Diabolical (Shaye Archer Series Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

He’s requested you.”
    “Me?” Jackson struggled to contain his excitement. Grayson was a real cop, dedicated to the job and not afraid to go the extra mile to apprehend the criminal. He had probably twenty years or so on Jackson in age and fifteen with the NOLA police department. His case closure rate was solid and the other officers respected him. Jackson couldn’t ask for a better situation.
    “You two will have your own caseload, of course, but when Frank needs help running down leads on the Clancy files, you’ll be assisting there as well.”
    It just kept getting better. If Jackson had an inroad to the Clancy investigation, then he’d be able to find out if any progress was made concerning Shaye.
    And so would Vincent. Shit!
    “Uh, sir,” Jackson said. “I hope you don’t take this as disrespect, but are you sure it’s safe to put Vincent on the Clancy files…given that Ms. Archer is one of the victims?”
    “I’m aware of the potential for problems, and rest assured that the last person I want picking my job performance apart again is Senator Archer. We spoke at length yesterday. I’m rather hoping to avoid a repeat. Frank will limit Vincent’s access. Mostly he’ll be scanning and filing. Given his recent propensity for avoiding any real work, I don’t anticipate his sneaking documents home and attempting to decode them himself.”
    A wave of relief passed over Jackson. “No, sir. Probably not. Thank you.”
    “For what?”
    “For trying to keep Shaye’s name out of the news. I know it’s going to happen. We can’t keep it a secret forever, but if she just had more time to process…”
    Bernard tilted his head the side and studied Jackson for several seconds. “At first, I thought you were only infatuated with Ms. Archer. Not that I blamed you, of course. She’s a beautiful young lady. Intelligent and intriguing. But I misjudged you.”
    Bernard rose from his desk and Jackson stood with him.
    “Be very careful,” Bernard said. “Women like Shaye Archer come with a high price tag. You might find it’s one you’re not willing to pay.”
    Jackson knew he wasn’t talking about money. Shaye probably had more money than she’d ever use. Bernard was talking about her history, her notoriety. The fact that if he were involved with Shaye, it put him in the spotlight as well, likely for as long as he was willing to stand there. Spotlights didn’t just click off on women like Shaye. They tended to follow them quietly around, just waiting for the next event that needed to be highlighted.
    “I can afford it,” Jackson said.
    Bernard nodded. “Maybe you can. Go see Grayson. He’ll fill you in on your new assignment. Turn over anything you have on your current cases to Maxwell.”
    Jackson nodded and left the chief’s office. Grayson wasn’t at his desk, so Jackson headed for the break room. Grayson was pouring a cup of coffee and gave Jackson a nod as he entered.
    “You talk to Bernard?” Grayson asked.
    “Just left there. Thank you for requesting me. You don’t know how much…” Jackson trailed off, frustrated with himself for sounding so weak. He’d given Vincent entirely too much control over his emotions.
    “You might not be thanking me after you see our caseload. We drew a couple nasty ones and we’ll be helping out with the Clancy investigation as needed.” Grayson studied him for a moment. “I requested you because I like what I’ve seen out of you and unlike Vincent, I want you to share your insight with me. Anything seems off to you, let me know. I don’t think my radar’s as finely tuned as yours, but I’ve got more years making the pieces fit. I think we can do some good work together.”
    “I’m looking forward to it.”
    Grayson nodded. “Frank said he has something he needs to show us.” He pulled a set of keys from his pocket and handed them to Jackson. “Would you mind getting a folder from my desk? It’s labeled ‘Clancy.’ I’m keeping it locked up