Lost Souls by J. Bishop (essential books to read .txt) 📕

She laid her fork down. “And her husband just happens to die while you too are having an affair. And now you’re trying to point the blame at Chad’s lover and her family.” She sat back. “You know how it looks, Mr. Monroe.”

“Please. Call me Trick. We should at least be on a first name basis, considering.”

Valerie barely broke stride. “And you know Bevins and Winkler are going to hear about you and Cissy eventually, so now you’re covering your ass. I did my homework. I have a few contacts back home, and I know what happened in Texas. You screwed up, just like you screwed up here.” She gripped the corner of the table. “You can play all sweet and nice, and try and charm me like you did with Charlotte, but I don’t melt like butter, Trick. So aim those pretty eyes of yours somewhere else, because I will prove my case, one way or another.”

Trick swiped at some crumbs on the table. “You think I have pretty eyes?”

She rolled hers. “Your partner’s are prettier, plus he’s not so damn smug.”

Trick did laugh then. “Mason? Do you like Mason? Well, I’ll be sure and tell him. He’ll be pleased to know.”

“I doubt he’ll be talking to you anytime soon.”

Trick pushed his plate back. “Don’t you worry about us, Valerie. Mason and I have been through more than your poor grandmother. We’re partners. We bend, but we don’t break.”

“We’ll see about that.”

Trick tipped his head. “What exactly did you learn about me other than I punched a superior and had a few bad days at work?

“A few bad days?” She snorted. “Try a few bad weeks. Not everybody loves you as much as you think. I found someone willing to talk.”

Trick could only imagine. “By all means, fill me in.”

“You slept with a colleague’s wife─”

“Not really my fault,” said Trick, with a shrug. “I didn’t know who she was and she came on to me.”

“You showed up to work late and drunk.”

Trick cringed. “Admittedly, poor judgement on my part.”

“You screwed up an investigation, got rough with a suspect, and got him set free.”

Trick tapped at the table. “I remember it somewhat differently.” He set his jaw. “The man was a child molester. I may have had a slight hangover that morning, and after he told me what he’d do to my child if I had one, I let him know what I thought. It may have resulted in a broken nose and a couple of cracked ribs.”

Valerie went quiet.

“On the plus side, his release may have been somewhat intentional. He was followed and within two days, the cocky son-of-a-bitch had led us to a distributor of online child pornography, so all-in-all, a win-win.”

Valerie pursed her lips, but didn’t give up. “Don’t tell me. You punched your superior because he stole some kid’s lunch money?”

“Close. I’m not totally faultless. He was an ass, and I was drunk, and he brought Mason into it. Called him a kook, a fraud, and an embarrassment to the Rangers. I let him know otherwise.”

Valerie huffed. “Well, aren’t you all unicorns and fairies.”

“I’m no angel. I know that. But what’s important in any investigation is context. If I can offer you one tidbit of advice, it would be that. Sometimes, sources have their own agendas.”

“Let’s see if a jury agrees.”

He chuckled and studied her, and couldn’t help but think of himself when he was new to law enforcement. “You got yourself a partner, Valerie Vain? Someone you can rely on when the chips are down? Someone you can commiserate with once I find Chad’s killer and return to Texas?” He set his elbow on the table. “And please tell me it’s not Alfred.”

Her confidence slipped a little, and she picked up her fork. “That’s none of your business.”

“I’ll take that as a no.”

She poked at the remains of her pie.

“Let me make you a deal, Miss Vain. And if you’re smart, you’ll take it.”

“I can’t wait to hear this.”

He paused, thinking. “You help me find Chad’s killer.”

She snickered.

“Once we do, you take your info on me and Cissy and dump it. It’s not pertinent anyway.”

Valerie ate more pie. “I didn’t realize you were a comedian, too.”

“But here’s the flip side. We don’t find the killer, and you still think I’m guilty, I’ll personally go with you to visit Bevins and Winkler, and confess my sins.” He hooked an arm over the back of his chair. “What do you say?” He waited while she chewed her bite, drank some coffee and offered him a sideways glance. “It beats the hell out of you sitting in your car, watching me from a distance. More comfortable, too.”

She set her coffee down. “You want to work with me?”

“I’ve always said two heads are better than one. Ask Mason.”

“I don’t trust you.”

Trick scratched his jaw. “Listen, Miss Vain. I don’t trust you either. You could just as easily turn on me. Trust is earned, but it can’t grow if you don’t plant it somewhere.” He sat up. “You and me, we want the same thing. To find Chad’s killer, right?” He paused. “Or is this just about vengeance for you, and truth be damned?”

She straightened and fidgeted on her seat. “I want the truth.”

“Even if it means I didn’t do it?”

“And what if you did, and you’re just trying to throw me off the scent? And then you disappear, leaving me to look like a fool?”

Trick nodded. “I suppose that’s a risk, just like you pulling the plug on me with Bevins and Winkler, but this where the rubber hits the road, Miss Vain. If you’re going to play this game, then you have to know when to trust your gut. No self-respecting pursuer of justice can rely solely on logic. If you do, then get in your car, drive down the road, and go team up with Bev and Wink. But, if you are who I think you are, and you really want to make a name for yourself