The Book of Death (Bourbon Kid 4)

out, ‘I can help with that. Please take a seat, miss.’
    Jessica sauntered past Sanchez
and took a seat on the customer side of Flake’s reception desk. ‘Who are you
then, sweetcheeks?’ she asked.
    ‘Officer Munroe,’ said Flake in
an official sounding voice. ‘And you are?’
    Sanchez answered on Jessica’s
behalf. ‘Jessica Xavier,’ he said.
    Jessica turned her head and eyed
him suspiciously. ‘How do you know my surname?’ she asked.
    It was a good question. Sanchez
had hired the services of Rick from the Ole Au Lait to find out the information
from some seedy contacts he had in the press. Best not to admit to that,
though.
    ‘You talk in your sleep,’ he
replied, relieved that he was wearing his sunglasses, which would hide the
deceit in his eyes.
    Flake had been typing the name
into her computer. After hearing the revelation that Jessica talked in her
sleep she looked up. ‘You two have slept together?’ she asked.
    Jessica grinned at Flake. ‘Oh
yes, lots of times. Sanchez is a real animal in bed. Didn’t you know?’
    ‘No, I didn’t.’
    Sanchez frowned. He’d never
slept with Jessica. Maybe she thought they had? She certainly seemed to be
bigging him up to Flake. Maybe this meant she was into him? If she genuinely
thought they had already slept together then he really did stand a chance.
    ‘We go way back,’ he said
insouciantly.
    ‘Okay,’ said Flake, not sounding
convinced. ‘So Miss Xavier, what is it that you’d like to report stolen?’
    ‘A book.’
    Sanchez’s ears perked up at
hearing about yet another stolen book. He quickly butted in. ‘What’s it
called?’ he asked.
    Jessica kept her gaze fixed on
Flake who was still tapping away on her keyboard. ‘It’s called The Book of
Death,’ she said.
    Well , this had Sanchez
confused. Jessica was looking for the same book as Ulrika Price. The same book
that Sanchez himself had stolen, but then given to Rick to return to the
library. Why would Jessica be reporting it stolen?
    Flake remained calm and didn’t
give away the fact that she, like Sanchez, was only too aware of the fact that
Ulrika had reported the book missing earlier. And they had turned Ulrika to
dust and ash, the remains of which were now in the bin.
    ‘Do you know where it was stolen
from please?’ Flake asked.
    ‘The local library.’
    Flake tapped away some more on
her keyboard before asking. ‘You work there?’
    ‘No.’
    ‘Was it your book?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘Why was it at the library
then?’
    ‘Because that’s where I liked to
keep it.’
    Flake looked confused. ‘Have you
questioned the librarians about it?’ she asked.
    ‘The chief librarian is a
bitch.’
    Sanchez nodded. ‘Right. Good
riddance to her.’
    Jessica spun around on her
chair. ‘What do you mean, good riddance? Have you seen her?’
    ‘Umm, well, y’ know…’
    Flake jumped in to bail him out.
‘What he means is, they used to date.’
    Jessica turned back to Flake.
Sanchez frowned. What the fuck was Flake talking about? Jessica didn’t seem
convinced either.
    ‘You what?’ she asked, glaring
at Flake.
    Flake shrugged. ‘Oh yeah. You
know Sanchez. He’s a real ladies’ man. He met Ulrika and just swept her away.
But she turned a bit psycho, so he recently dumped her. Didn’t you, Sanchez?’
    Sanchez nodded. ‘Like I said,
she was a bitch. Good riddance to her.’
    Jessica eyed them both
suspiciously for a moment. ‘Fine,’ she said. ‘But if you see her, I’d like to
know about it. She might have the book I’m looking for.’
    ‘Certainly,’ said Flake. ‘Can
you tell us what this book looks like?’
    ‘It’s a big black hardback
book.’
    ‘That’s it? Just black?’
    ‘As far as I know. I’ve never
actually seen it.’
    Flake looked puzzled. ‘What do
you mean you’ve never actually seen it? I thought it was your book. Surely you
must know what it looks like?’
    ‘It’s actually my father’s book.
A family heirloom that will rightfully be mine one day.’
    Flake stopped tapping on her
keyboard and pursed her lips, deep in thought for a moment before responding.
‘Look, Miss Xavier, I don’t mean to sound obtuse, but surely, if this is just a
book with a black cover and you’ve never even seen it, wouldn’t it be easier
just to go to the shop and order a new copy?’
    ‘It’s one of a kind. There was
only one copy ever printed.’
    ‘Are you sure?’ Flake asked.
    ‘Yes I’m sure.’ Jessica’s voice
hinted at some serious