INK: Vanishing Point (Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

it with caution.
    The name sparks an emotional response. I
have to take a moment to put it together, but I then remember
Sparkles the Hooker. I pull my hands away from his and he smiles.
“Okay, so there is our first hole.”
    “Nice choice of words, Eli.”
I have gone from complacent to confused to angry in five seconds
flat, sadly not close to a record for me. I’d like to kick Eli
in the balls and run.
    “You never read my note.” He
tries to pick up my hands again but I move away from him on the
couch. “If you had you would know that Taffy is, well was,
Jerry's girlfriend. She was using my bathroom because the mirror in
the other was broken.” His expression darkens.
    Relief fills me and I once again swing
my mood back to being slightly okay. It doesn’t mean I like the
bitch. “So she’s Jerry's girlfriend?”
    “She was.” There’s
something behind his expression that is suffocating my moment of
relief from thinking that Eli could have possibly been involved with
a skank like her.
    “So one of the two of them had a
moment of clarity and dumped the other?” I ask, not knowing
whether Jerry or Taffy is the biggest drain on humanity.
    “No Shay, Taffy’s dead.”
He watches closely for my reaction.
    A gasp escapes as Eli’s words
rattle the memory free, “Oh God, the nightmare.”
    “What nightmare?” Eli’s
tone is laced with urgency.
    “I had a nightmare in Tampa.
Didn’t Aiden tell you about that?” I ask realizing that
he still hasn’t told me where Aiden is. “Where’s
Aiden?”
    “He didn’t tell me about the
nightmare.” He hesitates a few moments, “We’ll get
to Aiden next, but we need to discuss what happened with Taffy.”
    “What…what happened?”
I ask dreading the answer, because I’m pretty sure I know the
answer. What’s worse is the burning question about why “Eli”
was the last word to escape her lips.
    “She was found in a refrigerated
warehouse, making it difficult to determine time of death within an
eight-hour period.” Eli takes a breath, “You were in
Tampa during the window.”
    “Okay, so I’m clear.”
I’m feeling a little bad that I'm more concerned about my own
skin than hers, but hey, I still have mine, for now. Thinking that
way makes me feel so much worse. Especially because now I realize
that she wasn’t with Eli and she was never a threat to us.
    “Nobody can account for your
whereabouts during a good portion of the estimated TOD. The front
desk clerk saw you leave the hotel at the beginning of her shift,
then saw you come back while she was going home, eight hours later.”
Eli presses his lips into a thin line, “Where were you, Shay?”
    His tone is accusing and it’s
making me feel uncomfortable. Squirming in the seat, I answer
defensively, “I went down to the dock, I had dinner with McNab,
then came back to you and Aiden at the –” I remember now
walking in on the two of them. Now I’m getting pissed. I can
feel my heart rate pumping as I continue, “I came back to you
and Aiden in fisticuffs trying to kill each other.”
    “We talked with McNab. He confirms
that you were with him, but Glass isn’t buying it.” He
looks down with regret and shakes his head, "I hope for your
sake that the waitress can confirm that you were both at the
restaurant.”
    “Eli, are you questioning whether
I’m telling the truth?” My tone is sharp.
    “No, I’m just hoping McNab
is telling us everything. If we catch him in a lie then using him as
your alibi is right out the window.” He pleads with his eyes.
"Who the hell is this guy anyway?”
    “He’s a friend, and he
doesn’t lie.” I hiss, "He also believes in my
innocence.”
    To find some peace I go to the window
and gaze out onto the river. It hurts and irritates me that now Eli
apparently needs third-party confirmation that I’m not a
killer. The dock comes into view and the sting of Aiden’s
absence spikes in my heart. My arms fold around me to staunch the
pain, but it