Page 19 of Trigger

“Canwe talk to him?”

“Yeah…Wait, no. He hasn't shown up for work since yesterday.”

“Really?”I murmured, admiring the wonderful coincidence.

“Whatabout the man who came with her?” Carter asked him. “Do you know him?”

“Neversaw him before in my life. They both looked out of place, to be honest.”

“Whyis that?”

“Well,she seemed like a country girl to me, all shy and blushing. And her buddylooked like someone who belongs in Nirvana.”

Ifrowned in confusion. “A what?”

“A gaybar around the corner,” Carter explained, looking around. “Do you have anycameras here?”

“Broken.”

“Whyam I not surprised?” I said, looking at Carter. “No CCTV either, right?”

Henodded. “Yeah, not in this part of town.”

So,Bob, the bouncer, disappeared the day after the murder. A coincidence? Notlikely, so we decided to visit him and ask him a question or two. Bob wasn’t athome, but the neighbor said his car was still there, which meant he might stillbe in town. I found the perfect place to park across from his building, where aline of trees hid us from prying eyes. To no surprise, Bob had a record. Hisaccomplishments spanned from aggravated assault and fraud to hate crime andarson—my favorite.

“Sowhat did you do to end up in the LD?” I asked Carter, who was staring at hisphone. “And was it something kinky?”

Silence.

So, wewere back to ignoring each other. Just great.

“Areyou reading a book?” I said, popping my gum. “The eyeglasses look good on you,by the way. You look like Clark Kent, porn edition.”

Moresilence.

“Look,you don’t have to talk to me,” I said matter-of-factly. “But this is what youcall a stakeout. It means we’re going to be here for a long time. So tell me.What did you do to end up in the LD?”

He letout an exasperated sigh. “What do you think happened, brainiac? I snapped.”

“Didyou kill someone?”

“Almost.”

“Why?”

Helooked out the window. “He killed someone I loved.”

It wasa bomb he dropped on me, which I didn’t expect. I knew I was playing with fire,but I couldn’t stop myself from asking.

“Yourpartner?” I guessed, stretching my legs.

Cartermade a painful grimace, and I immediately regretted bringing up the subject.

“Yeah.He… He was my best friend. My only friend.”

Hiswillingness to answer my question surprised me, but I could see on that he gotlost in thought.

“Hesaid he would be my best man when Vic and I get married one day,” Cartermuttered, more to himself. “So stupid.”

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