Free Pretenses by Keith Lee Johnson Page A

cases. I don’t think Sydney knows anything about Pockets’ murder. If he does, he hasn’t said anything to me about it.”

CHAPTER 27
    S YDNEY D REW listened to his son-in-law’s voice on the answering machine at gunpoint. Coco Nimburu was listening, too. Now that she knew Agent Perry was leaving town, she decided to have a couple of surprises ready for her when she returned from her romantic excursion. Keyth Perry sounded excited about going to St. Thomas. Coco grinned fiendishly. The plan she had for Agent Perry only added to her licentious state of mind.
    With a libido like Coco’s, just about anything caused her lascivious juices to flow. That’s one reason she always took her golden needles with her to every kill. The needles served two purposes. If a man was the target, she could satisfy her own lust and then convince herself that she was sending him to his maker blissfully. If the target was a woman, the needles could be used as a means of torture.
    As an afterthought, Keyth Perry mentioned the murders of Clayton Pockets and Gordon Scott. Sydney Drew was unaware of their deaths, but now he understood what was going on and why this woman was holding a gun on him. He had just arrived home from an eighteen-hour workday after stopping by Mister Big Stuff’s World Famous Barbecue restaurant to pick up some of their famous ribs.
    He had requested extra sauce for the ribs and could hardly wait to get home to devour them. Now he was looking down the barrel of a silenced Makarov, and his appetite had disappeared. He knew why the woman wasthere and who had sent her. Ironically, the same person who was paying her to kill him had also been instrumental in helping him get his investigative firm up and running.
    Coco felt sorry for Sydney, but her feelings wouldn’t stop her from killing him. According to his dossier, he had forty years of government service, twenty as a naval intelligence officer and twenty with the National Security Agency. After the death of his wife, he had thrown himself into his work and caring for his daughter. They were inseparable.
    When relatives offered to keep Phoenix while he traveled the world eavesdropping on foreign powers, he declined their generous offers, preferring to have her with him. He was a true patriot and believed that his work was important to America’s survival. His views on patriotism were passed on to Phoenix, which was one reason why she had become an FBI agent.
    â€œYou mind if I sit down?” Sydney asked politely. “It’s been a long day and this is a perfect ending to it.”
    Curious, Coco frowned, wondering why he wasn’t begging for his life or even asking her why she was doing this. She gestured with the pistol. Sydney grunted a little as he sat down. He chuckled and said, “My grandmother once told me that when you start to grunt when you sit down or before you get up, that’s when you know you’re getting old.”
    Coco smiled. It was an amusing story but held some truth. For the first time since Sydney had walked in, she really looked at him. She could see Phoenix in his face. The resemblance evoked questions about her in Coco’s mind.
    â€œI’m an honest woman, Sydney. I’m going to kill you tonight. Nothing can change that. But how you die, how painful it is, well, that depends on you. If you answer some questions, I’ll send you out of this world with pleasure you won’t believe. It’s up to you.”
    Coco was a beautiful woman, but her penetrating eyes and the confidence with which she spoke made Sydney take her threats seriously.
    â€œWhat do you want to know?”
    â€œWhen most people see me in their homes, they become so frightenedthat they begin to beg for their lives, or they offer me bribes. But you, you just accepted your fate like a samurai. Why?”
    â€œBecause, deep down, I always knew you would show up, and I know who’s paying you. The person