Black Widow by Victor Methos Read Free Book Online Page A

something you would pass by a thousand times and not notice. Two stories of ugly brown brick, with a mechanic shop on the ground level. Stanton parked behind the building and walked around to the entrance. He went in through the front door and saw the elevator there. The elevator doors were carved up with knives and spattered with graffiti. When he hit the button to recall it, he heard grinding gears and scraping metal. He took the stairs instead.
    A simple wooden door with the words KEYLOCK in bold lettering was at the top of the stairs. A small hallway led to the bathrooms and an emergency fire escape, the only other things on this floor. Stanton went inside the office and smiled at the receptionist.
    “ Howya doin’?”
    “What can I do for you, sir?”
    Stanton walked over and placed his hands on the counter. Studies in body language had found that people responded better to postures where they could see a person’s hands rather than having the hands hidden. They were more apt to be cooperative with people in such postures, and later ranked them as having higher rates of attractiveness and likeability.
    He remembered he had his shield, though he’d still forgotten to get his firearm. He flashed the tin. “I need video for the Dale Koa Hotel for May the first of this year. The hotel told me I could find it here.”
    “May the first, let’s see, that’s what, thirty-four days ago?”
    “That’s right.”
    “Well, we usually require a subpoena or a warrant.”
    Stanton quickly assessed the woman. No wedding ring, the nails on her hands bitten down to slivers. Though she dressed well, the details that many people put into their appearance were missing. A few speckles of white were on her wrists. Oil burns from cooking her own meals.
    “Can I be honest with you? I do need that video, and time is kinda of the essence. Maybe we can discuss it over drinks?”
    “Sorry?” she said, suppressing a grin.
    “I’m sorry,” he said with a slight shake of his head. “I’ve only been in Honolulu a year. I’m from California and we don’t have time to be subtle. When we like something we have to go for it.”
    “It’s more laid back here. People have less stress and live longer. You should get used to that.”
    “Well, hopefully I can ease into it.” He waited a beat and smiled. “I would really appreciate getting that video today, though.”
    Her mouth twisted in a silly gesture, as though she were thinking of something perplexing, and then she said, “Wait here.”
    As she disappeared into the back, Stanton sat down on one of the chairs. In front of him was a coffee table with magazines spread over it. He didn’t look at them and instead checked email on his phone. There was nothing that required his attention right now.
    “Okay, here ya go.”
    He rose and approached the front counter. A DVD in a white envelope with a transparent front lay in front of him and he wondered if the person he was looking for was on there.
    “You… gonna take it?” she said.
    “Yeah.” He smiled. “Sorry. I’m not very good at this, am I?”
    “You’re doing fine.”
    Stanton picked up the DVD and placed it into the inside pocket of his jacket. “Thank you.”
    “You’re welcome. Anything else you need?”
    “I’ll be okay. Raincheck on those drinks?”
    “Sure. Anytime.”

14
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Though he preferred paper files, the convenience of being able to access every police report on every case in his jurisdiction on his phone wasn’t lost on Stanton.
    He sat now in a room at the precinct and fast-forwarded the DVD. When he checked his phone to see who had initially informed Alex Waters’ spouse of his death, there was only a note that said a detective named Gary Akanu had called several times and left messages with no return calls. Then Connor Jones had tried to follow up with her, with no luck either.
    The DVD’s picture was clear and perfect. There was no sound, and after watching an hour’s