The Book of Death (Bourbon Kid 4)

really
made it as far up the ranks as he should have. If memory served correctly he
was one of the less corruptible cops, not as easily open to bribes as most of
the others. He’d dropped by the Tapioca numerous times to question Sanchez
about various unsolved crimes.
    At the sound of his voice Flake
turned around. ‘Hello, Mr Harker,’ she said. She knew him too. The Ole Au Lait
wasn’t exactly crime free either.
    ‘Flake, you drive like a
freakin’ lunatic. I could book you for dangerous driving and illegal parking
right now!’ Harker said, shaking his head.
    Sanchez nodded in agreement with
Harker, although he brought the nodding to an abrupt end when he thought Flake
had caught sight of it out of the corner of her eye.
    ‘I’m sorry Dan,’ said Flake
smiling. ‘We’ve come to sign up for the police force and I was hoping to
impress you with my driving skills, you know? I’m good in a high speed
pursuit.’
    Dan Harker’s look of disapproval
vanished. ‘Oh,’ he said. ‘Good. I mean, excellent. You’re the first two to come
and sign up. Come on in. I’ll get your forms filled in.’
    ‘I’ve got a bad back,’ said
Sanchez, once more rubbing his back and wincing.
    Harker ignored him and spoke to
Flake, ‘There’s a thousand dollar incentive for the first two people to sign
up.’
    Sanchez perked up and looked
around him. There were a few other people milling around in the street. No
sense in waiting for one of them to race up the steps and get into the station
before him. Straightening up, he rushed out of the icy road and onto the
snow-covered sidewalk, then bounded on to the steps and up towards the glass
doors at the front of the station.
    ‘Gosh, he’s keen,’ said Harker.
    Flake rushed up the steps after
Sanchez. ‘We’re both very keen to do our duty,’ she said.
    Sanchez reeled back in shock
when he saw the state of the reception area in the station. The place was a
bloody mess. Literally. In fact it was one big crime scene. The walls and floor
were covered in blood. And it smelled like the Tapioca after a curry night.
Harker followed them in.
    ‘It’s a real mess in here,’ he
said walking briskly past Sanchez and Flake. ‘One of your first jobs will be
cleaning this place up. We’ve had forensics in to collate all the evidence, now
we just need someone to wipe the blood off the walls.’
    ‘Sanchez will be good at that,’
Flake said.
    ‘That’s true,’ Sanchez agreed.
He’d cleaned blood and piss off the walls of the Tapioca numerous times. And
for a thousand dollars, he’d clean up just about anything.
    Harker smiled and reached into a
drawer on the main reception desk. He pulled out a thick blue hardback book and
slapped it down on the desk. ‘I just need you both to sign this register,’ he
said opening the book up. ‘You sign this each day and it grants you the
authority to arrest, harass and intimidate local civilians at your leisure. You
get paid a thousand dollars up front for being the first two recruits. After
that it’s a standard five hundred dollars a day.’
    Sanchez picked up a pen from the
desk and grabbed the book before Flake could get to it. He filled in a few
details and signed his name then looked up at Harker.
    ‘You paying cash?’ he asked.
    ‘For the first day, yes. After
that it’s bank transfer.’
    ‘Good enough.’
    Flake began filling in her
details in the register. Harker took a few steps back and stared at his new recruits,
looking them both up and down. ‘Right,’ he said frowning. ‘I’m going to nip
upstairs and get you two some uniforms. Should be easy for you Flake, you’re a
fairly common size. It might take me a while to find a pair of pants for you
though, Sanchez.’
    ‘I’m a medium,’ Sanchez said
defensively.
    ‘And I’m an astronaut,’ said
Harker. ‘I’ll find you some pants, don’t worry. Now, while I’m upstairs getting
your uniforms you can get started. Flake, you man the reception desk. Deal with
any phone calls or anyone who comes in off the street to report a crime. If
you’re not sure what to do, just bullshit them.’
    Flake looked genuinely
enthusiastic. ‘I can do that,’ she said smiling.
    Harker turned back to Sanchez.
‘You can start by cleaning the elevator. There’s a mop and bucket over there in
the corner. There’s soapy water in it already. All you gotta do is…’
    ‘I know how to mop, thank you,’
said Sanchez.
    ‘Fine. Then I’ll expect that
elevator to be spotless