Mistaken Identity by Lisa Scottoline Read Free Book Online Page A

warm hands on Bennie’s shoulders and gave them a gentle massage. He smelled of Ivory soap and mint toothpaste. “It’s not like a lunch date. It’s spontaneous.”
    “Spontaneity is overrated. Have your girl call my girl.”
    “As long as we’re negotiating, I’ll settle for the morning.”
    “But I hate the morning.”
    “Don’t whine. You have to pretend you like it.”
    “So what else is new?”
    Grady laughed and read the monitor over Bennie’s shoulder. “You on NEXIS? That’s a good idea. What’s your search request?”
    “I plugged in ‘Alice Connolly’ and limited it to a two-year period.” She punched the ENTER key to retrieve the articles.
    “Use ‘w/15 Della Porta.’ That’ll get you only the articles about the murder.”
    Bennie took the suggestion. “You’re helping, even though you think I shouldn’t take the case?”
    “I support all the stupid things you do.”
    “What a guy.”
    “So you do appreciate me.” Grady leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Good night. You’re off the hook, for now. I made you a pot of coffee. Don’t work too hard.” He scratched Bear’s head. “Take care of her, boy,” he said, and left the room, padding out in bare feet.
    Bennie bade him good night, then hit the keys to learn what she could about Alice Connolly.

8
     
    S tar glanced at the squirrelly dude in the passenger seat. Dude all but disappeared in the bucket seat, he was so fuckin’ short. Flabby even for a white guy and he had those hair plugs. Brown hairs sprouting out of his head like rows of tomato plants. To look at him, Star couldn’t believe the dude had juice, but T-Boy said he did. “T-Boy think your friend can help me out,” Star said.
    “T-Boy’s right. My friend knows everybody.” The dude nodded. “Everybody. He’ll help you out, no problem.”
    “Your friend know somebody in the house, is what I’m axin’.”
    “He knows everybody in the house. Everybody who matters anyways.”
    “Gotta be somebody who can do the job.” Star steered the Caddy up the street, past boarded-up crackhouses. Nobody was on the street, but Star still flipped up the collar of his Starter jacket. He couldn’t afford to be recognized and he was too big a man to hide. He used to be too good a man to be doing shit like this. “Nothin’ can go wrong, you hear?”
    “Nothin’s gonna go wrong.”
    Star hesitated. Not because he was scared, the deal wasn’t even illegal. The Champ used to say it all the time,
Frazier in ten.
No, the problem was that Star felt like such a fuckin’ pussy, payin’ somebody to do it for him. Man should do his own killing, but Star had his future to think about.
    “You know the bitch, right? Connolly, Alice Connolly.”
    “I know her name.”
    “He gotta do her by the weekend. That’s it, a week. You only got ’til the trial.”
    “My friend will get it done. You make sure
you
get it done.”
    “Shit, motherfucker!” Star shouted, twisting toward him in the seat. “Don’t be usin’ that tone with me. I don’t need no asshole tellin’ me. I got the deal. I carry Harris ’til the seventh, then he goes down. It’ll be the farthes’ he get with me. Tell your friend to put his money down. Harris gets knocked out in the seventh.”
    “Can’t be a decision, got to be a knockout.”
    “I know that! I said that!”
    Dude looked out the window in the dark. “My friend hearin’ shit about you. Heard you lost your touch. He don’t think you can deliver.”
    “I don’t give a fuck what your friend say, asshole! I deliver!” Star slammed the steering wheel. He hated this little ratfuck. He hated that Anthony was gone. He hated himself. “The seventh, Harris will be knocked
out
! Man won’t know his own
mother
!”
    “Chill. My friend has a lot of money on you. A lot of money. He ain’t the kind of friend you fuck with.”
    “
I
ain’t the kind of friend you fuck with! Motherfuck!” Star rumbled like a volcano inside. Didn’t mean