Slow Burn Read Online Free PDF Page B

what you’ve got.”
    â€œSpencer, go home. Reconstruct something,” he told her. Was reconstruct the right word? He wasn’t sure. Montgomery Enterprises wasn’t really a construction company, nor was it a decorating firm. Sly had begun the business in the very early days of the city’s existence. Back then he’d done detail work, cornices, moldings, mantels, working with the best architects and builders. He had liked to remember those old times, when the now bustling, international city had been nothing but a small southern settlement carved out of a swamp. Now they preserved the old, making it as good as new. They restored buildings, down to the small details, the tiles, moldings and cornices. David found it hard to imagine that there was enough here to keep them going, but it was remarkable to see sometimes, through Sly’s eyes, just how much was considered to be of historical value. Especially in the last decade or so, with the Art Deco boom, the refurbishing of the beaches and certain other areas of Greater Miami, the old had become in. Montgomery Enterprises was doing extremely well.
    â€œGo home, or go repair a quaint old bathroom or something,” he told her, rubbing his temple.
    Her eyes narrowed. “I went home, David. I went away for a year, and I left everything to the cops and to you, his best friend, the hometown boy who could find out anything! I went away, but damn it, it seems like I’m the only one who really cares! I have to stay on this if we’re ever going to find Danny’s killer. The eulogy was just great, the cops who turned out were wonderful, the twenty-one-gun salute was grand! But that buried him, and he’s stayed buried. And the case has stayed buried with him. I want something done now. I want to know what you’ve got. He was a homicide cop. What was he on to? Why was he meeting you that morning?”
    Reva cleared her throat from the doorway. “Coffee!” she said cheerfully.
    David was glad for the interruption. It bought him a little time as his sister came into his office and set the tray on his desk. He was deterred from his thoughts by the tray, though. They kept mugs in the office. Good sturdy mugs. But there were china cups sitting on a silver tray, and the coffeepot was silver, as well, along with the creamer and sugar bowl.
    He stared at Reva, who glanced at Spencer and shrugged. He smiled, shaking his head.
    â€œThanks, Reva,” Spencer said, restlessly standing again, approaching the tray.
    â€œSpencer, please, relax!” David said.
    â€œI can’t just sit still!” she exclaimed, reaching for the coffee server. She glanced at Reva. “I don’t mean to be difficult—yes, I do, except not about the coffee—but do you still have those great mugs around here anywhere?”
    â€œI—” Reva said blankly, then stared at David again. “Yes, sure, of course.”
    Reva went out. David leaned back in his chair, not knowing whether he wanted to grin or pick Spencer up bodily and remove her from the office altogether.
    He leaned forward, fingers folded on his desk. “Spencer, if you believe that I cared about Danny, then you know that I’m doing what I can. Everyone in the world knows that cops will do anything they can to catch the killer of another cop—”
    â€œWhy was he meeting with you that morning?” Spencer interrupted determinedly.
    â€œTo go over the Vichy case.”
    â€œI want to know about the Vichy case.”
    Reva returned with the mugs. Spencer flashed her a smile of gratitude. “Thanks. I don’t know why, but coffee always tastes better in a mug.”
    â€œA quick cup of coffee shouldn’t matter much,” David said.
    â€œBut it may not be quick,” Spencer warned.
    How the hell was he going to be able to get rid of her?
    He stood up. “I’ll pour the coffee.”
    â€œNone for me!” Reva said, casting