I just asked if you had it.”
    “Relax,” Cora said. She snapped the cylinder open, gave it a spin. It was fully loaded, a bullet in every chamber. She knew it would be. Cora always cleaned and reloaded her gun after target practice. It was one of the things her ex-husband Melvin had taught her. Still, she dumped all the bullets out into her hand to make sure none were fired. Satisfied, she reloaded the cylinder, flipped it shut with an expert flick of the wrist.
    “You think that reassures me, or are you just showing off?” Becky said.
    “I’m just being careful. Isn’t that what you lawyers do, cross the t ’s and dot the i ’s wearing a belt and suspenders?”
    “I never wear a belt and suspenders,” Becky said.
    “Even in that faux-fireman outfit you wore for that calendar?”
    “I understand,” Becky said. “You’re sniping at me to cover your fear of Alzheimer’s that makes you doubt your memory.”
    “Yeah,” Cora said. “Like when Chief Harper told me about Stuart Tanner.”
    “Who?”
    “You don’t know? That makes me feel better. That was the killer we put away,