The Day Trader Read Online Free PDF

beige sports jacket and plain blue shirt stretch tightly across his broad chest, his fingers are thick and stubby, and he has almost no neck. But his most intimidating feature is his head. It’s immense, like a bull’s, exuding power. His expansive forehead, with its receding hairline, juts far out over his eyes. His wide nostrils flare when he breathes, and his deeply set dark brown eyes seem to be in constant motion, taking in and cataloging everything around him.
    “You okay, Augustus?” he asks after we’ve driven a few dark blocks in silence. It’s four in the morning and the city is still asleep.
    “Yeah,” I mutter, taking a deep breath. “I just want to find the person who did this to Melanie. I want to see them get what they deserve.”
    “Of course you do.” Reggie tries to use a comforting tone, but I can tell that’s tough for him because his voice and manner are naturally gruff. “We all do.” He hesitates. “And we will. Make no mistake,” he assures me confidently. “Justice will be served.”
    I shake my head and close my eyes. “I can’t believe she’s gone. Why would someone do this?”
    Melanie’s pocketbook sits on the seat between us, full of cash and credit cards. “Not for money,” Reggie says, tapping it. “That’s obvious.”
    We lapse into silence until we reach I-395, a three-lane expressway that leads out of downtown. “Where was Melanie supposed to be last night?” Reggie asks, taking the exit ramp and accelerating onto the almost empty highway.
    “Work. She’d been putting in a lot of overtime lately. Sometimes it was hard for us to make ends meet.”
    “I can understand that. Times are tough. Where did she work?”
    “At a law firm downtown,” I answer quietly, taking a quick glance at the speedometer. The posted limit here is fifty-five and there are no other cars on the road, but he isn’t even doing fifty. Reggie wants to talk. “The managing partner is a guy named Frank Taylor. Melanie was his executive assistant. Taylor does mostly divorce work.”
    “Yeah, sure. That firm is over on Farragut Square. Never met Taylor, but I’ve heard about him. A real pit bull, people tell me.”
    “Uh-huh.”
    “What time was Melanie supposed to be home last night?”
    “She didn’t give me a specific time.” I speak deliberately so Reggie is certain to hear the growing irritation in my voice. I shouldn’t have to go through this right now. “She stayed at the office until one or two in the morning sometimes. It wasn’t something I was worried about, if that’s what you’re getting at.”
    “Okay,” he says, as if he’s already thinking two or three questions ahead. “Had she called you to tell you what time she would be home?”
    “No,” I answer curtly.
    “Did she usually call when she was staying at work late?”
    “Usually.”
    He starts to ask another question but seems to think better of it. We say no more until the signs for Springfield appear and I give him directions through my neighborhood.
    Reggie eases the car to a stop in front of my house. “There’s something I want you to understand, Augustus.”
    Suddenly I’m exhausted. All I want to do is crawl into bed and try to escape the horror of what’s happened. Most of all, I don’t want to listen to this, but I feel like I have no choice. I don’t want him thinking I’m uncooperative. “What’s that?”
    “My job is to solve murder cases. To find the guilty party.”
    “Of course it is.”
    “By using any means necessary. Any at all.”
    “Uh-huh.”
    “During that process I don’t allow myself to get close to any of the people involved. I’ve been around too long for that. I learned early on in my career that I have to remain completely objective to be as effective as possible.”
    “I’m not sure what you’re driving at.”
    “In thirty years on the force I’ve seen plenty, Augustus. People I thought were as gentle as lambs turned out to be ax murderers. People I could