The Throwbacks by Stephanie Queen Read Free Book Online Page A

they’d made the headlines.
    “Oh yeah, I meant to warn you about the headlines before you sidetracked me with your reformed self,” Dan said.
    There was a picture of him with the mayor and a to-do about the Scotland Yard exchange with the Boston Police Department. They made a special note of him heading up the “murder” investigation. High expectations and high profile. Back to the pressure cooker he knew and loved.
    “Don’t worry. Tonight’s dinner with what’s-her-name will be more difficult than handling the press on this. And since we both know how charming and urbane I am with women, it’ll all be a piece of cake.” David was kidding, yet telling the truth.
    “Yeah, now all you have to do is remember what’s-her-name’s name.” Dan slapped his back and gave him a gotcha grin.
    “Good point.” He looked at his friend to enlighten him.
    “Maria.”
    “How delightful. Tell me about her.”
    “Maria is very attractive, but more your, ah, shall we say style than the young stunner from last night.”
    “You mean more my age. How old is she?”
    “Age is just a number, David. She’s very attractive and intelligent. That’s a direct quote from Esther.” Dan looked like he was enjoying himself.
    Now David was concerned. He stopped before getting into the car, which sat at the curb directly in front of his Louisburg Square townhouse in a well-marked no-parking zone. “How old?” He looked into his friend’s eyes.
    “All right, all right. She’s forty-something—but she could pass for thirty-five, or maybe thirty-eight. I know her; she’s a great woman.” Dan paused as they looked at each other over the hood of the car. “You could do worse.” Dan shook his head, hiding a grin as they both ducked into the car.
    “Okay, Dick Tracy. Let’s roll,” David said. They drove off. Using the childhood nickname in his childhood neighborhood brought him all the way back. He thought of the third man in their trio and wondered.
    “Do you ever hear from him?”
    Dan looked at him as he pulled up to the corner and stopped. “You mean Oscar?”

Chapter 3

    “Y ES. Oscar.”
    Dan shook his head and looked away. “Maria’s the perfect age for you.”
    David’s mood sobered somewhat, and he let the subject of Oscar go for the moment. Dan was right about Maria. This was exactly what he needed to do. There was nothing wrong with dating a forty-something-year-old woman. That was what he should do. After all, he was nearly a fifty-year-old man.
    That was his exact problem. He was getting old. But he, like millions of other men, had to get over it. Unlike millions of other men, he was determined not to get over it by pretending he was young, finding a young wife and becoming a new father when he should be a grandfather. The knot in his stomach would pass.
    “Where are we off to?” David asked. It was time for business. At least he had the solace of his fake-homicide sting investigation scheme. His initiation case would determine the fate of the new Scotland Yard Exchange Program—and quite possibly the rest of his career. That ought to keep him distracted.
    “We’re going back to headquarters to talk to the men who canvassed the area and look at the file. Rick and Theresa agreed to postpone their wedding for a while. The mayor reminded me that we now have nine days to wrap up our investigation and hand him the attempted murderer case in a neatly closed package.”
    The tires screeched, unnecessarily, as they pulled out onto the main road. David raised his brows. It was a short drive and they made it in silence. They pulled into the chief’s spot. David slammed his door shut behind him and he had to ask.
    “Why are you avoiding talking about Oscar?”
    Dan sighed. “It bothers me.”
    “He did time. I suppose it was inevitable.” David fell silent as they walked inside the double glass doors.
    “It’s still sad and painful to remember even after all these years. I should have been able to do