Proven Guilty Read Online Free PDF Page B

said.
    “Whassat?”
    She smiled a little. “When you weren’t expecting the shot, but you see it and take it before the opportunity passes you by.”
    “Oh. Yeah, probably one of those.”
    Murphy shook her head. “Look, maybe I should get you to a doctor anyway.”
    “No,” I said. “Really. I’m okay. But I want to get off the street soonest.”
    Murphy inhaled slowly and then nodded. “I’ll take you home.”
    “Thanks.”
    Grayson came ambling over to us. “Wrecker’s on the way,” he said. “What do we got here?”
    “Hit and run,” Murphy said.
    Grayson lifted his eyebrows and eyed me. “Yeah? Looked to me like you got hit a couple of times. On purpose-like.”
    “For all I know it was an honest accident,” I said.
    Grayson nodded. “There’s some clothes in your backseat. Looks like they have blood on them.”
    “Leftovers from last Halloween,” I said. “It’s costume stuff. A cloak and robes and such, had fake blood all over them. It looked cheesy as hell.”
    Grayson snorted. “You’re worse than my kid. He’s still got some of his football jerseys in his backseat from last fall.”
    “He probably has a nicer car.” I glanced up at the Beetle. It was a real mess, and I winced. It wasn’t like the Beetle was a priceless antique or anything, but it was my car. I drove it places. I liked it. “In fact, I’m sure it’s a nicer car.”
    Grayson let out a wry chuckle. “I need to fill out some papers. You okay to help me fill in the blanks?”
    “Sure,” I told him.
    “Thanks for the call, Sergeant,” Murphy said.
    “ De nada ,” Grayson replied, touching the brim of his cap with a finger. “I’ll get those forms, Dresden, soon as the wrecker gets here.”
    “Cool,” I said.
    Grayson moved off, and Murphy stared at me steadily for a moment.
    “What?” I asked her quietly.
    “You lied to him,” she said. “About the clothes and the blood.”
    I twitched one shoulder.
    “And you did it well. I mean, if I didn’t know you…” She shook her head. “It surprises me about you. That’s all. You’ve always been a terrible liar.”
    “Urn,” I said. I wasn’t sure how to take that one. “Thank you?”
    She let out a wry chuckle. “So what’s the real story?”
    “Not here,” I said. “Let’s talk in a bit.”
    Murphy studied my face for a second, and her frown deepened. “Harry? What’s wrong?”
    The limp, headless body of that nameless young man filled my thoughts. It brought up too many emotions with it, and I felt my throat tighten until I knew I wouldn’t be able to speak. So I shook my head a little and shrugged.
    She nodded. “You going to be all right?”
    There was a peculiar gentleness in her voice. Murphy had been playing in what amounted to a boys-only league in her work with CPD, and she put off a tough-as-nails aura that made her seem almost as formidable as she actually was. That exterior almost never varied, at least out in the open, with other police officers nearby. But as she looked at me, there was a quiet, definite, and unashamed vulnerability in her voice.
    We’ve had our differences in the past, but Murphy was one hell of a good friend. I gave her my best lopsided smile. “I’m always all right. More or less.”
    She reached out and twitched a stray bit of hair from my forehead. “You’re a great big girl, Dresden. One little fender bender and you go all emotional and pathetic.” Her eyes flickered to the Beetle again, and suddenly burned with a cold blue fire. “Do you know who did this to you?”
    “Not yet,” I growled as the wrecker arrived. “But you can bet your ass I’m going to find out.”

    Chapter Five

    By the time we got back to my place, my head was starting to run at its normal speed, the better to inform me how much it hurt. I had a nice, deep-down body ache to go along with the bruised skull. The light of the afternoon sun stabbed at my eyes in a cheerfully vicious fashion, and I was glad when I shambled down