She Felt No Pain Read Online Free PDF

I said adios. Wrecked Muse Lake with their diesel spills and got off with a paltry five-thousand-dollar fine.” He flicked at a midge, whirling in its vortex. “Couldn’t stomach it. Anyhow, now that we know each other, what can I do you for?”
    A lawyer with principles. So much for the jokes sending them to the bottom of the sea to poison the sharks. Why didn’t he pursue the prosecutorial side? Perhaps he was a true maverick and regarded the law itself as an ass. “There was a report of panhandling here.”
    He gave an unimpressed cackle then coughed into his hand. “Thought you were into something serious. This is yee-haw land, not the prissy streets of Victoria.” The local area was notoriously casual, the home of bearded Santas driving ancient Westphalias, llama and alpaca shepherds, and small organic farms. The elderly ladies in Sooke and Fossil Bay had mid-afternoon coffee at home instead of tiffin at the Empress Hotel with the blue-rinsed bluebloods. Unless they worked in the city, few people in the Western Communities went to Victoria without a shopping mission.
    Holly gave an apologetic shrug. “It was reported, Mr. Gorse. I have to check it out. What’s the story?” So far he’d been the only person she’d seen, but the gear indicated signs of others. She tried for concerned, not intrusive.
    He tapped his chest, a few curly grey pelt hairs peeking from his v-neck. “Listen. I’m the old fart boss around here. I try to make a few rules so’s we don’t get into each other’s faces too much. No stealing. Can the noise after ten. Pick up after yourself. Don’t shit where you live, in every sense of the word. Not much different from that guy’s book about kindergarten rules.”
    Suppressing a smile at the candor, Holly saw a neat pile of crushed beer cans in a clear plastic bag. “What about drinking or drugs?”
    “Hell, drinking’s legal last I heard.”
    “Not on the street. We have open-container laws.”
    He planted his feet and folded his arms. “We’re not bothering anybody, not about to take a piss against a building. This is where we live. And it’s public land, belongs to the people. Doesn’t say ‘no camping,’ does it? Be reasonable.”
    Holly shifted her feet, feeling like a bully. She glanced at her watch. According to the schedule, she had this sunny afternoon off for a change. With the small population, the three-man post kept hours only between eight a.m. and six p.m. Any emergencies were routed to Sooke, a detachment of fourteen with round-the-clock service. “You’re being a wee bit evasive about the drug question. Do I take that as a yes?”
    His lined face grew sober and he scratched at his ear, where a silver loop dangled, giving him a pirate look. “I can’t see that you have probable cause for a search, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you turned up some wacky tobaccy. Personal use only. Hard drugs I don’t tolerate.” It was a cliché that the law in Canada ignored pot smoking, but Holly held up a placatory hand and adjusted her posture to official, not combative. She didn’t want this to escalate. No needles or paraphernalia were in view, and no children would be hanging around under Bill’s watch. “No worries, then. If you’re not bothering anyone, stay as long as you want. But let’s get to my reason for coming, the panhandling complaint.” She arched an eyebrow in a 60-40 serious look.
    Bill sat down with a grunt on an overturned blue recycling box and flexed his knee. “I’ll tell you straight. Any guy around here pulling any of that crap answers to me. I don’t want problems with the law. We mind our own business. That one asking tourists for money like some bridge troll, I told him to quit it. Next morning he showed up with a camcorder. Said he won it in a card game at the Legion, the liar. It was a high-end Sony.”
    Her interest was piqued. One strand led to another in law and society’s tangled webs. She gave a light laugh. “Nobody