No Place Like Hell by K. S. Ferguson Read Free Book Online Page A

his friends, he needs to keep better company," I said.
    "If those hoods were after him, he could be in big trouble. Keep your distance until you know what's up, okay?"
    "All right already with the warnings. He might need our help."
    Dave returned to the search for Newell's car. We meandered through the business district into the commercial district where the streets were lined with a mix of big department stores and small boutique shops. Most of them stayed open late on Friday, and shoppers ambled through the heat picking up last-minute bargains.
    "There it is."
    Newell's car sat among a dozen others in a pay-by-the-hour lot, a boot on the back tire, and a yellow notice jammed under a wiper blade. We'd driven a good twelve blocks from the accident site. Three movie theaters and a dozen restaurants or bars were scattered in a six-block radius.
    Dave surveyed the neighborhood. "Funny place to park if he was going to the Carlisle."
    "Let's ask around, see if anyone remembers him," I said.
    A fuzz of static came from the radio, followed by a dispatcher's voice. "Unit five, respond to a 10-37 shoplifter at the Stop 'n Go, 2212 Maple."
    I ground my teeth and vowed that I'd come back. I'd find out what Newell had been doing before he'd been mowed down by the Camaro—and why he was of interest to two thugs.

10
     
    An unmarked cop car stood in the cracked asphalt parking lot outside Decker Industries. Kasker assumed they were here to interview Decker's staff. He eased the Mustang past and parked around the corner. Then he walked back to the intersection and stood in the shade of a building, watching.
    The grubby neighborhood didn't provide much cover. The shining six stories of Decker's flagship rose in the midst of grungy warehouses, import companies, and vacant lots. No coffee shops, bars, or other businesses in which to loiter unobserved.
    On the other hand, it looked like everyone had already gone home for the day. His senses found no souls working late in any of the nearby buildings. Once everyone was gone from Decker Industries, he could have a look around to see what Decker had been up to before he died. With luck, he'd find something to point him towards Holmes.
    He took a noisy pull on the straw of his Coke cup, sucking up the last of the melting ice. The Oracle had been right about the dehydration. Too bad the rest of what he'd said was gibberish. Goats! Why had he been so frightened of a middle-aged, overweight shopkeeper?
    The soul of a woman paced around the sixth floor. Two male souls were coming down in the building's elevator. The men came into view at a side door and walked to the cop car. They lugged double-stacked file boxes, which they put in the trunk before they pulled away.
    Carbuncles and covens! The pigs were already carting away all of Decker's valuable information? Now how would he track down Holmes?
    A beat-up green Dodge Dart coupe sat alone in the parking lot. The woman who remained in the building wasn't a cop then. Decker's secretary?
    Kasker tossed his empty cup in the gutter and trotted to the Dart. The woman was coming down in the elevator. He fished a penknife from his jeans, unscrewed the valve cap on a rear tire, and let the air out. He hurried from the lot to the doorway of the next building.
    Her high heels clicked across the hot asphalt. A blonde beehive topped her head. Her white cotton blouse stretched tight across her buxom breasts and plump torso. A wide floral print skirt swirled around heavy legs. She carried a huge white purse, large enough to hold a week's shopping, slung on her shoulder.
    Kasker waited.
    She got in her car, backed from her place, and gunned toward the exit. For a minute, Kasker thought she might drive home without noticing the flat.
    At the exit, she stopped, got out, walked to the rear of the car. She smacked a fist on the rear panel above the deflated tire. Her tirade of cussing carried to him through the hot air.
    He wiped the smile from his face, stepped out of