Royal Flush (The Jake Samson & Rosie Vicente Detective Series Book 6) by Shelley Singer Read Free Book Online

Hank too. But you know how he is.” I did. Hank was with the Berkeley PD, a nice enough guy and a good cop, but no risk-taker. He helped out when he thought he should, and that wasn’t often.
    “I think I have to at least find out more about them. Get something more, proof of conspiracy or something. I’m going back tonight.”
    “Oh, for Christ’s sake, Jake. You’re Jewish. You’d make a lousy martyr.”
    I stared at her. “On the contrary. We make very good martyrs.”
    Rosie stared back, but she blinked first. “You’re a grown man. I can’t tell you what to do. I can’t lock you in your house. But if you insist on risking your life with those morons, do it fast and get out.”
    “From your mouth to God’s ear, kiddo. Now I’ve got some good news.” I told her about the house and gave her one of Sally’s cards. She promised she’d take a look.
    I got up to leave, but before I could she came around her desk and grabbed me in a big hug. She even kissed me on the cheek, something she hardly ever does.
    “Give me a day or two to clear away some things, then find a way to get me into this. I’m your sister or girlfriend or something.”
    “You going to bleach your hair too?”
    “You can bet I’m not.”
    I stopped at a wig shop on the way home and picked up a light brown rug with curls. It looked pretty stupid, but did bear a resemblance to my real hair.
    My striped companions were lounging on the deck. They hadn’t been fooled by the bleached hair and they weren’t offended by the wig. The minute they saw my face peering through the French doors, they started whining for food. Tigris followed Euphrates through the cat door into the kitchen. I opened a can of Friskies beef and liver and dumped the contents into two dishes. After which I checked the bowl of wildly expensive urinary-tract-healthy dry food— Euphrates had a bout with cystitis a couple of years ago— and it was full. As usual, they weren’t really hungry; they just didn’t want what they had.
    I checked my answering machine. A message from Artie, asking me to call. Probably not just about the next night’s poker game. I made a ham sandwich and punched in his work number.
    “Perrine.”
    “Hey, Art.”
    “Jake! Thanks for calling. What’s happening with that… with Deeanne and…”
    He couldn’t say his name. I said it for him. “Royal.”
    “Yeah.”
    “I’m working the case.”
    “And?”
    “And unless my client says otherwise, the work is confidential. You know that.”
    “Your client! What kind of crap is that? You’re talking about a twenty-year-old jackass who—”
    “Yes, that’s the one. Tell you what. You talk to Deeanne, I’ll talk to them both, you stay out of the case, I’ll do my best to keep you informed.”
    “I want to help you.”
    “Like hell. I don’t want you anywhere near Royal’s buddies. I don’t want me anywhere near them, either.”
    “Jake, I know you’re doing this for me—”
    “Not just for you.”
    “For Deanne?”
    “Well, her too…”
    “Not for Royal! I can’t believe it!”
    “Not just for him, either. Look, this kid is dumb as a… I don’t know, what’s really dumb? A chicken? Anyway, he’s not evil. I think he might actually be a human being some day. No guarantees. But this group, Artie, this group looks bad.”
    “I’ll talk to Deeanne.”
    “Good. Don’t forget, she did come to me for help. She may be a pain in the ass, but she’s got courage.”
    He grunted. “There’s a fine line between the brave and the foolhardy.”
    “Who said that?”
    “I did. See you tomorrow night. Prepare to lose.”

– 5 –
    When I walked into Thor’s that night, Floyd was sitting at the same table, like he’d never moved at all. The skinny paranoid one was there too, but the guy with the fatigues and the double-lightning tattoo had been replaced by someone else. This one had curly hair, almost as blond as my new do. I’d noticed him the night before because he’d