Sin City Homicide Read Free Page A

working. I’m going to set you up in one of the nicest hotels out here. Anything you need, you tell us. You wanna fly your boys out on the weekends? It’s done. You wanna drive around in a Ferrari while you’re here? No problem.”
    “This guy was that important, huh?”
    “More than you know.”
    “All right . I’ll come take a look, but I gotta tie up a few loose ends.”
    “I’ll book your flight now for Saturday, first -class. I really owe you one, Jon. I’m not kidding. You call in that favor whenever you need.”
    “I’m just taking a look at the evidence, Orson. I don’t know if there’s anything I can do.”
    “Well, whatever, just get on that plane. I’ll feel better just having you out here.”
    Stanton ended the call and noticed Lieutenant Childs standing at the door with his arms crossed. He had built even more muscle over the past few months, and they bulged underneath his smooth, black skin.
    “Old friend?” he asked.
    “I did some consulting work for him when I was still a grad student. We’ve stayed in touch since then.”
    “All expenses-paid trip to Vegas? Sounds good to me.”
    “Maybe. If he’s calling me and willing to shell out that kind of cash, it means he doesn’t have any other options. If I can’t help him right away, I’ll be flying coach on the next plane back here.”

3
     
     
     
     
    By Friday , Stanton had passed his cases over to the detective brought in to cover for him. He was tall and lanky, with wrinkled suits and worn-out shoes, but he struck Stanton as honest and hardworking. After he had given him the last case, Stanton was notified that Assistant Chief Ho wanted to see him at the SDPD headquarters uptown before the day’s end.
    Stanton left the office around three o’clock to go surfing. He might be in Vegas for a while, and he hoped missing his morning ritual of being out on the waves wouldn’t be too much for him. When he was married, every vacation they went on had to be near a beach, and Stanton hadn’t left San Diego since the divorce. When he’d agreed to help Hall, he hadn’t considered that it would mean taking a break from surfing.
    The waves were mediocre , and he sat out on the water for a long time, lying flat with his stomach against the board. Letting his legs dangle in the waves, he let the surf push him back toward shore. The water was murky, but the sun was bright, and there were few clouds. He caught a glimpse of a group of kids getting surfing lessons on the beach, and he smiled as he watched them. He had tried to teach Matt and Jon Junior how to surf several times, but neither had been interested. They were obsessed with football because Melissa’s boyfriend played for the Chargers. She had met him at the gym, where she worked as a personal trainer. He’d heard through mutual friends that the relationship was serious.
    Stanton paddled in softly, stood up when he was twenty feet out, and walked back to the beach. He watched the kids for a while and instinctually scanned around for single men watching them as well. His pleasant thoughts were immediately followed by an unpleasant one of what others could be doing or thinking. His mind had few barriers, and thoughts, both pleasant and horrific, flooded his consciousness every second. Orson was right: he did understand the monsters inside and out.
    He went to the car and opened the passenger door to prevent prying eyes as he changed into jeans and a button-down shirt, then he hopped onto the interstate. He drove slowly, listening to the jazz station, until he pulled into the new SDPD headquarters’s parking lot. He never ceased to be amazed how clean the grounds were kept, considering his own precinct had recently developed a mouse problem. Several times, he had found droppings in his drawers and filing cabinets. Here, trees were planted in a pleasing arrangement, not too many and not too few. He had to sit in his car for a few minutes and prepare. A lot of his ghosts haunted that