The Dirt Peddler by Dorien Grey Read Free Book Online Page A

question.
    He nodded. “And they thought I was helping him.”
    “And were you?” I watched closely for his reaction. “Closely” was hardly necessary. I could have been a block away and still caught it; he lowered his head and dropped his eyes to the floor. I don’t imagine the guy was very good at playing poker.
    “It wasn’t that way at all.” He looked up at me with his head still lowered.
    “What way was it?”
    He waited until his head had caught up with his eyes. “How do I know I can trust you?”
    “Well, for one thing because it was Mr. Tunderew who asked me to talk with you.”
    “He did?” Fletcher said, his entire face lighting up.
    I nodded.
    “Well, then you know why I wouldn’t tell those lawyers anything—not with Tony doing undercover work for the FBI.”
    !!!! I thought.
    He nodded his head somberly and continued. “He needed to get all the information on the Keene case he could from C&C’s files. The FBI thinks some higher ups at C&C were in on the scandal. But Tony couldn’t draw suspicion to himself by getting the files himself, so he asked me to help him.”
    My first reaction was: You’re pulling my leg, right? Nobody can be that gullible!
    But then I thought of what little I knew about the charming Mr. Tunderew, and the vibes I was getting from a young man who practically exuded low self-esteem, and I realized exactly what Tunderew had done. The kid obviously had a crush on him. Tunderew had zeroed in on it like a rattlesnake on a mouse hole, and the poor kid didn’t stand a chance.
    And any idea at all I might have had of Larry Fletcher being the one blackmailing Tony T. Tunderew went right out the window. I’d been wrong before—a lot—but I didn’t think I was this time.
    “I’m curious. Did Mr. Tunderew ever give you any indication that he might be gay?”
    The downcast eyes again, and a furious blush. Finally, he looked back up at me. “Not in so many words. I mean, I know he’s married and all that, and he likes to pretend he hates gays, but…”
    My opinion of Tunderew was rapidly sliding from dislike to loathing. I had not the slightest doubt that he had deliberately led Larry on with those “best buddy” smiles he himself had alluded to. I despise people who take advantage of the naivety of others to get something for themselves.
    I decided to just forge ahead. “Did you ever…uh…socialize with Mr. Tunderew outside of the office?”
    Fletcher looked truly surprised, and shook his head vigorously. “Oh, no. Never. I’m sure we would have, but his wife is a real witch. He had to go right home every night after work or she’d make his life miserable. I really felt sorry for him. He talked several times about wishing he could take me out for dinner to show his appreciation for everything I did for him, but his wife would never allow it.”
    Sigh.
    “I understand Mr. Tunderew loaned you some money toward your apartment?”
    “Yes,” Fletcher replied with a happy smile. “That’s just like Tony. When I told him I was going to have to quit work and move back home, he offered to lend me the money to get my own apartment.”
    Somehow I didn’t think I had to ask him if Tunderew’s generosity might have coincided with the time Fletcher was copying files for him. If Fletcher had indeed quit, Tunderew probably would have had a tough time finding someone else to do his dirty work.
    Of course that thought had probably never occurred to Fletcher, who was still talking. “He’s a wonderful man. I’ve tried to repay him, but he’s never cashed a single one of the checks I send him.”
    Checks? He was sending Tunderew checks, and that arrogant asshole just tore them up without opening them because he assumed they were love letters!
    “Where do you send them?”
    “He has a post office box. When I’d copy a file for him, I’d stay after work to do it, and then mail it to him at his box. He didn’t want me to just give it to him there at work, and I