No Time to Die Read Online Free PDF
Author: Grace F. Edwards
slick
.
He lay on the bed watching the flash of the lights and thinking of Mercy Anne until the patrol cars pulled away, plunging the room into darkness again. He smiled and turned over, found a comfortable spot on the sagging mattress, and fell asleep.
James’s ex-girlfriend came on the line sounding sleepy, then more animated when she discovered the caller wasn’t someone she didn’t want to be bothered with.
“What’d you say your name was?”
“Anderson. Mali Anderson.”
“Where do I know you from?”
“I met you a few years ago, Miss Taylor, when I worked at the precinct and—”
“Precinct? Listen, lady. I don’t know no-fuckin’-body at no precinct, understand? And I don’t—”
“You remember me, Marie. It was a few years ago, one night in July. Temperature broke over a hundred that day. You were living with James Thomas and we came up to your place on a nine-eleven.”
“Yeah, so?”
“I was the officer with the gray eyes. James had skipped by the time we got there and I talked to you about getting an order of protection. We spoke a long time, and when things had quieted, you asked if I was wearing contacts, remember?”
“Oh. Oh, yeah. I sure do. Tall, dark skin, with thempale gray eyes. Ain’t that a combination. I sure do remember. I even asked what you doin’ hangin’ with some lightweight Five-Os when you coulda been a model or somethin’. You still with ’em? Don’t tell me you followin’ up a complaint two years after the fact. I coulda been dead and risen twice.”
“No. That’s not why I’m calling. This is something different. The schoolteacher who was murdered two weeks ago.”
There was a pause before she said, “Yeah … As a matter a fact, I had a visit from a cop, a detective Honey-something.”
“Honeywell.”
“That’s the name. Jesus, was he some fine brother. Asking me a lot a questions about James and all. He was so damn handsome I couldn’t even concentrate. I just kept starin’.”
There was another pause and I wondered if she was trying to decide whether to speak to me. When Tad had visited her, she had probably been reluctant—not to protect her ex, but because she, like most folks I know, deeply distrusted anyone in blue with a badge, handsome or not.
“I’m no longer on the force,” I said in the silence. “As a matter of fact, I have a lawsuit pending against NYPD.”
“You do? Well you go, girl. You all right then. NYPD get away with a lotta shit. I see that badge as just a fuckin’ license to fuck over you.”
“Well, I no longer have one and I was hoping to speak with you. Meet you somewhere to talk about Claudine.”
“You knew James’s wife?”
“She was my sister’s friend.”
“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that. ’Cause what happenedto her just wasn’t correct, you know what I’m sayin’. It wasn’t right. I can’t understand why the good always go young and the ones that shoulda croaked is layin’ in the cut like they got a long-term lease.”
“I know, Marie. It’s scary the way she died.”
“And you think James done it?”
“I don’t know. He wasn’t too nice to her while they were together. And her parents are devastated. They’re too old to put their lives back together, but if they don’t get some answers soon, this will surely take them out of here.”
There was another silence, shorter this time, before she spoke again. Her voice was softer. “Well … listen. I’ll meet you, okay? In the Lido. I usually hang in the Lenox Lounge but sometimes James pop in there and I’m not in the mood to deal with him. And anyway I promised the barmaid at the Lido I’d stop by. Tomorrow is her birthday—Fourth of July—but she celebratin’ it tonight so I’m poppin’ in around six.”
“Fine. I’ll see you.”
The Lido Bar on 125th Street between Malcolm X Boulevard and Fifth Avenue is an old spot that has outlasted the Silver Rail, the Baby Grand, the Celebrity Club, the Midway, Frank’s
.
He lay on the bed watching the flash of the lights and thinking of Mercy Anne until the patrol cars pulled away, plunging the room into darkness again. He smiled and turned over, found a comfortable spot on the sagging mattress, and fell asleep.
James’s ex-girlfriend came on the line sounding sleepy, then more animated when she discovered the caller wasn’t someone she didn’t want to be bothered with.
“What’d you say your name was?”
“Anderson. Mali Anderson.”
“Where do I know you from?”
“I met you a few years ago, Miss Taylor, when I worked at the precinct and—”
“Precinct? Listen, lady. I don’t know no-fuckin’-body at no precinct, understand? And I don’t—”
“You remember me, Marie. It was a few years ago, one night in July. Temperature broke over a hundred that day. You were living with James Thomas and we came up to your place on a nine-eleven.”
“Yeah, so?”
“I was the officer with the gray eyes. James had skipped by the time we got there and I talked to you about getting an order of protection. We spoke a long time, and when things had quieted, you asked if I was wearing contacts, remember?”
“Oh. Oh, yeah. I sure do. Tall, dark skin, with thempale gray eyes. Ain’t that a combination. I sure do remember. I even asked what you doin’ hangin’ with some lightweight Five-Os when you coulda been a model or somethin’. You still with ’em? Don’t tell me you followin’ up a complaint two years after the fact. I coulda been dead and risen twice.”
“No. That’s not why I’m calling. This is something different. The schoolteacher who was murdered two weeks ago.”
There was a pause before she said, “Yeah … As a matter a fact, I had a visit from a cop, a detective Honey-something.”
“Honeywell.”
“That’s the name. Jesus, was he some fine brother. Asking me a lot a questions about James and all. He was so damn handsome I couldn’t even concentrate. I just kept starin’.”
There was another pause and I wondered if she was trying to decide whether to speak to me. When Tad had visited her, she had probably been reluctant—not to protect her ex, but because she, like most folks I know, deeply distrusted anyone in blue with a badge, handsome or not.
“I’m no longer on the force,” I said in the silence. “As a matter of fact, I have a lawsuit pending against NYPD.”
“You do? Well you go, girl. You all right then. NYPD get away with a lotta shit. I see that badge as just a fuckin’ license to fuck over you.”
“Well, I no longer have one and I was hoping to speak with you. Meet you somewhere to talk about Claudine.”
“You knew James’s wife?”
“She was my sister’s friend.”
“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that. ’Cause what happenedto her just wasn’t correct, you know what I’m sayin’. It wasn’t right. I can’t understand why the good always go young and the ones that shoulda croaked is layin’ in the cut like they got a long-term lease.”
“I know, Marie. It’s scary the way she died.”
“And you think James done it?”
“I don’t know. He wasn’t too nice to her while they were together. And her parents are devastated. They’re too old to put their lives back together, but if they don’t get some answers soon, this will surely take them out of here.”
There was another silence, shorter this time, before she spoke again. Her voice was softer. “Well … listen. I’ll meet you, okay? In the Lido. I usually hang in the Lenox Lounge but sometimes James pop in there and I’m not in the mood to deal with him. And anyway I promised the barmaid at the Lido I’d stop by. Tomorrow is her birthday—Fourth of July—but she celebratin’ it tonight so I’m poppin’ in around six.”
“Fine. I’ll see you.”
The Lido Bar on 125th Street between Malcolm X Boulevard and Fifth Avenue is an old spot that has outlasted the Silver Rail, the Baby Grand, the Celebrity Club, the Midway, Frank’s