Read Among Thieves for Free Online Page B

He was dressed in cheap polyester slacks and
     a sport coat Goodwill would have turned down. Blue collar through and through, he’d spent a quarter of a century in the Boston
     Police Department, most of it in homicide, before he was pushed out and became a private detective. The cop inside him wouldn’t
     let go, though. He worked out of a small office in the brownstone in Charlestown where Finn had his law practice, and did
     enough work for Finn that they loosely considered themselves partners. “You missed a few good innings,” Kozlowski said.
    “I said I was sorry.”
    “I heard you.”
    “What’s the problem?”
    “Problem is, you’re late. We been coming to this game ever since you started the firm. It’s a tradition.”
    “I only started the firm a couple of years ago,” Finn pointed out.
    “Even worse. New traditions are fragile.”
    “Quit your bitching and watch the game,” Lissa said. She was a small, attractive, razor-tongued woman in her mid-thirties,
     with thick dark hair and a strong jaw. She’d worked as a paralegal for Finn while attending law school at night, and since
     graduating and passing the bar the previous year had been taken on by Finn as an associate. She was wearing capri pants and
     a cashmere sweater that had probably cost more than Finn paid her in a month; she came from that kind of money. She and Kozlowski
     had been dating for over a year, and Finn couldn’t imagine a stranger couple. The thickness of their skins and their physical
     attraction to each other seemed the only things they had in common. Apparently that was enough.
    “You’re the one who’s been bitching about him for the past hour,” Kozlowski said to her. “Don’t play all innocent.”
    “I’ve never played innocent.”
    Kozlowski grunted. “True enough.” To Finn he asked, “Where were you, anyway?”
    “Nashua Street.”
    “New client?”
    “Maybe. Old acquaintance; we need to talk about whether he’s gonna be a client.”
    “Anyone I would know?”
    “You remember Devon Malley?” Finn asked.
    “From Southie? The thief?”
    “That’s the guy. You know much about him?”
    Kozlowski shook his head. “Not really. He had a rep for a while, but it died. He was basically a minor player.”
    A beer vendor passed in front of them in the aisle. Lissa put her fingers in her mouth and gave a deafening whistle. It was
     loud enough to startle the young man, and he nearly dropped his tray. “Yo! Three over here!” she yelled.
    Finn put a finger in his ear and gave a pained shake. “Is that really necessary?”
    “Jesus, you’re a pansy,” she replied. She pulled out her purse and found a twenty.
    “You sure you don’t want me to get these?” Finn asked. “It’s a work function.”
    “Keep your wallet in your pants, boss. I’ve got more money than you.”
    “True. But still…”
    She looked at him. “You really want to pay?”
    “Not really, no.”
    “Fine. Then shut up.”
    Finn smiled at Kozlowski, who just shrugged. “So, what did Devon get pinched for?” the ex-cop asked.
    “Robbery,” Finn answered.
    “No shit, that’s what he does. You wanna be a little more specific?”
    “Not really.” Finn took a sip of his beer. “He was robbing a clothing store,” he said after a moment.
    “Allegedly,” Lissa tossed in.
    “Good girl,” Finn said. “Allegedly.”
    “How allegedly?” Kozlowski asked.
    Finn shrugged. “The police walked in on him in the store at midnight holding a bunch of women’s lingerie,” he admitted.
    Kozlowski shook his head. “That’s not very allegedly. It’s gonna be hard for him to live that down.”
    “It was high-end stuff,” Finn said.
    “I’d hope so.” Kozlowski took a huge bite out of a bratwurst that had been sitting on a cardboard tray on his lap. A chunk
     of sauerkraut and mustard toppled off the end and splattered onto the front of his shirt. Finn thought it was an improvement.
     “So, does he have any kind of a case we