Vixen Read Free

never even had a girlfriend. His only real flaw … well…”
    â€œYes, Ms. Beckett?”
    She ran the tip of her tongue back and forth across her lips, moistening them. The movement made Melikian squirm a little in his chair. “If I tell you,” she said, “you’ll think he’s guilty, that he stole the necklace because of it.”
    â€œMy job is to find him, not judge him.”
    â€œâ€¦ All right. It’s drugs.”
    â€œWhat kind of drugs?”
    â€œAmphetamines.”
    â€œHow bad is his habit?”
    â€œIt’s not a habit, really. He only uses them when he’s stressed out. But they don’t help, they just make him paranoid, even delusional sometimes.”
    â€œViolent?”
    â€œNo. Oh, no. Never.”
    â€œDo you know who his supplier is?”
    â€œNo idea. I don’t take drugs.”
    I hadn’t even hinted that she did. That kind of quick defensive response is sometimes an indication of guilt, but it was none of my business if she snorted coke five times a day and had a Baggie of the stuff in her purse. No judgments applied to her as well as her brother at that point.
    I said, “How much money did he take with him, do you know?”
    â€œIt couldn’t be much more than a hundred dollars. Wherever he’s gone, he’ll try to get some kind of work connected with boats. That’s the way he is, no matter how much money he has.”
    â€œDoes he have access to any of your bank accounts?”
    â€œNo. We keep our finances separate.”
    â€œCredit cards?”
    â€œI let him use mine now and then, but … no, none of his own.”
    â€œYou said he drives a van. Make, model, color?”
    â€œA Dodge Ram, dark blue. The right rear panel has a dent and a long scrape—a parking lot accident.”
    â€œCan you give me the license number?”
    She could, and I wrote it down.
    â€œAnything else you can tell me that might help me find him? Friends in the area, someone he might turn to for help?”
    â€œThere’s no one like that. He doesn’t make friends easily.” Cory Beckett shifted position in the chair, recrossed her legs the other way. Gnawed on her lip a little before she said, “Do you honestly think you can find him?”
    â€œSure he can,” Melikian said. “He’s the best, him and his people.”
    She said, “I don’t care what you have to do or what it costs.”
    Abe winced at that, but he didn’t say anything.
    â€œNo guarantees, of course,” I said. “But if you’re right that your brother is still somewhere in this general area and working around boats, the chances are reasonably good.”
    â€œThe one thing I ask,” she said, “is that you let me know the minute you locate him. Don’t try to talk him into coming back, don’t talk to him at all if it can be avoided. Let me do it—I’m the only one he’ll listen to.”
    â€œFair enough. You understand, though, that if he refuses to return voluntarily, there’s nothing we can do to force him.”
    Melikian said, “She understands. I explained it to her.”
    â€œAnd that if he does refuse, we’re bound to report his whereabouts to the authorities.”
    Cory Beckett nodded, and Abe said, “Do it myself, in that case,” without looking at her. He wouldn’t sacrifice even a small portion of fifty thousand to keep his own mother out of jail.
    â€œOne more question,” I said. “If we find him and bring him back, how do you intend to keep him from running away again?”
    â€œYou needn’t concern yourself with that. I guarantee he won’t miss the trial.” She added, not so reassuringly given the fact that he’d already skipped on her, “Kenny and I are very close.”
    I asked her for a photograph of her brother, and she produced a five-by-seven color snapshot from a big