Torque by Glenn Muller Read Free Book Online Page A

you're going to keep it to
yourself,” said Fenn closing his binder. “I'll just take some
workbooks and be on my way.”
    “I wish I could give you details, Chas, but
it's really quite confidential.” The slim Dane tapped the side of
his nose and retreated to his office. Carole shoved a half-dozen
workbooks into Fenn’s hand with a singsong “Here you go,” and
hustled after her husband.
    Fenn turned back to the bemused booking
clerk. “Anything of actual importance I need to know?”
    “I’m afraid so.” She handed him a
registration card. “Carole filled your lunch spot.”
    Fenn gave her a knowing look. Technically, he
could have refused the student but a solid booking when times were
good made up for when they weren’t. He could always find a few
minutes here and there to grab a bite to eat. He glanced at the
name, which triggered another thought.
    “By the way, Miss Fabiani,” he said arching
an eyebrow. “What can you tell me about Myrtle Stafford?”
    “Surely you mean Muriel don’t you, Mr. Fenn?”
She batted her eyelashes demurely and swiveled her chair away from
him. Fenn’s cheek muscles twitched as he suppressed another grin.
The door to Dieter’s office re-opened.
    “Oh, Chas. If you have a moment I’d like to
go over this Union thing with you.”
    “Sorry, Dieter. My next lesson is in two
minutes, so I should get going.”
    “Later, then?”
    “Yeah. Later.”
    Much later. Like when Hell freezes over.
Apart from the fact that covert discussions about Union
negotiations were illegal between management and employees, Fenn
would rather visit the dentist than sit and listen to Dieter whine.
He flashed Asha the two-fingered peace sign and made his escape.
With any luck he could avoid Dieter until at least next Monday.
Longer, if he won the lottery.
    The undercover police cruiser was still
parked nearby when Fenn left the office, the tall detective making
notes in the front seat. It was typical of Dieter to puff himself
up in these situations, probably ignored as a child, but the boss
could no more keep a secret than a paper bag hold water. Asha would
have every detail by the end of the day.
    == == ==
    Brandon Perry was practically exam ready so
after the student was buckled in Fenn let him choose the route. As
he drove Fenn engaged him in conversation. It was a good way to
introduce distractions and also kept Fenn in the loop with the
latest trends. Brandon had been to a rave on the weekend.
    “So, tell me how a guy in high school got
invited to a college rave,” prompted Fenn.
    “I went with my sister. She goes to Mohawk
College. It was actually off-campus in some sort of mansion. There
was a punk band playing in the basement.” Brandon paused in his
narration to make a left turn. “The band was pretty good but the
party was kind of weird.”
    “How so?”
    I think a bunch of people were on
drugs—actually I know they were. Do you know what a zebra is?”
    “Looks like a horse with black and white
stripes,” said Fenn.
    “This guy had a patch stuck on his shoulder,
it had stripes. He called it a zebra. Said it was the best way to
get high, and he was pretty high but he was also doing shots of
Tequila.”
    “Did you try any?”
    Brandon shook his head. “No way. I only had
beer.”
    Fenn let it pass that Brandon was only
seventeen. Been there and done that.
    “There were also these two chics who kept
disappearing upstairs with different guys. By the end of the night
they just stayed up there and this line of guys formed outside one
of the bedrooms.”
    “Gee, I wonder why,” said Fenn. “Let’s change
lanes for that cyclist ahead.” Brandon checked his blind spot and
moved over.
    “So how long did you stay at the party?”
    “We left just after midnight. Things started
getting out of hand. A television got busted and the guy with the
patch started puking behind a sofa. One of the jocks from upstairs
started hitting on my sister so she decided it was time to go.”
    “How