The Devil's Right Hand Read Online Free PDF

shoulders tensed, then he shrugged.
He popped the trunk. The male cop walked around to the back and
whistled in amazement.
    “ Marie,” he said. “Come look at this.”
The female cop walked around to the back of the car. “Holy shit,”
she said. She reached in and pulled out a length of heavy chain.
Heavy leg cuffs were soldered to each end. She held it up and
looked over at Keller.
    “ It’s all legal,” Keller
said.
    “ We’ll decide that,” the male cop
said.
    Keller’s temper had reached the limit.
“Bullshit,” he said. “There’s not a damn thing you can make stick
here. I’ve got permits for the handguns. The handcuffs and
restraints are all legit. All my licenses are up to date. So if
you’re going to arrest me, do it. But stop jerking me around.”
    “ All right, smart-ass,” the male cop
said. “Hands on the car and spread your legs.” Keller shook his
head in frustration, but complied. The male cop frisked him quickly
while the other one, Marie stood back to give herself a clear field
of fire if Keller decided to try anything. Keller felt the male
cop’s hand at the small of his back, heard him chuckle as he
withdrew the 9MM from Keller’s waistband.
    “ Looks like carrying a concealed weapon
to me.”
    “ I told you, I’ve got a carry permit--”
he was cut short by an explosion of pain across his lower back. The
cop had pulled his nightstick in a cross-body draw that would have
done credit to a samurai. He whipped the nightstick in a short arc
and smashed Keller across the kidneys. Keller arched his back in
agony and dropped to his knees.
    “ And resisting arrest,” the cop said.
Keller heard his high-pitched giggle. He tried to roll over on his
back to stave off another blow, but he felt a sudden weight on him.
The female cop had thrown her body across his. One of her hands
grabbed  Keller’s wrist. He heard the clink of metal as she
took the cuffs off her belt. “Stay down,” she muttered. “You can’t
win. Just stay down.” Keller tried to stand, then suddenly realized
that she had placed herself between him and another blow. He
relaxed and allowed himself to be handcuffed with his hands behind
his back.When she was done, she rolled off and yanked Keller
awkwardly to his feet. Her grip was very strong.
    Keller looked at the male cop. The man’s
image seemed to swim in a red haze before Keller’s eyes. The cop’s
own eyes were dreamy and far away and there was a slight smile on
his face.
    “ When this is over,” Keller said
through pain-clenched teeth, “I’m going to take that fucking baton
away and shove it up your ass.”
    The cop’s smile widened. This was what he had
been waiting for. He drew back his hand for another shot. Keller
had no way to protect his head; he knew the next blow would shatter
his skull. The female cop interposed her body between them again.
“Get in the car, asshole,” she said. She put a hand on Keller’s
head to guide him through the open door of the police cruiser.
Without taking his eyes off the male cop, Keller slid into the back
seat.
     
     
    The brown truck pulled into the parking lot
of the timber company office. The trailer was still surrounded by a
web of yellow crime-scene tape that appeared to have been strung
mostly at random. The three men got out of the truck and approached
the steps. Raymond took a curved Hawkbill knife out of his pants
pocket, opened it, and sliced through the tape. They walked up the
steps and stood before the locked trailer door. There was a moment
of silence. “John Lee,” Raymond said. “You got the keys?”
    “ Oh, um, yeah,” John Lee said,
embarrassed. He fumbled for a moment in his pocket, then unlocked
the door.
    The interior of the trailer office was small
and cramped. A metal desk sat facing the doorway and took up most
of one side of the room. There was a gray metal filing cabinet
behind the desk on their right. Raymond went around the desk and
tried to open the cabinet. It was locked.