The Death Agreement Read Online Free PDF Page A

aaand
pieeeceees."
    "I understand. If you hear
anythi—" The call disconnected. I tossed my cellphone onto the bed
and kicked my dresser with my prosthetic. "Well, fuck you,
too."
    I sat for a while, wondering what
I should do. I dialed Yang. Forty-eight hours of nonstop amateur
detective work had led me to very little. All I had managed to do
was verify the grim news that Jesse's family couldn't be
located.
    "Detective Yang speaking," he
said.
    "Please say you've reached them."
I heard papers shuffling, then the phone went quiet as if Yang had
muted his side of the call. "Detective, can you hear me? I need to
know if you've gotten in touch with the family."
    The ambient noise returned, and
Yang said, "No. Nothing yet."
    "This is wrong." I clenched my
hand around the phone. "Is there anything you can tell me? Anything
at all that might help?"
    "We don't have anything
new."
    "With nothing else to go on, can't
you at least open an official missing persons report?"
    Yang breathed deep, then said,
"Not at this time."
    I gritted my teeth. "I thought you
wanted to solve this case."
    "I do. We can't talk about it over
the phone. Would you mind coming down to answer a few
questions?"
    "Fine. I'll take a
cab."
    "We can pick you up. It will be
faster."
    "Okay, let me give you my
address."
    "We already have your
address."
    "Tell me something ," I said. "I'm losing my
mind here."
    Yang just breathed into the
phone.
    "Detective…please?"
    Yang clicked his tongue. "There is
something. We found Mr. Taylor's car."
    "Found it? I didn't know it was
missing."
    "Neither did we. It's what we
found in the car that has me worried."
    My heart skipped a beat, and I
swallowed hard. "What?"
    "Industrial-sized trash bags and a
hacksaw. Your ride should be there soon. We'll talk more when you
get here." Yang hung up.
    The news hit me like a bat to the
ribs. A sick, helpless dread washed over me and vomit rose in my
throat. I covered my lips with my hand, retching. Puke filled my
mouth, drops of acidic slime slipping between my fingers. I ran for
the toilet…but didn't make it.
    ***
    I took a scalding hot shower
hoping to restore my wits. I hopped out of the specialized tub,
reattached my leg, then wiped condensation from the mirror. I
inspected my bloodshot eyes. After squeezing out a few drops of
visine, I stepped from the steam-filled bathroom.
    "What the fuck!" I screamed,
covering myself with my hands. Two uniformed officers stood in my
living room, each resting a hand on the butt of their holstered
service weapon. They looked at each other, back at me, then their
eyes dropped to my prosthetic leg.
    The larger cop said, "The door was
cracked open. We let ourselves in."
    The short, brawny cop added, "Hope
you don't mind."
    "What are you doing in my
room?"
    The brawny cop said, "Oh, we
wanted to make sure that—"
    "That you weren't in danger," the
larger cop finished.
    "Well, I'm not, and I would
appreciate it if you would kindly wait in the hallway."
    They looked at each
other.
    "Let me try it this way," I said.
"Unless you have a warrant, I'd like you to get out of my living
room."
    "Technically," the brawny cop
said, "we wouldn't need to give you a warrant as these are
government quarters. That would go to the base
commander."
    "I'll be talking to Commander
Litwell myself, trust me." I pointed to the open door. "Now, if we
understand each other, I'd like to get dressed."
    They still did not
move.
    "The way you're staring at my
prosthetic leg," I said, "I'm guessing you'd like a good look at my
naked ass, too."
    "We'll wait outside," the larger
cop said.
    The brawny cop said, "Sorry for
the inconvenience." The tone he had used translated the words into:
Screw you, buddy.
    The cops stepped back into the
hallway, but left the door wide open.
    ***
    When we reached the police
station, the cops passed me off to a man wearing a button-up white
shirt and an ugly green tie with a yellow mustard stain down the
center.
    "This way, please," the man