Free Chasing Adonis by Gina Ardito Page A

once talked a jumper
down off an overpass with nothing but her calm, sedate voice on a cell phone,
now simpered and flirted like a mindless teenager.
    “Please, call me Becky. And if there’s anything I can
do to assist you while you’re here, you be sure to let me know,” she told him
in a breathy tone.
    Pha’s smile could force George Hamilton into a dentist’s
chair for another bleaching. “Why, thank you again, Becky. As a matter of fact,
I do have a problem with which you may be able to assist me. I will need to
find a place to live while Adara is recuperating. Do you know of any
respectable domiciles near the hospital?”
    “There’s an apartment available in my building. It’s about
four blocks from the hospital. Normally, the landlady leases the apartments on
a yearly basis, but I could talk to her, if you’d like. See if she’ll consider
bending the rules for you. I’m sure she’d be happy to, as a favor to me.”
    Shane rolled his eyes and considered having his hearing
checked. This was not the same Becky he’d known for ten years. He could only
watch in slack-jawed amazement as the farce played out.
    “That would be splendid!” Pha exclaimed. “Do you suppose you
might take me there now?”
    Becky’s eyes widened to the diameter of serving platters.
“Take you there? Oh, I’d consider it an honor, Mr. Pha.”
    “Please, Becky. You must call me Ted.”
    “Ted.” She giggled again. “My car is in the back lot. Come
on.”
    Pha turned his amused face to Shane. “As you can see,
Detective, your services are no longer necessary. I thank you for your
consideration, but I am placing myself in Becky’s very capable hands.”
    “Goodbye, Shane,” Becky cooed as she took Pha’s hand and led
him away.
    Shane could only watch in impotent frustration then head
inside to Lou Gennaro’s desk. At least Becky would take the heat off Adara for
a while, so he wouldn’t put up a stink.
    “You wanna tell me why you weren’t in Observation Room One a
little while ago?”
    Lou looked up, corned beef on rye dripping from between his
lips. He sucked in the smoky meat and swallowed. “It’s only one o’clock. You
said you wanted me there at two-thirty.”
    “I never said two-thirty—”
    Lou waved a pink memo in front of Shane’s face. Shane
grabbed it and read the words, supposedly in his handwriting: “Change in plans.
Be there at two-thirty.” Even the scrawled initials at the bottom matched his
usual signature. Only one problem. He didn’t write it. So, who the hell did?
    “You okay, Shane? You look like shit.”
    “Yeah, thanks. Do me a favor, will you? I need you to check
out two individuals for me. The first one is Tedior Pha. That’s P-H-A, from
someplace in Cyprus.”
    Lou looked up from his notes. “Anything in particular you
want on this guy?”
    “Everything you can get—fingerprints, arrest records,
outstanding warrants, high school grade point average. If he once undertipped a
waiter, I want to know about it. Supposedly, he arrived here in America only
recently. Find out how long he plans to stay, what reason he gave for his trip,
and what type of business he’s in back in Cyprus. You got it?”
    “Yup.”
    “The second suspect is Adara Berros, two R’s, from here in
Westlake. Same info except she’s a citizen. Still, I want to know if she’s left
the country in the last six months and if she did, where she went, who she saw,
and how long she was gone. You got all that?”
    “Yeah, sure, but what the hell am I supposed to find?”
    “When I know, I’ll tell you.” Shane walked away, the pink
memo with his forged signature still clutched in his hand.
     
    ~~~~
     
    Acting on a split-second decision, Shane made a phone call
to his mother. “Hi, Mom. I need a favor.”
    “Yes?”
    “Do you feel like keeping Tyler overnight for me?”
    “Shane,” she said in that warning tone she’d used on him
since he was Tyler’s age. “When you agreed to be his guardian, you