Read Blood Hunt for Free Online Page B

inspiration.
    “ Hi, baby. All alone?” a husky voice asked behind him.
    Garreth turned. A woman in her thirties with elaborately curled dark hair arched a plucked, painted eyebrow at him. “Hi, Velvet,” he said. Her real name, he knew from busting her when he worked Patrol, was Catherine Bukato, but on the street and with the johns, she always went by Velvet. “How’s your daughter?”
    Velvet smiled. “Almost twelve and more beautiful every day. My mother sends me pictures of her regularly. I may even go home to see her this winter. You up here working or playing tonight?”
    “ I’m looking for a woman.”
    Velvet hitched the shoulder strap of her handbag higher. “You’re playing my song, baby.”
    “ The woman I want is red-haired, young, and very tall. Taller than I am. She sings somewhere around here. Would you happen to know anyone like that?”
    Velvet’s eyes narrowed shrewdly. “I tell you what. My feet are killing me. Why don’t you play like a john who has to work up his courage? Buy me a drink where I can sit down for a while and I’ll think on it.”
    Garreth smiled. “Pick somewhere.”
    She chose the nearest bar and they found seats in a rear booth. She ordered, then kicked off her shoes and stretched her legs out, propping her feet up on the seat on the far side of the booth.
    She closed her eyes. “That’s what I needed. You know, for a cop you’re almost human, Mikaelian.”
    “ Every Thursday night.” In the right quarters, inexpensive kindness could reap valuable benefits. Velvet’s sharp eyes and ears missed little on the street.
    A fact she knew he knew. Opening her eyes, she said, “So let me pay for the drink. Who’s this woman you’re looking for?”
    Garreth gave her a detailed description.
    Velvet’s drink came. She sipped it slowly. “Tall? A singer? Yeah, I’ve seen someone like that. I can’t remember where, though. What did she rip off?”
    “ I just want to talk to her.”
    Velvet’s drawn brows rose again, skeptical. “Oh, sure.”
    “ If you have a chance, will you ask around? Its important I find her.”
    Velvet eyed him a moment, but then nodded. “How can I refuse someone who always asks about my kid? You have a kid, Mikaelian?”
    “ An eight-year-old boy named Brian.”
    For the remainder of the time it took her to finish her drink, they talked children and showed each other the pictures they carried. As Garreth handed back Velvet’s snapshot of her daughter, the prostitute started to laugh.
    “ What’s funny?” Garreth asked.
    Her teeth gleamed in the dimness of the bar. “What a pair we are, a cop and a hooker, sitting in a bar talking about our kids.” She drained her glass, sighed, and fished around under the table for her shoes. “Well, time to go back to work. Thanks for the coffee break.”
    They headed for the door.
    “ I hope this won’t make trouble for you with Richie, getting nothing for the time,” Garreth said.
    She looked up at him. “Look, if it isn’t too much trouble, maybe you could give me a little something, a kind of advance on information I’m going to give you? It’ll help with Richie.”
    He dug into his pocket for his billfold and came up with two tens. “One for Richie Soliere and one for you to buy something for your daughter, all right?”
    She folded away the bills with a smile. “Thanks a lot.” Then she tossed her head and dropped back into her husky “professional” voice. “Good night, baby.”
    He watched her walk off into the crowd, then counted what remained in his billfold. The impulsive generosity had nearly cleaned him out. It would make the rest of the swing through North Beach a dry trip. He hoped Velvet gave him a good return on his investment.
     
    3
     
    Rob Cohen raised a brow at Garreth. “That’s the third time you’ve yawned in the last five minutes. You single guys sure lead a fast life.”
    Harry regarded Garreth sharply, however. “You worked all night after all?”
    Garreth