Free Scars (Nevada James #2) (Nevada James Mysteries) by Matthew Storm

. With the media attention this copycat thing is getting, I
could swear you in tonight and he’d probably come in to give us medals at the
same time.”
    He was
exaggerating about the medals, probably, but I also knew he was serious about
the job. I was a special case. If I’d wanted it, they’d find a way to make it
work. A tiny part of me did want it. The rational part of me knew it would be a
huge mistake.
    “No,” I
said. He opened his mouth and I held up a hand. “Don’t tell me to think about
it. I have thought about it. I’ll probably think about it more. If I change my
mind, I’ll let you know.”
    He
nodded. “Fine. I guess I’ll have to take that, for now. But swearing you in
isn’t the only way we could do it. We could probably appoint you as a
consultant.”
    “A
consultant? What the fuck is that, Dan?”
    “I don’t
know, all right? Damn it, Nevada, I just want you out of this room.”
    “I’ve
got an interview at McDonald’s coming up,” I said. “I don’t have a ton of
experience with food, but I hear they’re not all that picky…”
    “Shut
up, Nevada.”
    He
finished his soda and belched under his breath. “One other thing.”
    “Okay,
Columbo.”
    He
ignored that. “Why did you tell Sarah not to investigate the copycat?”
    “I
didn’t say that,” I said. “I said not to bother. It’s not the same thing. And
you know exactly why I said it. She already told you.”
    “Yeah, I
know what she said.”
    “You
thinking I’ve gone mental?”
    “I
already know you’ve gone mental,” he said. “I was just wondering if you’re
going to go look for this guy yourself, and then sit on him until the Laughing
Man shows up to kill him.”
    I raised
my eyebrows as if that had never occurred to me. “That’s not a bad idea,” I
said. “Hey, can you get me a copy of the case file? I just want it for no
reason.”
    “Nevada…”
    “I was
kidding,” I said. “I’m not looking for him. I’m not going to say I never
thought about it, but I’m not looking.”
    “Why
not?”
    “Because
say I did find him. You think I’m going to sit by while he kills someone else,
just because I’m hoping the Laughing Man is going to show up for me to shoot?
I’m mental, but I’m not that mental.” I thought about that. “You know,
that might not have been my answer three months ago. See? I’m making progress!”
    Dan
stood up. “Go fuck yourself, Nevada,” he said.
    “Love
you, too.”
    “You
have my number,” he said. “Call me if you need to. I’ll check in on you in a
few days.”
    “What
for?”
    “Because
I care about you, you stupid shit.” He took his phone out of his jacket and
called for a cab. “Take care of yourself, all right?”
    “You,
too.”
    “Try not
to get in any trouble.”
    “You
know me,” I said. “What could possibly happen?”
    He
glanced at the Glock sitting on my bed. “Knowing you? Almost anything.”
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 8
     
     
    An hour
after Dan left I took the vodka out of the dresser and poured half an inch into
a cup. I sat with it while I watched part of a talk show, then poured it down
the drain. I wondered if the need to do that was ever going to go away. It
wouldn’t be the end of the world if it didn’t. It probably would be if I ever
drank it. If I went down that hole again there wasn’t much chance I was ever
coming back.
    In the
morning I called Anita at the number she’d given me. “Hello?” she answered in
her grandmother voice.
    “I’ll
take the job,” I said.
    “I’m
glad to hear it,” she said. The grandmother voice was gone. “Let’s talk about
money.”
    “We
don’t need to talk about money,” I said. “I doubt this is going to go anywhere.
If I’m wrong about that, you can pay me whatever you think it’s worth. Alan
Davies gave me a small fortune to find his daughter. I’m not going to need
money for a long time.”
    “When
you find the murderer, I’m sure you won’t have any