The Book of Death (Bourbon Kid 4)

irritation.
    Sanchez tried to appease the
situation. ‘Maybe it’s available on the Kindle?’ he suggested.
    ‘IT’S NOT AVAILABLE ON THE
FUCKING KINDLE!’ Jessica snapped.
    ‘It wouldn’t hurt to check
though?’ Sanchez suggested.
    Jessica took a deep breath.
‘It’s a hand written book. It’s centuries old. And it’s worth a lot of money.
To me, anyway. I’m advising you two about it, because I’m offering a fifty
thousand dollar reward for its return.’
    Sanchez’s eyes lit up. ‘Fifty
thousand?’
    ‘Yes. Fifty thousand.’
    ‘Where d’ya get that kind of
money?’
    ‘My father is a wealthy man,’
Jessica said, her voice hinting at a degree of irritation at all the questions.
‘If you get the book, bring it to me. I’ll be staying at my father’s new home
on the edge of the city.’
    Flake tapped the keyboard once
again. ‘Do you have the address please?’ she asked.
    ‘Yes. It’s the Casa De Ville.’
    Sanchez was taken aback. The
Casa De Ville was the former home of El Santino, the recently deceased crime
lord of Santa Mondega. And it was a nasty place too. Scary looking from the
outside. It was practically a castle. Anyone who could afford to live there
must have a serious amount of cash. Really serious.
    Before he could comment, he
heard a door open behind him. Captain Harker walked in through the door at the
rear of the reception. He was holding a small piece of paper in his right hand.
He headed straight for Sanchez.
    ‘You, Sanchez, I got a job for
you.’
    ‘What?’
    ‘There’s
been a murder on 54 th Street. The ambulance crew are already there.
The residents are saying that the boyfriend of the woman in apartment 406
stabbed some guy in the throat. I need you to question the woman in 406. Find
out who her boyfriend is and why he stabbed the guy, and see if you can find
out where he went. The woman’s name is Beth Lansbury. You think you can do
that? And get me something useful?’
    Sanchez shrugged. ‘Yeah, s’pose
so. Mental Beth, huh? Who knew she had a boyfriend?’
    ‘Not me,’ said Harker handing
Sanchez the small slip of paper and a set of car keys from his pocket. ‘That’s
the keys to your squad car, number seven. It’s parked out back. And the address
is on that piece of paper. If there’s any street cops anywhere in the vicinity
of the murder I’ll get them to stop by and take over from you.’
    Sanchez took the piece of paper
and looked at the details. ‘Do we know who the victim was?’ he asked.
    Harker shook his head. ‘No one
local. Some dude with a pink mohawk haircut apparently. Probably drug related.’
    From behind Harker, Jessica
perked up. ‘Did you say it was a guy with a pink mohawk?’ she asked.
    ‘Yeah. Freaky, huh?’
    ‘What was his name?’ Jessica
asked.
    Harker frowned as he tried to
remember. ‘Ambulance people said his name was Silver or something.’
    ‘Silvinho?’
    ‘Yeah, that was it. You know
him?’
    ‘I did.’ Jessica stood up from
her seat. ‘He was a real hardass. Ain’t many folks around here that could get
close enough to him to stab him in the throat.’
    ‘Well, somebody did,’ said
Harker.
    Jessica brushed past him and
grabbed the slip of paper from Sanchez’s hand. ‘Right,’ she said. ‘I’m coming
with you, Sanchez. I’d like to meet this Beth Lansbury myself.’
    Sanchez couldn’t believe his
luck. This was a sure sign that Jessica was keen to hang out with him. It had
to be something to do with the uniform. Chicks dig the uniform , he
thought to himself. It was only his first day as a stand in police officer and
already he was taking Jessica on a ride along. This was going to be the start
of something big.

Eighteen

 
    Sanchez had never driven a
police squad car before. He’d ridden in the back a few times, but being the guy
in charge of the siren and the flashing blue lights was awesome. Having Jessica
in the car with him only added to the experience.
    ‘Hey Jessica, watch this,’ he
said, slowing the car down to a crawl on one particularly icy street. He
steered it over towards the sidewalk where an elderly lady with a walking stick
was struggling to stay on her feet as she hobbled through the snow. As the car
pulled in just a few yards behind her, Sanchez flicked a switch on the
dashboard and turned on the siren. It blared out at a deafening level, causing
the old lady to jump in shock. She slipped on the ice and fell backwards,
landing flat on her back, screaming out in pain.