Ten Plagues by Mary Nealy Read Free Book Online Page A

his face with his right hand, still coddling his left. He wanted to wash reality away. “I can’t bear to think about it.”
    Keren caught his arm, his good arm, and pulled it away from his face. “Well, you’re going to have to think about it! I don’t have time to baby you while you—”
    “Back off, Keren,” O’Shea growled from where he leaned, with his arms crossed, against the wall off to Paul’s left. “He’s a witness, not a suspect.” He’d mostly observed, throwing in a question now and then. Paul got a sense the two of them were doing a routine with him that they’d performed a hundred times before. But Detective Collins was losing her cool. That wasn’t part of the routine.
    She let go of his arm. After a few moments of obvious effort, she said, “Sorry, that was out of line.”
    “No, I’m sorry,” Paul said through a clenched jaw. “I know you’re trying to find a connection between me and this lunatic. But I’ve thought it over and we’re on the wrong track. Yes, I know both of them, but lots of people know both of them. They were from the neighborhood. This guy could have come from here and been victimized by someone in this area.”
    “Pravus phoned
you
, Rev. He knew
you
and cared enough to track down
your
cell phone number and mail
you
that sign.”
    “But don’t you see, he could have done all that without it being personal. I’m the logical one in that neighborhood. My cell phone number is no secret. I’ve got it posted on the bulletin board at the mission. He kept saying Juanita was evil. He said, ‘I’ll tell you where to find this harlot.’ He might see me as someone who would join his twisted fight against all the ills around the Lighthouse Mission.”
    “Listen, Rev, you can speculate all—”
    “Will you quit calling me Rev?” Paul lunged to his feet. His ribs punished his chest. His temper pounded in his wounded forehead. He spun away from the mouthy cop who wouldn’t quit.
    He needed to spend some quiet time in prayer. He knew he was fraying badly around the edges. His temper was hot, his impatience was boiling over. All his old cop instincts were fighting to emerge, and they were the worst part of himself. But even if he could get away from this nagging woman, he’d still dash around looking for LaToya instead of kneeling before his Savior, seeking peace.
    Hang on. Don’t lose it. Don’t lose it
.
    Collins slammed a fist on the table. “We don’t have time to argue about your
title.”
    Paul lost it.
    He whirled around to take her apart. She was fuming. Her hands were clenched until her knuckles turned white.
    “Why can’t you cooperate?” she snapped. “Don’t you care if we get this guy?”
    “Not care?” Paul reached for her and grabbed her wrist with his good hand. He dragged her up out of her chair until they were nose to nose, with only the table keeping them apart. “How
dare
you say I don’t care?”
    She jerked against his hold. “Get your hands off—”
    “All right.” O’Shea slapped his hands on the table between them so hard he shoved the table a few inches and broke Paul’s grip on the little shrew.
    O’Shea’s thunderous outburst brought dead silence to the room. “We’re going to take a break,” he said through clenched teeth. “We’re not getting anywhere with you two snarling at each other.”
    “Are you nuts?” Collins asked. “We don’t have time to—”
    “Quiet!” O’Shea cut her off. His voice echoed against all four shabby walls.
    “But—”
    O’Shea jabbed a fat finger right at her nose. “I mean it, Keren. You’re out of here if you say one more word before I declare this break over. I’ll go to the captain and have you reassigned. You know I can do it. I’m going to the overpriced cafe next door and get some coffee. I’ll meet you outside and we’ll take a break and sit in the park across the street.”
    Anxiety pressed on Paul until he thought he might suffocate. “We’re not wasting one