5th Pentagram: The sequel to the #1 Hard Boiled Mystery, 9th Circle (Book 3 of the Darc Murders Trilogy) (Book 3 of the Darc Murder Series) by Ben Hopkin Read Free Book Online Page B

website. He shook his head and clucked his tongue.
    “What the hell is wrong with people? Satanist cruises? What next? A dating website?”
    Darc clicked on one of the other tabs open in his web browser. DevilDates.com. A dating site for Satanists.
    “Man. That’s… I got no words.” He sighed and dropped his head. Then he popped it back up again, glancing at his watch. “Darc. Dude. You gotta get going. Isn’t your date in like two hours?”
    Darc looked at the digital clock on his desktop. “Two hours and eleven minutes,” he corrected his partner.
    “So, get out of here already. You’ve got to go get ready.”
    This was puzzling to Darc. “I am ready.”
    “You’re… what? You’re ready ?” Trey asked, his pitch raising several notches. “You mean you’re going like that?”
    Darc looked down at himself. He was wearing a white shirt and tie, as well as slacks. There appeared to be nothing wrong with his attire. His tie was straight. His shoes were tied. Even his fly was done up properly.
    “Yes. I am.”
    “No, no, no, no, no,” Trey responded. “Okay, we’ll deal with that in a minute. But first tell me that you at least have a plan for tonight.”
    “Of course.”
    “Okay, good,” he said, letting out a huge breath. Then his eyes narrowed. “Wait. What is your plan?”
    “I will pick her up at 7:30,” Darc replied. This whole conversation made no sense to him. Trey appeared to be either very concerned or having a psychotic break. Another topic he could discuss with Mala.
    Trey waited a long moment before saying anything. “That’s it ? That’s all? What are you going to do?”
    “I had planned to ask Mala where she would like to—”
    “Okay, okay. Stop right there. You will not… I repeat, not … be asking Mala where you will be going to dinner. That’s a total cop out, man. You’ll choose a restaurant, get a reservation, pick her up and take her there.”
    “But that will not allow her to—” Darc began.
    “Dude,” Trey said. “Seriously. Listen to me. You’re taking her on a date. She’s a total catch and you’re going to treat her like it.” He ran his hand through his hair, making it stand up straight. That was an indicator with which Darc was familiar. His partner was stressed out.
    That seemed odd. Why would Trey be stressed out about Darc’s date? He opened up his mouth to ask the question, only to be interrupted once more.
    “Okay, okay… we can fix this. I got a buddy who’s a chef over at Nishino. He can get you a reservation.”
    “But I—”
    Trey held up a hand. “As for the rest of it, I kinda thought this might happen, so…” He pulled out a laminated card and handed it to Darc.
    Looking over the plastic rectangle, Darc saw that it seemed to be a list. A checklist, to be precise. One for preparing to go out with a woman, although Darc noted that Trey had left the gender nonspecific for some reason. There were fifteen items noted on the bulleted agenda.
    “This seems excessive,” Darc observed.
    “Are you kidding me? I took that list down from twenty-five. Mostly because I knew you’d never do them all.” He pointed over Darc’s shoulder at a section of the tally. “Now, items seven through nine are all about body hair grooming. Totally optional, but I gotta tell you, man, they’re gold.”
    Darc took the card and slipped it into his back pocket. It appeared that if he were to follow everything Trey had detailed for him, he would barely have time to finish before he had to pick up Mala. He stood, ready to head home to begin his preparations.
    “Hold on,” Trey said. He held out a small device in the palm of his flat hand. A tiny earpiece. “Got this from my buddy Bill Harris, the PI. I took the liberty of syncing this sucker up to your phone. You’re welcome.”
    The heavy sensation Darc felt in his midsection, which had been growing stronger all day, seemed to diminish with that reminder. Trey would be with him throughout the dinner.