Bleeding Out by Baxter Clare Read Free Book Online Page B

FBI. Part of the work included analyzing the behavior patterns and personalities of serial criminals.
    Frank scrutinized her Quantico notes and, just for kicks, started profiling Agoura’s perp. Hunched over her desk well into the night, her doodling evolved into an intricate list.
    Friday evening at the Alibi was packed. Nancy Kreiger had given up clearing the empties from squad nine-three’s table. Except for Jill, who’d gone home exhausted, and Bobby, who was on call and nursing a Coke, the squad was pounding back Buds and Murphy’s Irish stouts. The talk had gone from shop to football. Nookey was collecting money for the weekend games.
    Taquito, Ike, and Briggs were in a heated discussion about why the Raiders sucked wind. Bobby nodded quietly, backing Johnnie, and over the din of happy-hour voices and clanking glass, Frank was explaining to the rest of the squad why the Chiefs should walk away with the AFC title.
    Because she was his boss, Gough had to treat Frank with some respect at work, but off the clock he refused to take her seriously, especially about football. Now he was jabbing a finger at her, saying there was no way the Chiefs could sustain their momentum against the Broncos. They waged battle through another pitcher of stout and in the end settled on a fifty dollar bet. Frank conservatively took the Chiefs by two, and to put his money where his mouth was, Boy-red opted for Denver with a ten-point spread. Nookey held the money. No one came to the Alibi on Friday without cash in their pockets.
    “I hope Jeannie doesn’t find out about this,” Nookey gloomily warned his partner.
    “She’ll find out when I take her out to dinner on La Freek’s Ben Franklin.”
    Frank’s smile was thin and enigmatic. Noah winked at her and said near her ear, “You’re Mona Lisa gone over to the other camp.”
    Her smile widened a bit. She and Noah had been friends for a long time. In the early years he’d had a gentle crush on her, part of the allure being the impossibility of attaining her. The affection that had remained between them was built on mutual trust and admiration.
    Reaching for a pitcher, Nancy leaned her considerable breasts between the two detectives. Noah made a pained expression and Frank was suddenly fascinated by a scar on the tabletop.
    “‘Nother round?”
    “I gotta get going,” Noah said to her chest. Bobby echoed, “Me, too.”
    Frank inclined her head toward Ike and Johnnie. “How about another round for the drunks at the end of the table.”
    After paying the tab, Frank walked out with Bobby and Noah. The air felt cool and fresh. She said good night to her detectives, offering to drive Noah home. He wasn’t much of a drinker but he kept up with everyone on Fridays.
    “I’m fine,” he said.
    “Alright. Say hi to Tracey for me, and the kids.”
    “Tracey misses you. Says she never sees you any more.”
    The grimace that passed for Frank’s smile quickly twisted her face.
    “Tell her I miss her too.”
    “You going back to the office?”
    Frank leaned against her open door, considering. The beer felt good inside her. She was ready to call it a week.
    “Nope. I think I’ll go home.”
    “Good girl. You’ve put in your obligatory twenty, thirty hours of OT. Get some rest.”
    “Yessir.”
    “Goddamnit, I love it when you get all military on me.”
    “I’m going to get military on your ass if you don’t get out of here.”
    “See? Look! Goosebumps,” Noah said pointing to his wrist.
    Frank wagged her head as Noah folded his lanky frame into his old car. They pulled out of the lot and already she missed his camaraderie, feeling the loneliness of the weekend seeping in like the chill around the window frames. As she approached the freeway, Frank thought about going back to the office, but that would only be putting off the inevitable. Instead she cruised slowly home, resigning herself to the company of the radio and the cheery glow of brake lights and turn signals.
    She