Last to Die Read Online Free PDF

saying thank you. You got thirty minutes.
    Tatum popped the rest of his pickle into his mouth. Where should we start?
    Let's start with Sally Fenning. How did you two hook up?
    You gonna finish those chips? he said, poking at Jack's plate.
    Go for em.
    He spoke with a mouthful of Ruffles. She called me.
    Out of the blue?
    Yeah. Totally.
    She had to get your number somehow. What did she do, look in the Yellow Pages under Problem Solvers'?
    I got no idea how she found me.
    Stop the bullshit, or your free thirty minutes are over.
    He was looking for a napkin to wipe his greasy fingers, then just licked them, one by one. Friend of a friend hooked us up.
    Which friend?
    Tatum leaned back, crossed one leg over the other. Jack felt a digression coming on.
    Tatum said, I don't know how much you know about this woman, but she had some problems in her past.
    You mean she was in trouble with the law?
    No, not like that. Emotional problems. She was attacked, or something, I don't know exactly. But she hired a bodyguard every now and then, when she was feeling scared, for whatever the reason. Anyway, her bodyguard knew me.
    He called you?
    No, we was playing pool together one night.
    What did he say?
    Said, I got a client who wants to get in touch with you. Can I give her your number?' I said sure.
    What did you think it was all about?
    Probably she needed me to beat the shit out of somebody.
    I thought you said you were out of the contract business.
    I don't do hits anymore. Puttin' people in the hospital, that's another story.
    You're okay with serious bodily injury, but you draw the line at murder. Is that it?
    Somethin' like that. To be honest, it's more about the money.
    I'm not sure I follow you.
    It's a tough business in Miami. These days, you got Colombians, Russians, Jamaicans, Arabs, Israelis, Cubans, Italians, Nicaraguans - everybody and his brother willing to do a job for a measly five hundred bucks. How's a guy supposed to make a living?
    Join the union?
    You think this is a joke? This is business, pal, and it's like everything else these days. You specialize. In my case, I turned myself into the guy who knows how to inflict just the right amount of pain, someone who can get results without killing the goose that lays the golden egg. That's a real skill. And it pays real money.
    So, you're a shakedown specialist.
    No. I'm in the art business.
    The art of what? Face rearrangement?
    He leaned forward, elbows on the table. The art of persuasion.
    His glare tightened, as if he were trying to give Jack some sense of just how persuasive he could be. Jack didn't flinch. So, Sally Fenning wanted to make use of your persuasive powers?
    He settled back in his chair, taking some of the edge off. That was my first impression.
    And you went to meet her?
    Right. I told her to meet me at Sparky's.
    Why there?
    I always meet in a public place. Keeps the unexpected from happening.
    But why Theo's bar?
    He's my brother. He hates what I do for a living, sometimes he even threatens to throw my ass out. But if I go to Theo's, I can be sure of one thing: Ain't no nosy bartender gonna be listening in on my conversation. Theo don't want to hear none of it. Can't be so sure of my privacy if I go to some other bar.
    Okay. You got to Theo's bar. Then what?
    She wanted to hire me.
    To do what?
    Like I says before. I thought she wanted me to work some guy over.
    But that wasn't it?
    No. She wanted someone dead.
    Who?
    He chuckled to himself. This is where it gets strange.
    How do you mean?
    She wanted me to shoot her.
    Jack hesitated. He'd heard plenty of strange stories in his career, but this one was up there. Would you call that an unusual request?
    Not unheard of. But yeah, like I said, strange.
    Why would a person hire someone else to kill them? Why not just go home and stick your head in the oven?
    You kiddin' me? People always got their reasons. Buddy of mine did a guy once who lost big bucks in the stock market. Millions. Couldn't go on, but he