Free Dead Man's Hand by Luke Murphy Page B

-shirt .
    Dixie smirked. “ Hey , a black Elton John. ”
    He whipped off the sunglasses and hat and shrugged out of the coat. With a nod , he said, “ You can have these . ”
    The office door was open, so Calvin quietly stepped inside. Pitt was sitting in his chair, facing away from the door. He leaned back in the chair and interlocked his fingers behind his head.
    “ Hey, ” Calvin said.
    Startled, Pitt unclasped his hands and spun the chair around. His eyes flared when he saw Calvin leaning against the doorway, but he said nothing. .
    Staring, he clambered to his feet. “ H-h ow could you…how could Grant not have been there? ”
    It was obvious he ’ d wanted to say something else.
    “ Why are you so surprised? ” Calvin asked.
    “ He was supposed to be there. ” Pitt sat back down , a faraway look in his eyes. “ I want my money. ”
    “ Money al ways is your first priority. ” He watched the man, suspicion growing with every minute. “ I told you, Don. You ’ re gonna have to find someone else to get it. We agreed that my last job was collecting from Grant. I went there . W hen I left without finding Grant or the money, I ’ d finished the job. It ’ s over now. I ’ m walking outta here. ”
    “ Not without giving me back that $10,000 I paid you in advance yesterday. ”
    “ I consider that final payment for the work I did today. You don ’ t like it, try to collect from me. ” He widened his stance.
    With a groan, P itt sat back in his chair. “ I ’ m too tired to fight with you. Keep the money . Just g o. ”
    Without so much as a han dshake, Calvin strode out of the office. He was free. Finally.
    Now I can start my new life.
    And w hatever was wrong with the Grant situation , it was Pitt ’ s problem now.
     

 
     
    Chapter 1 0
     
    Dale was used to working with Jimmy. He and his partner had developed a pattern for their searches. They walked about three feet apart, searching the ground for clues.
    “ You ’ ve been on th e force four years longer than me, ” Dale said .
    “ Yeah. Thirty-one years, why? ”
    “ You ever see a case of this magnitude? ”
    “ Never. ”
    He smiled. “ How long we been partners? ”
    “ Nine years. ”
    Dale grunted. Nine years was more than most marriages lasted. “ I remember whe n we were first paired together, ” he said.
    “ Yeah, everyone called us the odd couple, like Lemmon and Mathau. ”
    “ Yeah, the black-white thing wasn ’ t said back then, but everyone was thinking it. All I heard about was how Jimmy Mason was experienced, conservative , a real by-the-book man. ”
    “ Yeah. ” Jimmy smiled. “ And all I heard was that Dale Dayton was a cowboy—instincts and no rules. ”
    “ I guess I ’ ll have to be more like you on this investigation. ” He nodded toward the supervisors huddled at the scene.
    “ They said we would never make it. Even our age difference would come between us . ”
    “ But it didn ’ t. I trust you with my life. ”
    “ What, you gettin ’ all sentimental on me, Dayton? ”
    “ J ust sayin ’ , partner. I can ’ t figure it out. ”
    “ What? ”
    “ You have four years on me on the force and yet I ’ m the lead for all of the major cases. ”
    “ You think it ’ s a color thing? ” Jimmy smiled wide. “ You think, just maybe? ”
    “ Yeah, but I don ’ t have time to listen to your whining about persecution right now. F or most senior officers, taking a back seat would cause some problems. But not you. ”
    Jimmy stopped walking and turned toward Dale. “ Dale, I ’ m not okay with racism, but I know you do the lead drill better than I would and it has nothing to do with the color of my skin . But as you know, I am tougher and smarter than you. ”
    “ Fuck you very much, Jimmy. ”
    “ Okay, enough sentimental bullshit. What do you think? ”
    He knew the stats. The list of possible motives for any murder was profit, jealousy, revenge, conceal ment of a crime, or the killer was a