The Depth of Darkness (Mitch Tanner #1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

got nothing to say,” Sam said.
    “You sure about that? It’s the day after an
apparent accident, and I find you two, Philadelphia PD’s top
homicide detectives, back at the scene with forensics. This after
chasing the corpse’s widower up a water tower and then knocking him
out?”
    Neither of us said anything. Sam opened his
door and got in. I walked around the trunk, past Carla.
    She reached out and grabbed my upper arm.
“Come on, Detective. Something’s up. At least toss me a small
bone.”
    I looked over at her. Our eyes met. She
smiled.
    “Least you can do for an old friend,” she
said.
    I broke free from her grasp, pulled my door
open and stopped before getting in. “Go to hell, Carla.”
    Her mouth dropped open an inch. I think I saw
her smile. It was hard to tell in the darkness.
    “And you can run that sound bite.”

Chapter 6
    A little after two in the morning, Sam parked
the car in front of my house. I stared out the window at the yard
leading up to the two-story colonial. The weeds had been bad this
year, and my failure to get them under control had drawn the ire of
the neighborhood HOA. My fault, I suppose, for letting Marissa
convince me to buy the place half a decade ago. I’d been happy
living next to Sam in the old neighborhood. Sure, it was a bit run
down. But anytime I wanted to have a beer with a buddy, he was
right there. And if he was out, Jerry lived across the street.
    “When you gonna ditch this place and move
back home?” Sam asked.
    I hadn’t sold the old place. My cousin lived
there. I could kick him out any time I wanted. Not that I
would.
    “The memories inside there gotta drive you
crazy, Mitch.”
    I nodded. They did. “I can’t leave until
Robbie comes home. It’s the only home he remembers. You know
that.”
    Sam nodded, reached over and grabbed my
shoulder. “Go on inside now, my man.”
    “I called her the other night.”
    “Who? Marissa?”
    I shook my head. “Cassie.”
    “Man, you know I’m not crazy about that
woman.”
    “She gets results.”
    “Half the time, if that. The rest of it,
she’s just crazy.”
    I shrugged and said nothing.
    Sam took a deep breath. “She have anything
for you?”
    “Nah, still nothing.”
    Sam reached out and squeezed my shoulder. “Go
inside, man.”
    I opened the door and stepped into a puddle
that had formed in the gutter between the street and the curb. Cold
water rushed inside my shoe and soaked my sock. I cursed the rain
again. Then I started toward the front porch. In my mind’s eye, I
could see both my kids playing on the porch. I knew that only Ella
would be inside. It still hurt.
    Before I reached the screened-in front porch,
I glanced toward the garage. Maybe once Dusty Anne Miller’s case
was wrapped up I could take the old ‘Stang out for a spin.
    I pulled the screen door open and shuffled
across the front porch. Experience had taught me that if I tried to
walk at a normal clip, I’d likely trip over a toy fire truck, or a
doll’s stroller, or a play shopping cart. I’d almost made it to the
front door when I banged my shin against the all-weather sofa I
kept out there for those evenings when the humidity was low and the
temperature somewhere around sixty-five. I glanced down and saw
that someone had moved the sofa a good twelve inches to the left. I
grunted and groaned as I reached for the door handle. The knob
turned, but the deadbolts were locked.
    I tapped my fingertips against the window
while freeing my keys from my left pocket. The deadbolts slid and
clicked as Lana turned them. I waited for her to open the door. The
door cracked open and her perfume enveloped me. She greeted me with
a smile, then a soft kiss. Her eyelids opened and shut slowly over
her golden brown eyes. She wore one of my pinstripe button ups, top
two buttons undone. There weren’t any pants to speak of. The shirt
hid the curve of her hips and came to about mid-thigh. I admired
her mocha colored smooth legs.
    Lana Suarez and I