Free Acts of Violence by Ross Harrison Page A

know.
That’s why I couldn’t give it to them.’
    ‘They broke you out
of custody, took you to the lake to half drown you because they wanted
something that either you have or they think you have, but they didn’t think to
mention what that thing was?’
    ‘When you put it
like that, it almost sounds made up.’
    ‘It does, doesn’t
it?’
    ‘Why don’t you ask
Holt?’ This might not have been wise.
    ‘Holt?’
    ‘Officer Holt just
happened to pick the perfect moment to switch off the camera, release my
restraints and shock me. Just in time for some goons to burst in and take me. It
seems quite convenient. How is Officer Holt? I noticed they didn’t give him much
more than a love tap…’
    DeMartino seemed to
be considering what I was saying. I didn’t know if he’d look into it though. He
was more likely to than the cops here, but he had no reason to believe that
Holt had done any such thing. The man had probably come up with some story
about how he heroically tried to stop the breakout but was incapacitated by the
intruders.
    I could be off
anyway. Why would they have made a show of hitting him when the camera was dead
and they expected me to be the same way within hours? The whole thing was
confusing.
    ‘Are you going to
answer my question?’
    ‘Which one?’
    ‘Which came first?
Lucy’s death or your expulsion from the academy?’
    ‘My mind gets a
little fuzzy around the five year mark. That was ten years ago.’
    ‘Your mind gets a
little fuzzy around the time the woman you were meant to be in love with
disappears. Or dies. I notice you’re not too bothered about me saying she’s
dead. Almost like you know she is.’
    ‘You can say whatever
you want. Doesn’t bother me. Plenty of people have said plenty of things in ten
years. I have no reason to explain myself all over again to you.’ I had no
reason to explain why she was dead. Not to him. It was me that needed it
explained. Just about every time I caught sight of myself in a mirror.
    ‘So let’s talk
about your…abduction. Would you call it that?’
    ‘I wouldn’t call it
a dinner date.’
    ‘You won’t tell me
who took you or why. Okay. I know where. But that doesn’t help me much. And if
it doesn’t help me, then it doesn’t help you. It’s the why that interests me
the most. Shall I tell you what I think about all this?’
    ‘You do a lot of
thinking for someone in such a nice suit.’
    ‘I think they took
you because you know something. Something big. Something useful to me.’
    ‘Maybe I was hasty
with the lots of thinking crack.’
    ‘Why were you in
that club?’
    ‘Huh?’ I hadn’t
expected the sudden shift in topic.
    ‘Why were you in
Webster’s club last night?’
    ‘What does a man
usually do in a club? I was drinking and watching the twenty-year-olds gyrate.’
    ‘With a fake badge?
In a place like that? Not really your kind of scene, is it? I spoke to the cab
driver. He remembers the victim probing you about an investigation. What
investigation was she referring to, Mr. Mason? What does a civilian without a
PI licence investigate?’
    ‘I was
investigating several claims concerning The Web.’
    ‘What claims?’ I
nearly felt sorry for DeMartino. He tried not to show it, but he actually
thought he was getting somewhere now.
    ‘That they make the
best appletinis in the city.’
    ‘Isn’t that a
girl’s drink?’
    ‘I’m secure enough
that I’m not afraid the kind of liquid I put in my glass will change my gender.
I usually prefer whiskey though.’
    ‘I prefer coffee
myself.’
    The hell were we
talking about?
    The door opened.
DeMartino’s face gave nothing away as he watched the newcomer.
    ‘Hello again, Jack.’
It was the man with a first name for a last name. ‘Glad you came back to
visit.’
    ‘Afternoon,
Detective. Or is it evening now?’ I couldn’t keep track of the time today.
Unconsciousness didn’t help. I glanced around for windows or a clock. There was
neither.
    ‘You’ve