Cat 'N Mouse Read Online Free PDF Page B

to put two and two together.
    He’d messed up his life and had no one to blame but himself. He was a good cop, even made detective at Boston Police Department. Then he got shot and Demerol became his best friend. Once that friendship developed it was hard to let go, but he’d made the break.
    There were consequences regarding his friendship with his drug of choice. He’d made some bad decisions. One of which was him messing up his relationship with his girlfriend. He figured since she had her eyes on the long white dress, the perfect colonial house with children thrown in the mix it was best that she’d left. He wasn’t ready for that kind of commitment.
    His job was another story, and that had played out like a soap opera. When he’d gotten the opportunity to fix his mistake, he’d tried to make it right. But although the department had acknowledged that there were extenuating circumstances for his actions, it wasn’t enough. He had to take responsibility for his prior actions. What was left to do but leave town after that stirring speech.
    Matt was right. He should deal with his issues, do the job he was hired to do and quit complaining.
    “Are we cool on this?” Matt toed off his shoes pausing outside the door of the adjoining washroom waiting for his answer. Matt needed things to be okay before moving forward.
    “Yeah, we’re cool. By the way,” Sam said injecting some humor back into the conversation. “I met Elvira yesterday and haven’t seen her since.”
    “She’s gorgeous, isn’t she?”
    “It’s a lizard.”
    “Shh.” Matt put his finger on his lips, grinning. “Don’t let her hear you.”
    Sam shook his head and laughed. “You know it’s a reptile, right. I swear, your eyes just glazed over. I’m starting to worry about you.”
    “No need to worry about me. There is someone else besides Elvira. It’s just not the right time yet for us.” Matt stepped in the washroom and just before he closed the door said, “Check out the story on the front page of the paper. Some nut job broke into an animal blood bank, which supplies blood to animal hospitals for surgery. Who knew? Anyway, a whole lot of blood products were stolen.”
    •  •  •
    “Good morning, Mr. O’Malley…or should I call you Samuel,” the woman asked when she opened the door, wiping her hands in the red apron tied around her waist. “We’re very informal around here.”
    “Only my mother called me Samuel. She’s dead.”
    The Prescott household had given her permission to call everyone by their first names, big deal. He was in no mood to chitchat with a nosey housekeeper and he didn’t want to be on a first name basis with her either. He made a note to get a background check done on her. With that man outside the apartment last night, he wasn’t taking any chances.
    “My name is Mimi,” she said extending her hand toward him. “I’ve always found the Irish so well-mannered. Mr. O’Malley it is then. Perhaps you’re Irish in name only.”
    Sam has never considered it one way or the other. When he looked into the mirror it wasn’t an Irish man looking back at him. He blended into the two cultures, but his Caribbean heritage seemed to emerge as the strong victor even though he’d developed a taste for Irish beer.
    Mimi stepped back from the door as he entered and leveled him with a look of either intrigue or disapproval. He was leaning toward disapproval. One thing was for sure, she wasn’t about to be put off by him.
    He had every intention of taking Matt’s advice about managing his anger. That flew out the window as soon as the cab dropped him off at the front door. It was the haves versus the have-nots and that line was clearly drawn in the sand.
    “I’ll show you to the salon. Mr. Prescott and Alexandria will join you shortly.”
    Salon? He didn’t know what a salon was but followed Mimi anyway. It took a lot to impress him but the salon sure did. It was an oversized sitting room. Everywhere he