Say Goodbye Read Online Free PDF Page A

water glass, ducked into the guest bath, where she quietly brushed her teeth. Her hair still smelled like jet fuel, her clothes and skin reeked of an oily barbecue. She tossed her clothes into the laundry room, then padded naked down the hall to the master bedroom.
    Mac had left the bedside lamp on. Used to each other’s rhythms by now, he didn’t stir as she started the shower, then rummaged the drawers for her pajamas.
    When she finally slid clean and fresh beneath the sheets, Mac rolled toward her, raising one arm in groggy welcome.
    “Okay?” he whispered.
    “Found Ronnie’s head.”
    “Nice.”
    She scooted into the warm spoon of his body, spreading his hand over her side, where the baby’s kicks now registered like the flutter of butterfly wings, filling up the well of her heart.
             
    Voices were talking:
    “Come on, Sal. Surely you can do better than that. It’s three in the morning, for God’s sake. Chances are the girl has never even met Kimberly. She just wants a get-out-of-jail-free card. You know how these things are.”
    At the sound of her name, Kimberly pulled herself further from the dregs of sleep. She opened her eyes to discover Mac standing across the bedroom, talking on his cell phone. The second he noticed her eyes were open, he flushed guiltily.
    Then, very pointedly, he turned around, giving her his back as he continued to argue: “What specific information has she given you to warrant an FBI agent’s personal visit? Sure. Yeah. That and a quarter will buy you a cup of coffee. ’Sides, that’d be our ball game, not the FBI’s.”
    Now Kimberly was fully awake. And increasingly angry.
    Mac was running his hand through his hair. “Mano a mano, do you think she’s for real or just some kid caught in a pinch? Well, I know that’s not your call to make. Do it anyway!”
    But apparently, Sal wasn’t willing to play that game. Mac sighed. Mussed his hair again. Then reluctantly turned to face his wife, cell phone held against his shoulder, resigned expression on his face.
    Before she could launch into her tirade, he went with a preemptive strike: “It’s GBI Special Agent Salvadore Martignetti. Couple of officers arrested a prostitute in Sandy Springs who claims she’s your informant. She doesn’t have your card or seem to know anything about you, but she’s sticking to her story. The officers serve with Sal on VICMO, so they contacted him and he gave me a buzz.”
    VICMO stood for the Violent Crimes and Major Offenders Program. Its goal was to bring together officers from all over the state in an attempt to identify larger patterns of crime. In reality, it was some bureaucrat’s attempt at getting the dozens upon dozens of law enforcement agencies to play nice together.
    “Hey, if Sal has information for me, he should be dialing me direct. Isn’t that the point of all these cross-jurisdictional teams? We’re all one big happy family, loading each other’s numbers into our speed dials?”
    Mac gave her a look. “Don’t start. The girl says her name is Delilah Rose. Mean anything?”
    “Other than an obvious alias?”
    “You don’t have to go. For Christ’s sake, you just got home three hours ago, and no doubt you’re back at the crash scene by six.”
    “What’s she offering?”
    “Won’t give ’em any details. Says it’s for your ears only.”
    “But Sal has an opinion.”
    Mac shrugged. “Sounds like she’s claiming to have information on another missing prostitute.”
    Kimberly arched a brow. “And that would be
GBI’s ball game,
as you graciously put it?” she asked drily.
    “Last time I read the statutes.”
    “Not if the act involved crossing state lines.” Kimberly threw back the covers and climbed out of bed.
    “Kimberly…”
    “I’m gonna talk to a girl, Mac, not hoe the cotton fields. Trust me, even a pregnant woman can do this.”
    After all these years, Mac knew when he’d lost the war. He returned to the cell phone. “Sal?