Read Diner Impossible (A Rose Strickland Mystery) for Free Online Page B

somewhere less isolated next time?” I asked, slamming the door.
    “No.” He tossed a USB drive at me which I fumbled before sticking it in my coat pocket. “Here’s everything in the official file. Show it to no one. And don’t call me before eight p.m. What did you find out from Randa today?”
    “Gosh, I’m fine, thanks for inquiring.” Maybe my dad knew a good surgeon for Andre. One who specialized in stick-up-the-ass-itis.
    He exhaled loudly. “Miss Strickland, my job is on the line. And if I get caught leaking information, I’ll go to jail. I don’t have time for games or inane chitchat. What did you learn from Randa Atherton?”
    “Delia blackmailed Randa into spying for her, reporting back any gossip she picked up. And Randa hated her for it.”
    He nodded once. “Yes. That makes sense. What kind of information did Delia have on Randa? It must have been something juicy.”
    My mind wandered back to the scene in Randa’s office. It was like a bad porn movie being played on a loop in my brain. “Randa’s having an affair with a married cop. Sam something.”
    “Sam Landers. Everyone knows about that. It’s old news. But I suppose if Delia had lodged some kind of formal complaint, Randa and Sam would have both lost their jobs.”
    “I suppose,” I said. “Tell me about David Ashby.”
    His body stiffened. “Why?”
    “Because Delia seemed obsessed with him. What do you know?”
    He rotated his shoulders and stared at the deserted bike path. “Until two years ago, I worked under Captain Charles Bentley. A good man. A good cop. But when we made a bust on a midlevel drug dealer, Mathers wanted us to cut him loose. No charges, no follow up surveillance. He wasn’t trying to catch a bigger fish, he was sweeping it under the rug. I never found out why. Anyway, Bentley wouldn’t play. Next thing you know, my captain’s arrested. Accused of taking bribes and offering protection for drug dealers.”
    He scrubbed a hand over his cheek. “Mathers and I were playing on the same softball team at the time. I gave Martin a ride and on the way to the game, he asked me what I thought about Bentley’s fall from grace. I told him I thought he’d been stitched up, that Bentley wouldn’t do something like that. I’ll never forget Martin’s response, Miss Strickland. He looked me right in the eye and said, ‘Never play against me. Charley thought he could win. But he wasn’t ready for the big leagues.’ When I asked him to clarify, he started talking softball. But from that day, I was on notice. If I didn’t side with him, I’d be out, too.”
    “You don’t strike me as a man who succumbs to threats. You’re a straight shooter, Officer Thomas. Too much so, if you ask me.”
    He cast me a sideways glance. “If you ask anyone. Look at me. I’m a thirty-four-year-old desk jock. I have a Master’s in Psychology. I could have risen in the ranks by now, but I still wear a uniform because I don’t want to put myself in a morally difficult situation. Once you break a rule here or skirt the law there, you’re on your way to being a dishonest cop. I try to hold the line every day. Enforcing the law is the only thing between order and anarchy.”
    I shook my head. “But you know your boss is dishonest. How can you work for him?”
    “I don’t work for him. I work for the people of Huntingford.”
    “So where does David Ashby fit into all this?” I asked.
    “Martin Mathers, David Ashby, and Judge Keeler are very close—they have one another’s back. If one were being dramatic, one might refer to them as a triumvirate. Ashby is the assistant PA. He’s powerful and has his sights set even higher. I’m wary of men who like power, Miss Strickland. You should be, too.”
    “Tell me again why you care if Mathers is popped for this murder. You’ve put your career aspirations on the back burner so that you won’t cross him. Why not let it play out? He’s guilty of a lot of crap. Shouldn’t he be