Dead Heat (33 page)

“You don't want much, do you?”

“I'm just anticipating a little. How long do you think it's going to take for that high-priced attorney to file a discovery motion?”

“It's, uh, irregular.”

“You know, that woman who's stuck in your cell makes the best cup of coffee I've ever tasted.”

“She use chicory?”

“Her own blend of beans. Colombian and Kenyan. Grinds it fresh every time.”

“Okay,” Rawlins said. “Okay. Just do me a favor. Tell your aunt I'm cooperating with you.”

“Sure. Now Dora said that Fontenot used a different name when he married her. If a guy uses an alias once, he might do it twice. How about running his prints?”

“Seems a whole lot like blaming the victim to me. Poor guy's dead—”

“That's right. Beyond blame and praise and jail and all that crap. Dora's not.”

“Well …” Rawlins sucked in a deep breath. “If I do, you'll have to tell your aunt I cook the best gumbo in town. That means you want a taste.”

“I'm done with my coffee. Just pour me a little in the same mug.”

“Hot” wasn't the word to describe Rawlins' gumbo. It was like a test. Spraggue could feel the heat rise in his throat and his face turn red. When he didn't cough or choke, and he managed a smile, Spraggue knew he'd passed.

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Acknowledgments

My thanks to Steve Appelblatt, Richard Barnes, James Morrow, and the staff of the Bill Rodgers Running Center for information and criticism generously given.

About the Author

Linda Barnes is the award-winning author of the Carlotta Carlyle Mysteries. Her witty private-investigator heroine has been hailed as “a true original” by Sue Grafton. Barnes is also the author of the Michael Spraggue Mysteries and a stand-alone novel,
The Perfect Ghost
.

A winner of the Anthony Award and a finalist for the Edgar and Shamus Awards, Barnes lives in the Boston area with her husband and son. Visit her at
www.lindabarnes.com
.

All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 1984 by Linda Appleblatt Barnes

Cover design by Andy Ross

ISBN: 978-1-5040-1451-9

This edition published in 2015 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.

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