Some Degree of Murder Read Online Free PDF

Avenue exit, the car swayed when the cabbie turned to the off ramp. We were on Third Avenue as we approached Altamont and a dirty 7-11 occupied the southwest corner.
    “Stop here.”
    “But this isn’t where you said you wanted to go.”
    His eyes met mine in the rearview mirror and I pointed over at the convenience store.
    The car bounced into the parking lot before pulling in front of the building. A smirk grew on the cabby’s face and he shrugged. “You don’t belong here,” he said.
    “Why’s that?”
    “It’s rough.”
    “I’m fine.”
    “Want me to wait?”
    I pulled my money clip from my pocket and peeled off a ten dollar bill. He reached over his shoulder and carefully took the money from me.
    “Need change?”
    With a shake of my head, I climbed out and swung the cab door shut.
    Inside the 7-11, a blast of cold air from the vents and Bon Jovi from the speakers shocked my system. It was April in River City which was definitely too early for air conditioning.
    The clerk behind the counter was a heavy-set black man with a round face and sleepy eyes. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead and he wheezed as he walked.
    From a back cooler, I pulled out a bottle of water and went to the counter.
    “Good morning, sir,” the clerk wheezed.
    “You get a lot of kids coming in here?”
    His eyes challenged mine. “Why?”
    I put my bottle of water on the counter and pulled out a picture. “You ever seen this girl in here before?”
    “You a cop?”
    ”No.”
    “Why you want her then?”
    “She’s my daughter.”
    He watched me for a minute before deciding to speak. “Yeah, she came in here a while back. Haven’t seen her in at least three, maybe four weeks.” His breathing was shallow as he spoke. “She really liked those Chic-O-Sticks.”
    I raised an eyebrow at him.
    “Those orange sticks,” he said pointing at the candy rack.
    “She ever tell you where she was staying?”
    “Why would she do that?”
    “I don’t know. Did she?”
    “She never said.”
    “She ever come in here with anyone?”
    He rolled his eyes up as he thought. “I don’t think so. She was a nice kid though. Polite.”
    I searched his eyes and knew he was holding something back. His eyes flicked away from me but quickly returned. “What else?” I asked.
    He pointed at the picture. “She didn’t look like that.”
    “What’d she look like?”
    His tongue darted across his lips before rubbing them together. “Strung out.”
    “Dope?”
    The big man shrugged. “I don’t know, but she looked like she’d seen better days.”
    He rang up my water and I dropped two dollars into his hand. Outside the store, I opened the bottle and took a swig.
     
    River City is divided into four sectors by two streets—Sprague, which runs east to west, and Division, which runs north to south. This makes finding your way around the city fairly easy. The streets south of Sprague run in consecutive numbers. I was three blocks from where the newspaper article in my pocket said she was found.
    As far as newspaper articles go there was a lot of speculation and very little facts in the narrative. The detective handling the case was non-committal in his responses. They must train them in the academy to dodge questions. I’d been in town two days and nothing new on her murder was in either the newspaper or on the local news. Another girl was found dead so she was getting the few minutes of airtime devoted to sensational stories. The rest of the time was spent lamenting the city’s current budget crisis and a certain city council member who was discovered to have a lesbian lover.
    I headed northbound on Altamont until I found the bingo lot where her body was found. I could smell shit somewhere in the area. The morning sun was out and there was still light dew on the weeds sprinkled around the lot. My nose crinkled reflexively as I tried to shake off the stink.
    The article in my pocket said she was found next to a dumpster behind the bingo