Dead Even by Emma Brookes Read Free Book Online Page B

just simply dandy! We had a chance to nail one of the really big boys, and you guys muffed it! They’ll be setting up in another state by now. What the hell blew your cover? Any ideas? And why did you wait two weeks to make your move, for God’s sake? This isn’t Kansas City, you know. In a town this size, sooner or later someone is going to make you.”
    Mike knew the captain was right. He should have gone in two days ago. He nodded his head. “My fault, Captain. It was my call all the way. If I would’ve moved quicker, we would have nailed them.”
    â€œAll right,” Markham said. “It’s over. Not a damn thing we can do about it now. I want you four to stay on this, though. See what we can get on the rest of them. Salvage what we can.” He turned to Mike, dismissing the others with a wave of his hand. “Ramsey, I want to talk to you.”
    The door closed behind the other officers, and Markham sat staring at Mike, wondering how his next words were going to be received. Mike Ramsey was one of the best men he had. He had been on the Hays Police Force for eleven years, distinguishing himself many times over. He was also a recovering alcoholic.
    â€œSit down, Mike,” he said. This is off the record, and I’m asking you as a friend, not your captain. Are you drinking again?”
    Mike looked up, surprised. “Hell, no, Jim,” he answered, reverting to a first name basis now that they were alone. “I haven’t touched a drop in two years. Why do you ask?”
    â€œCouple of things, Mike,” Markham said, looking straight at the officer. “First, it isn’t like you to make a mistake like you did on this case, and there’s the matter of what tipped those bastards they were under surveillance. Sometimes when a man is drinking, he lets things slip that spread quickly in a small town.” He put his hand up to silence Mike’s objections. “And second, it was reported to me that you’ve been spending a lot of time at Mary K’s. For someone who is trying to stay away from booze, it seems to me a tavern isn’t the ideal place to hang out.”
    â€œShit, Jim,” Mike answered. “I like their frigging hamburgers. Since when is that a crime?”
    Markham thought back over his long association with the officer sitting in front of him. To his knowledge, Mike had always been straight with him. Still, the rumors had started to fly again, and he couldn’t afford to ignore them. “Mike, I went out on a limb for you two years ago. You do remember all the editorials demanding your resignation, don’t you? I took a lot of flack keeping you on the force. Damn near cost me my job. I won’t be able to back you again, and I don’t want to lose you. You’re too fine an officer.”
    â€œDamn it, Captain, I haven’t been drinking!” Mike exploded. “Check it out if you don’t believe me. Anyone there will tell you I only drink pop. Nothing else. I eat a hamburger, sometimes play a game or two of darts, and leave. Period. Who the hell has been telling you any different?”
    Markham made his mind up quickly. “I can’t tell you that, Mike. And it doesn’t make any difference, anyway. If you tell me you aren’t drinking again, that’s good enough for me.”
    Mike leaned back in his chair, running a hand over the light stubble on his face, realizing he had forgotten to shave. At thirty-four, Mike Ramsey was a handsome figure of a man. He was six feet tall and one hundred ninety pounds of lean muscle. He wore his sandy blond hair slightly longer than the old-timers on the force, but considerably shorter than the new recruits. His skin was dark, tanned deeply by the amount of time he spent out-of-doors. His eyes were a deep shade of blue, fringed by a double row of long lashes—unquestionably his best feature. There was a faint scar, the result of a drunken brawl,