Amanda's Blue Marine Read Online Free PDF Page A

I'll have a grilled cheese sandwich and an order of Burt's potato sticks. And a bottle of clementine ade."
    He didn't say "touché" but she could see him thinking just that. He gave the order to Pat, adding a hamburger for himself, and then asked Pat to send Frank Wancek down to his office.
    Mandy wondered who Frank Wancek was but thought it would be rude to ask. Kelly saw her expression and said, "Frank is our Magic Man, our top researcher. I sent him the list we just made and I want to tell him what we need from it."
    Mandy watched him operate with admiration. He could have talked to Frank over the phone but she had already noticed that Kelly got people to perform for him by interacting with them personally. He had learned a long time ago the impact of his physical presence and used it to his advantage.
    Sharp guy, she thought. And then, watch it. He'll do the same thing to you.
    His phone buzzed and he said, "Excuse me," to her as he answered it.
    "Do you want me to step out?" Mandy asked, rising.
    He shook his head, waving her back into her seat. She listened to him having a conversation with somebody about extraditing a criminal from Virginia to Pennsylvania. He had just hung up the phone when his door, which had been ajar, opened the rest of the way and a very young uniformed officer entered and grinned at Kelly.
    "You rang?" he said.
    "Franco, my boy," Kelly said. "I have an assignment for you."
    "Yeah," Frank said. "I saw the first list already."
    "I want you to comb through that roster of Nobel Laureates and come up with a handful, maybe the five or six most likely to terrorize an ADA who prosecuted them. You know, revenge seekers, grudge settlers, bozos with a history of going after the lawyers or cops they think put them in jail." He paused. “We’re looking for a stalker.”
    Mandy watched Kelly silently.
    "There's probably a strong sexual angle to it, too," Kelly added casually, not looking at Mandy. "This is the young lady he's annoying," he added, gesturing to Mandy. "Amanda Redfield, meet Frank Wancek."
    "How do you do, Miss?" Frank said, smiling at her.
    Mandy nodded.
    “I should warn you that this process may take a while,” Kelly said to Frank. “Miss Redfield has been in the DA’s office for almost four years and a lot of perps could have seen her. Any one of them could have developed a grudge against her, or a fantasy about her, or an imaginary relationship with her. The watchwords are patience and persistence. We have to consider everybody. When we come up empty with one group we’ll move on to the next. Okay?”
    Mandy realized that he was making this speech for her benefit as well as Frank’s.
    "Go to it, my son," Kelly said to the younger cop.
    "You owe me five bucks, Brendan," Frank replied.
    Kelly held up one finger. "Thou shalt not remind a superior office of his debts. Not if you want to get promoted and wind up in one of these palatial offices reserved for only the most successful of Metro's finest. Roasting in summer, freezing in winter, roach infested always, one of these hand carved desks awaits you ONLY if you return with the information I requested in," he glanced at his watch, "ninety minutes."
    Mandy was trying not to laugh, amazed at Kelly's transformation. He had barely said two words to her that were unrelated to her case but here he was teasing this kid and revealing a personality he had obviously been hiding from her. Why? Did she seem like such a stick to him, a grind without a sense of humor? Or was he walking on eggshells because of Manning's involvement in the case? Either idea disturbed her.
    "I'm on it," Frank said. "You can just give me a pack of your Luckies and we'll call it even."
    "Never," Kelly replied piously. "I won't contribute to the delinquency of a minor. How old are you again?"
    "Forty," Frank said, and went out through the door.
    "He's actually twenty-three," Kelly said to Mandy.
    "He looks twelve," she replied.
    "Don't let the chubby cheeks fool you. That