Free Darkfall by Dean Koontz Page A

I believe in for sure: I believe this Baba Lavelle is one smart, creepy, badass dude.”
    Rebecca said, “We heard a little of this story yesterday, from another victim’s brother. Not so much detail as you’ve given us. He didn’t seem to know where we could find Lavelle. Do you?”
    “He used to have a place in the Village,” Shelly said. “But he’s not there any more. Since all this started going down, nobody can find him. His street dealers are still working for him, still getting supplies, or so Vince said, but no one knows where Lavelle has gone.”
    “The place in the Village where he used to be,” Jack said. “You happen to know the address?”
    “No. I told you, I’m not really involved in this drug business. Honest, I don’t know. I only know what Vince told me.”
    Jack glanced at Rebecca. “Anything more?”
    “Nope.”
    To Shelly, he said, “You can go.”
    At last she swallowed some Scotch, then put the glass down, got to her feet, and straightened her sweater. “Christ, I swear, I’ve had it with wops. No more wops. It always turns out bad with them.”
    Rebecca gaped at her, and Jack saw a flicker of anger in her eyes, and then she said, “I hear some of the neese are pretty nice guys.”
    Shelly screwed up her face and shook her head. “Neese? Not for me. They’re all little guys, aren’t they?”
    “Well,” Rebecca said sarcastically, “so far you’ve ruled out blacks, wops, and neese of all descriptions. You’re a very choosy girl.”
    Jack watched the sarcasm sail right over Shelly’s head.
    She smiled tentatively at Rebecca, misapprehending, imagining that she saw a spark of sisterhood. She said, “Oh, yeah. Hey, look, even if I say so myself, I’m not exactly your average girl. I’ve got a lot of fine points. I can afford to be choosy.”
    Rebecca said, “Better watch out for spics, too.”
    “Yeah?” Shelly said. “I never had a spic for a boy-friend. Bad?”
    “Sherpas are worst,” Rebecca said.
    Jack coughed into his hand to stifle his laughter.
    Picking up her coat, Shelly frowned. “Sherpas? Who’re they?”
    “From Nepal,” Rebecca said.
    “Where’s that?”
    “The Himalayas.”
    Shelly paused halfway into her coat. “Those mountains?”
    “Those mountains,” Rebecca confirmed.
    “That’s the other side of the world, isn’t it?”
    “The other side of the world.”
    Shelly’s eyes were wide. She finished putting on her coat. She said, “Have you traveled a lot?”
    Jack was afraid he’d draw blood if he bit his tongue any harder.
    “I’ve been around a little,” Rebecca said.
    Shelly sighed, working on her buttons. “I haven’t traveled much myself. Haven’t been anywhere but Miami and Vegas, once. I’ve never even seen a Sherpa let alone slept with one.”
    “Well,” Rebecca said, “if you happen to meet up with one, better walk away from him fast. No one’ll break your heart faster or into more pieces than a Sherpa will. And by the way, I guess you know not to leave the city without checking with us first.”
    “I’m not going anywhere,” Shelly assured them.
    She took a long, white, knit scarf from a coat pocket and wrapped it around her neck as she started out of the room. At the doorway, she looked back at Rebecca. “Hey ... uh ... Lieutenant Chandler, I’m sorry if maybe I was a little snappy with you.”
    “Don’t worry about it.”
    “And thanks for the advice.”
    “Us girls gotta stick together,” Rebecca said.
    “Isn’t that the truth!” Shelly said.
    She left the room.
    They listened to her footsteps along the hallway.
    Rebecca said, “Jesus, what a dumb, egotistical, racist bitch!”
    Jack burst out laughing and plopped down on the Queen Anne chair again. “You sound like Nevetski.”
    Imitating Shelly Parker’s voice, Rebecca said, “‘Even if I say so myself, I’m not exactly your average girl. I’ve got a lot of fine points.’ Jesus, Jack! The only fine points I saw on that broad were the two on