Sleeping with the Fishes by Mary Janice Davidson Read Free Book Online Page A

"because I was about to kick your fishy ass into the seal tank."
    Artur laughed politely.
    " Crushin ' on Fred, eh?" It had to be Fred. It sure as shit better not be Dr. Barb or there'd be a beat-down, all right, and Mr. Hotshit Prince might get a surprise.
    "I do not know what that—"
    "Yes you do. Get in line, pal. But don't worry about me, Fred and I are nothing more than friends. Just realize there are other men out there. Even if…"
    "Even if…?"
    "She's oblivious."
    Artur nodded, stroking his too-cool red beard. Not too long, not absurdly short—like the little bear in Goldilocks, it was just right. "That is well," he said at last.
    "Oh, right, real well. Listen—"
    "Morons!" Fred's grating voice cut through their private chat. "Are you coming, or not?"
    "Where's Dr. Barb?" he asked, peeking around the corner to make sure the coast was clear.
    "She's outta here. Didn't even notice you." "Oh," Jonas said. He faked enthusiasm. "That's good, then."
    Fred gave him an odd look, and let them into the darkened halls of the NEA.
     

Chapter Thirteen
     
    "It should be here somewhere."
    "What exactly are we looking for, Nancy Drew?"
    Fred gave Jonas a look. They'd both gone through an insane Drew phase in the fourth grade, read the entire Nancy Drew series, talked about her and her friends and her borderline-absentee dad, and at the end had both decided it was a miracle Ms. Drew lived through any of her wacky adventures.
    "What. Are. We. Looking. For?"
    "I heard you the first time, moron. Anything Dr. Pearson might have left. He's got to have notes, charts—something."
    "I dislike this skulking about," the prince said, looking around the small, cluttered lab with distaste. "It ill becomes royalty. I prefer action."
    "Indulge the commoners, will ya ?"
    "Yeah, do that." Fred picked up a clipboard and instantly became absorbed. Much more interesting than listening to the men in her life bitch and moan. How did wives and moms stand it?
    "I don't know why I'm here," Jonas was saying, looking absently around the lab. "It's not really my field. Now, if you want to talk about a hand cream that doubles as perfume…"
    "I don't know why you're here either." Jonas, she had decided three years ago, had an odd affectation for the NEA. He'd been in it about a thousand times, and was always chatting up her boss and colleagues… even the volunteers who worked the gift shop. She happened to know he didn't give a tin shit about oceans, sea life, stuffed seals, or penguins, so it was a bit of a mystery. "So go."
    "Yeah, maybe I will." In another of his odd mood swings, Jonas had gone from keen interest to yawning boredom in less than thirty.
    "Then be off," the prince commanded, sitting on a lab stool and nearly toppling off when he realized the chair didn't have a back.
    Fred swallowed a laugh and kept her gaze glued to the clipboard. Pearson had the handwriting of a serial killer, and she was having a tough time deciphering if this was a toxin sheet or his grocery list.
    "You're pretty strong," she heard Jonas say to Artur , obviously ignoring the prince's command to 'be off.' "Fred is, too. I once saw her pick up her mom's fridge to get one of my Hot Wheels."
    "That is interesting about Fred. It: is also an accurate observation."
    "I'm guessing it's the whole mer -angle, right? I mean, you can't swim around on the bottom of the ocean day and night—all that pressure—and not build some upper body strength. I mean, you guys are under
literal
pressure, not: the usual 'the H.R. rep hates me, I can't stand office politics' pressure."
    "Do not feel shame. An air breather is by nature much weaker."
    "Uh—okay, yeah, I'm not really a shame- feelin ' kinda guy, but thanks anyway. I'm betting you can see in the dark like a cat, too, huh?"
    "What is a cat?"
    "Because I bet it gets pretty dark down there, too, right?"
    "It is dark in many places," the prince said, sounding slightly confused. She couldn't blame him. Jonas had all the tact of a