The thought that popped into my head was weird to say the least, but I attributed it to the Spanish soap opera I had been watching. Another fact—I liked soaps. They made my life seem less complicated, and besides... what else was I supposed to do during my sleepless nights? I didn’t have any friends. I didn’t have a girlfriend. I didn’t know a single person who would put up with me, be it a woman, a man, or a squirrel. Rusty, on the other hand, left too big a hole in my heart for me to consider getting another dog.
After I got home, I showered and changed, feeling happy to be alive for once. It didn’t last long because Maddox called me and said that Boris Flynn had been shot on his way to the court. It told me two things. First, I was right when I accused Santiago of stealing from his boss. Second, with Flynn out of the picture,Santiago wasn’t getting out of prison alive. Third, Bull was angry, and angry people were prone to making mistakes.
When I called Jordan, it took ten rings for him to answer.
“What?” he rasped, sounding groggy. “We have a day off.”
“Not anymore. Flynn has been found dead.”
“Fuck.”
“Yeah. Also, it’s noon. Why are you still sleeping?”
“I didn’t get much sleep last night.”
My lips curled into a wide smile. “Imagine that. And I slept like a baby.”
“Well, you had a supply of oxygen, so…”
“By the way, did you find the doughnuts I left for you?”
“Actually, I almost stepped into them after I opened the door when my delivery arrived.”
“What did you order?”
“A nine-inch dildo.”
I choked on the coffee I was sipping. “Excuse me?”
“Yeah, I think it’s time for me to find out if I’m ‘I’ll be taking it’ or ‘I’ll be giving it’ kind of guy.”
First, too much info. Second, the thought of Jordan taking it up the ass made me feel funny. For the life of me, I couldn’t imagine him with a man. Or a woman. Or having sex.
“I’m joking,” Jordan said with a sigh. “Are you still there?”
“Yeah, I got lost in thought. When can I pick you up?”
“I need to shower. Give me an hour. And thanks for the doughnuts.”
An hour later, I arrived at Jordan’s building, and he scrambled into the car. He was wearing jeans and a dark green shirt, both of which complemented his perfect body. It wasn’t something I would usually notice, but I saw him half-naked too many times, so it was kind of expected.
“My head hurts,” Jordan said with a frown. “I really needed that day off.”
“Yeah, well, maybe tomorrow. Do you need Advil?”
“No, let’s just get this over with. What happened to Flynn?”
I gave him the short version Maddox gave me. The shooting happened on the corner of Sycamore Street and Marigold Avenue. It was the area that divided the town into two parts: the civilized part and the uncivilized part. Sycamore Street was populated with pubs, clubs, strip bars, and casinos. Everything south of it reeked of debauchery and crime. Marigold Avenue, on the other hand, led to the Palisades. It was the part of town where the rich folks lived, which meant criminals who got away with it.
“John Smith will tell you the juicy part,” Maddox said after we met him at the crime scene. “The eyewitnesses said they saw a black car speeding down the street, and then they heard a gunshot. After the victim dropped to the ground, one of them called the police. They say the driver was the only person in the car, but it all happened so fast they can’t describe him.”
“Who are the eyewitnesses?” I asked him.
“An eighty-year-old lady who was walking her dog and a food delivery guy from Nigeria.”
“Flynn gets assassinated in the town center in the middle of the day, and there are only two eyewitnesses?” Jordan quipped. “Why am I not surprised? CCTV?”
“Probably disabled, but we’re checking,” Maddox replied, lifting the crime scene tape. “Lots of shops around here, though. Some of them probably have cameras, so it’s worth checking. Not me, though. After I leave this in your capable hands, I’ll be tackling the double homicide in Starling Park.”
