Operation Whiplash Read Online Free PDF

business dealings in the last couple of months. Maybe the last couple of weeks. Whatever came up, it seems to have come up in a hurry.”
    “I’ll sure try,” Jed said, but his tone was doubtful. “Nate never did much talkin’. Damn, I still can’t b’lieve he’s dead. We never had nothin’ like that here.” He stopped. “Except—”
    “Except when I was here before,” I supplied.
    “Well, yeah.” He looked uneasy. “What’re you gonna do?”
    Kaiser was rubbing his cold, wet nose against my neck. I disengaged myself and eased the big dog down behind the counter before I answered. “Call the sheriff’s office about Nate for a starter. Unless—”
    Jed shook his head at the implied question. “I’d rather you did. Save me tryin’ to explain how I knew.”
    “I’ll take care of it. Then I’ve got one place that I’m hopeful about to look for Hazel. Can I reach you here in the morning?”
    “I’ll make damn sure you can. Even though it’ll be Sunday.” Jed looked at his watch. “Is Sunday.” He ran a hand through his already tousled hair. His eyes were upon the tail-wagging Kaiser who had backed away from the counter until he could see me. “Why don’t you take the dog? He might help. He almost turned himself inside out when Hazel walked into my office.”
    “That’s not a bad idea.” I raised my hand to attract Kaiser’s attention, then snapped my fingers. The dog shuffled forward, close to the floor. He launched himself effortlessly and soared over the counter-top, landing at my feet. “See you tomorrow, Jed,” I went on. “My name’s Earl Drake now.” For a while, anyway, I thought to myself. I turned toward the door, Kaiser at my side.
    “You let me know if you find Hazel, y’hear?” Jed called.
    “Find her or don’t, you’ll hear,” I promised.
    I left him standing at the counter. Kaiser and I went down the stairs, the dog in the lead. He pranced across the street, ears cocked alertly. I liked Jed’s idea better every moment. The dog would make the best point man in the country on any search missions. I opened the car door for him on the passenger’s side, and he flowed into the front seat. Evidently the big dog still loved to ride in an automobile. I resumed my interrupted trip south of town.
    I made one more stop before reaching the Lazy Susan. I stopped the car again beside a lighted roadside telephone booth. “Sit,” I told Kaiser. He gave me a canine grin. He had a ferocious-looking mouthful of teeth, and I knew they weren’t for show. The dog was absolutely fearless. Like his newly reacquired master, Kaiser had accumulated a few extra lumps because he hadn’t backed up when discretion called for backing up.
    I dialed the emergency number for the sheriff’s department after looking it up. “Nate Pepperman is dead in his office above the bank,” I said to the official-sounding growl at the other end of the line. I changed my speaking voice when I said it. We’re supposed to be living in a democracy, but some sheriff’s departments haven’t got the message. They tape-record incoming phone calls.
    “Whaaaaat?” the receiver barked in my ear. “What’d you say? Who
is
this? What—”
    I repeated what I’d said before, then hung up.
    I opened the trunk of the Ford before getting under the wheel again. I changed wigs, back to the one in which Robin had seen me previously. I’d even slept in it that night at the motel. Vanity, thy name is Earl Drake.
    Hindsight being flawless, I wished now I’d stayed with Robin when she returned to the Lazy Susan. A couple always attracts less attention than a single of either sex. Of course Robin had been a single before, so a husband this time around might have attracted a little attention, too. Except that no matter where she went or how she registered, Robin wasn’t going to remain a single long.
    I parked a block from the motel. “Watch the car,” I told Kaiser. His brown eyes regarded me steadily. I knew I