Thin Line Read Free Page A

cop across the street was talking into his shoulder-mounted radio.
    Dark sunglasses now hid his eyes, and he had repositioned himself to face us.
    I brought the empty mug up and hid my lips with it. "Don't look, but that cop seems awfully interested in us. You didn't do anything to get your ugly mug
    painted on a wanted sign, did you?"
    Bear looked past me - at the window, I presumed. He pushed back from the table and rose. "If I did, then so did you. Just go easy if he tries, man. We'll
    be out in an hour."
    "And we'll lose our guy. Think about the sacrifice you've made for this. Been up for over twenty-four hours. Haven't showered. Changed your clothes. I've
    been trying to figure out if that's the sewer or you I've been smelling."
    "Not now, Jack."
    "We get hauled in, and the clock on Taylor resets to zero. For us, at least. We'll be off the job and out of the time we spent on this."
    Bear said, "I'll go over the fence. You go through the cafe, then head down to the park, come back down 5th. You know where to meet from there."
    I nodded, rose, dropped a twenty on the table, and set the mug on top to keep the bill from blowing away in the gusts. By the time I looked up, Bear had
    cleared the fence and was on his way toward the brownstone. I tossed a quick glance at the cop, who remained in the same place, but was obviously watching
    me as I turned and pushed past the door leading inside the café.
    A blonde-haired woman in her early twenties looked up from her crossword puzzle as I entered. She started to get up. I gestured for her to remain seated.
    "There's a cop out there," I said. "What's he doing?"
    Again, she leaned forward to stand.
    "Just turn your head toward the door and cough," I said.
    She lowered her eyebrows and then did as instructed. Looking back toward me, she said, "He's bouncing from one foot to the other."
    "Where?"
    "On the sidewalk."
    "This side of the street, or the other?"
    "The other."
    "Thanks." I scanned the small dining room. "Got a back way out of here?"
    "Are you in trouble?"
    "Would it make a difference if I were?"
    She smiled and tilted her head to the side. Blonde ringlets with pink highlights splayed over her right shoulder. She reached up and twirled a tendril.
    "Maybe."
    I glanced at the colored tattoos that lined the exposed skin of her forearms and neck. She'd be more inclined to help me, I figured, if the cop wanted
    something with me.
    "You got a back door or not?"
    She gestured with her head toward the counter. "That door leads to the storeroom. Just head to the back and through the emergency door. Don't worry, it
    won't trigger the alarm. Been dead as long as I've worked here. You'll end up in an alley that runs between 4th and 5th. It meets up with the cross
    streets."
    I nodded, turned and headed for the storeroom.
    "Hey," she called out.
    I glanced back. "Yeah?"
    "What'd you do?"
    "If I told you I killed someone, would you believe me?"
    The curious grin on her face spread. "No."

     

Chapter 4

    I TOSSED ONE final glance past the café's windows and saw an empty street. The cop was no longer positioned outside. Had he followed Bear? Perhaps
    he'd crossed the street and stood against the brick exterior of the building, out of view, waiting for me to exit.
    It didn't matter. I raced through the storeroom, past the non-emergency exit, and into the brick-lined walled canyon behind the café. One side of the
    asphalt was slick with runoff. Overflowing dumpsters butted up to the buildings. I caught hints of grease and fish and rotting meat.
    No one hung out back there, except for a half-dozen feral cats. They lay out on any spot that gave them respite from the winds that barreled through the
    narrow alley. I remained cautious as I passed each door, each crevice that led from the street to my position. Gusts continued to pummel me as I walked.
    Might as well have been inside a wind tunnel in an underground government testing facility.
    If they existed, of course.
    I flipped my collar up