Free Death Roe by Joseph Heywood

deliberately, but lingering over one more than the others, before looking up. “There are no dates or amounts on any of these.”
    Service took the pages from her, pulled out the one for Prokos. “The specifics are on another sheet.”
    â€œAre we sharing?” she asked, looking him in the eye. “Or are we not?”
    â€œVery good question,” Service said. “ Are we?”
    She shook her head, and a smirk formed. “You don’t have dates or amounts,” she said. “You were fishing for a name.”
    â€œ Nolo contendere ,” Service admitted.
    â€œAccording to policy, practice, legal casework, and ethics, Zhenya is forbidden to share the names of informants. There is nothing personal in this, gentlemen.”
    â€œUnderstood,” Service said. What kind of woman referred to herself in the third person?
    â€œAre we done?”
    â€œFor the moment,” he said.
    â€œWhat the hell just went on?” Rogers asked after she went back inside.
    â€œI juked her. The sheet she paid the most attention to was Andriaitis. He lives in Baldwin, according to the information here. That’s about an hour north of Grand Rapids.”
    â€œYou think the address is current?”
    â€œWe’ll find out.”
    Service called a retired CO named Carl Burke, known to Lake County locals as King Kong. A sleepy female voice answered, “Wha—?”
    â€œHave you got a gorilla in bed there with you?” Service asked.
    â€œGrady Service, what the heck are you doing calling here at this time of night? We go to bed at nine.”
    â€œHand the phone to Carl, Jen.”
    â€œJesus Christ!” a voice boomed into the phone. “Don’t you know retired wardens actually sleep at night?”
    â€œI need help, Carl.”
    â€œDo I need a fucking pen or something to scribble with?”
    â€œMaybe not. You know everyone around Baldwin and in Lake County, right?”
    â€œIf this is a quiz, what can I win?”
    â€œThe name Tassos Andriaitis ring a bell?”
    â€œWhat if it does?
    â€œBottle of single malt is what it means.”
    â€œFuck that single-malt pussy piss. I’ll take a half-gallon of Jack. Tassos Andriaitis has a place on the flies-only water of the Pere Marquette. He’s up here early summer, before he heads back to work in Alaska.”
    â€œWhat sort of work?”
    â€œHas his own fish business up there. Does business all over the world.”
    â€œStand-up guy?”
    â€œNobody in the fish business can meet that standard, but he’s a pretty solid guy. Very, very tough and a total asshole about fair play, yada yada, which don’t mean he wouldn’t put you in the poorhouse with a deal that benefits him.”
    â€œWhere in Alaska?”
    â€œHQ’s in Anchorage, but he has all sorts of stuff all over the state. He works June through December up there, and heads down to his place in Florida. He comes up here to fish and rest for April and May.”
    â€œWhere in Florida?”
    â€œPensacola Beach.”
    â€œ Really ?”
    â€œI just said so, for Chrissakes. Your hearing going bad?”
    â€œHe have girlfriends?”
    â€œWhat am I, his biographer? I had to two-finger my case reports. His old lady’s name is Mel and she’d take off his balls with pinking shears if he strayed. No girlfriends, not Tassos. He’s about money and fair play.”
    â€œI’ll have your Jack delivered,” Service said.
    â€œThis what you needed?”
    â€œMore than you can know. Give my apologies to Jen.”
    â€œHey, Grady, don’t never retire, man. It’s fucking boring!”
    Service closed the cell phone and sat back. “We need to go to Alaska,” Service announced.
    Rogers said, “I think I donated my snowshoes to the Sisters of the Poor.”
    â€œWe’ll get you some loaners.”
    â€œI’ll have to clear this with my