Dirty Harry 05 - Family Skeletons by Dane Hartman Read Free Book Online

bulging.
    “Harry,” Shanna breathed.
    The other two looked at her at the same time.
    “You know him?” Christine asked.
    “He’s my uncle . . . I mean, a relative of mine,” Shanna hastily corrected herself.
    “Good Heavens,” Christine replied, turning back to Harry. “Where have you been hiding him?”
    Tom interrupted in the same suave manner he had been handling the rest of the conversation with. “How long have you been out there?” he demanded in a voice that neared rage.
    “I just came in,” Harry answered quietly.
    “That doesn’t answer my question!” Tom yelled.
    Harry shrugged. “It’ll have to do.”
    Tom’s hands were clenching and unclenching. He started to move toward Callahan.
    “Tom,” Shanna called out, “take it easy. He’s a cop.”
    Tom froze again. He looked frightened for a second, then closed down on all expression. His face became a calm blank slate.
    “What are you doing here, Harry?” Shanna asked.
    “I was in the neighborhood so I thought I’d drop in. Would you buy that?”
    Shanna’s expression said that she wouldn’t. First she smirked because of the hoary cliché, then she thought about why Callahan would actually be there. She turned sullen, looking down.
    Christine took it all in. “Well,” she said lightly. “I guess you two have a lot to talk about.” One good cliché deserves another, Harry thought. “I’m ready for a little supper anyway. Coming, Tom?”
    “Yeah, right,” said the young man flatly.
    Christine went out first. Harry entered the room so she could get out the doorway without rubbing him down. She looked disappointed about the missed opportunity. As she exited she favored him with a smile that said “Hello, welcome to Boston” at the very least and “I’d like to see you in a Playgirl photo spread” at the very most. Harry had to admit to himself that he wouldn’t mind doing an extended stake-out on her either. And if DiGeorgio ever came into the office with pictures of her in Playboy, he wouldn’t keep himself from folding her out.
    Tom gave him a look as he left after Christine that would only fit in Field and Stream. Harry could even smell his lack of nutriments on his breath. When he passed, the air had a definite aroma of rotting liver.
    Shanna waited until the door downstairs slammed shut. “It’s Mom, right?” she said, still looking at the table and fingering the corner of a brochure.
    Harry moved farther into the room. “I had the vacation time coming,” he said. “I thought I’d visit.” She still didn’t look up. Harry stopped on the other side of the table from her. “It’s been a long time,” he said.
    She looked up then. Her green eyes were clear and close to devastating. Her lips were set. She nodded curtly. “A long time,” she agreed.
    They looked at each other for a while. Harry could see Shanna mentally arguing with herself. He could imagine she hated her mother for sicking Harry on her, but she had too many fond memories of him to completely reject him. All the pent-up anger and indignity was going to be unleashed on Linda the next time mother and daughter met.
    Finally, Shanna looked down again, her index fingers making little circles atop a pamphlet. “I heard about your wife,” she said. “I’m sorry.”
    “Me, too,” said Harry simply.
    “I mean I’m sorry we didn’t come to the funeral.”
    “You were too young. You lived too far away. It was ten years ago. It’s over. Don’t worry about it.”
    “A lot has changed since then,” Shanna continued, building up assurance. “I’m not a little girl anymore.”
    “Obviously,” Harry commented.
    Shanna looked down at herself. She saw the solid musculature, the wide, strong breasts, and the long legs. She looked at Harry with a smile. She wasn’t insulted. He had said it in a non-sexual manner. “I’m pretty together,” she said with a combination of humor and conviction.
    Harry figured it was a good time to introduce a more