The Lingering Dead Read Free

“Do I have to answer that?”
    Shelby walked by and patted her on the shoulder. “Relax, babe. This is where the real work begins.” She held the bear claw in her mouth and picked up a box, heading around toward the back.
    â€œAgent McManus? You’re welcome to stay,” Nick said.
    â€œMuch as I’d prefer the company, I’ve got to head uptown to meet with some gang taskforce people.” He stared at Cynthia as he spoke. “You all have fun, and try not to work too hard. This place looks real rough.”
    â€œIt’s pure hell,” Cynthia answered with a soft laugh.
    McManus backed toward the door. “Good to see you all again. Good luck with this stuff, Jack. Let me know what you come up with.”
    Jackie waved while she washed down her croissant. When the door closed, she eyed Cynthia. “Pretty sure he likes you.”
    â€œHe’s easy on the eyes, that’s for sure,” she said.
    Shelby’s voice rang from the back. “Ask him out for fuck’s sake, Cyn. He was practically drooling on you.”
    Cynthia shrugged. “We’ll see. I can wait.”
    â€œWaiting’s for losers,” Shelby yelled back.
    Jackie turned away and walked back to find Shelby before either of them noticed the capital L glowing on her forehead. She had put Nick on hold for nearly a month now. Things had felt so great in those moments after their date, playing that magnificent organ at the Rockefeller Chapel. And then?
    Yeah, and then what? Laurel wondered along with her. You’re going to lose him you keep this up, girl.
    Shut up, Laur. Nobody asked you.
    Hey! Not my fault you keep forgetting to block me out. And don’t get snippy. You know it’s true. Unless you want to lose him, of course.
    No! I don’t want to lose ... Jackie sighed. Forget it. Can we not talk about this now? I’d rather bury myself in a bazillion weirdo cold-case files, thank-you-very-much.
    Oh, me too! This is going to be too cool.
    Jackie bit off her response and stepped into their conference room, with its football-field-size table, where Shelby was already digging into the file box. Cynthia and Nick were close behind, donuts in hand.
    She stared at the stacks of manila folders Shelby was heaping onto the table. “OK, so what have we got here?”
    â€œFiled by date,” Shelby said. “This box goes back to 2000.”
    Jackie picked up the folder from the nearest stack. “Which means we probably have thirty to forty years’ worth of this shit to sift through.” The first sheet of paper inside was a form, indicating nothing more than a phone conversation. “A Ms. Rose Shumway believes her next-door neighbor is a vampire and disposing of his victims in the weekly garbage. Local authorities contacted. No further information.” Jackie turned the page over, and then checked the next sheet to make sure there was no continuation. “What the fuck? That’s it? We get forty years of this?”
    Nick grabbed a handful of folders and set the donuts down on the table. “I’m sure it’s not all as bad as that. We’ll find something, I’m sure.”
    Shelby waved her file at Jackie. “Bitch, bitch, bitch. Get up in the wrong bed this morning?”
    â€œYou know what?” Jackie’s jaw clenched. God, she could be an ass. Shelby stared back, eyes wide with anticipation. It was not a fight Jackie would win. Ever. “Just read your fucking files. Find something useful.”
    Shelby grinned. “Ooo! She’s being all bossy. I likey.”
    Jackie’s hands gripped the file so tight they began to shake.
    Let it go, hon, Laurel said with calm assurance. She’s just picking on you.
    â€œI’m fine,” she mumbled and grabbed a stack of files. “I’ll be in my office if you find something.” She stormed out without waiting for a response.
    Five minutes after slamming her office door