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

the doorway, and sauntered down the street until he reached her. Close up, she had a plain face, buck teeth, and way too much blue eye shadow. She gave him a ferocious glare, hands on ample hips. He looked at the flat.
    "Man, that sucks," he said.
    "Tell me about it. First my boss, then the cops. Now this."
    Kasker ambled closer. "I could change that for you."
    She twisted toward him, and her eyebrows rose. "You'd do that?"
    He shaded his eyes and peered at the sun dropping slowly behind Decker Industries.
    "Bitchin' hot out here. Why don't we get a drink somewhere and come back when it's cooler? You look like you could use one. My car's just around the corner."
    "I don't generally get in cars with men I don't know," she said, eyes full of suspicion.
    "Kasker Sleeth." He held out a hand. "We're neighbors. I work next door."
    She reluctantly took his hand and glanced over his shoulder to the building he'd come from. When her attention returned to him, her eyes swept him up and down.
    "Susan Brown. Friends call me Susie."
    Kasker smiled and took her elbow. "What's this about your boss and the cops, Susie?"
    "The bastard got himself killed." She sucked in a squeaky breath. "Sorry. I shouldn't speak ill of the dead."
    "It's cool. The guy musta been a real spaz to get you riled up so bad."
    She ranted all the way to the car, about how Decker was a miser and wouldn't pay her a living wage, how he made lewd remarks and ogled her, how he gave her ridiculous tasks to complete on impossible deadlines.
    Kasker tore his eyes from her generous breasts, which had already caused the first stirring in the flesh. On the way to the bar, he tried to turn the conversation to Decker's business, but each time he did, she changed the subject. She must have some moral objection to spilling her boss's secrets even though he was a lecher and dead.
    Two beers later, she admitted she'd had sex with Decker. She'd done it because she thought he was about to fire her. What had it gotten her? She had no job now. Kasker consoled her with an arm around her shoulders and comments about how Decker was a jerk.
    He wanted to touch more than her shoulders but practiced restraint while chafing at the passing time. If he spooked her, he'd get no information. There must be a way to speed up her seduction. The hippie girls he screwed were so much more willing. But Susie seemed inhibited.
    "You know, I've always wanted a family," he said. "I thought I'd found the perfect woman. We were high school sweethearts. Then, while I was in 'Nam, she sent me a Dear John letter."
    He cleared his throat and brushed a hand over his eyes. Her lips parted, and she put a hand on his thigh. He congratulated himself on a smart move.
    "Kasker, that's horrible! How could she do that to someone as gentle and considerate as you?"
    "I've been so lonely. I thought I'd be married by now, with my first child in my arms." He tucked his chin, cleared his throat again, and looked around as though embarrassed to have made this admission in such a public place. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be prattling on to you about my problems. Not with the kind of day you've had. It's just—well, I miss having someone to hold."
    She pushed a stray strand of his hair away from his face. "It's too noisy here. Why don't you come back to my place? We can talk over a glass of wine."

11
     
    Between the shoplifter, a kid spray painting graffiti on a train trestle, and a drunk urinating in public, we had no time to check the bars, restaurants, and theaters near Tad's car. They were all locked up tight when our shift ended. Our relief had rolled onto the streets, our co-workers had headed home, and the station was dead quiet.
    Days like this left me frustrated and empty. I'd joined the force to catch bad guys, to protect citizens from mayhem and murder, rapists and robbers. Instead, I spent my time swimming against an endless tide of drunks and delinquents, paperwork and sexist attitudes that left me disappointed in my