Read Lying Eyes for Free Online Page B

sighing with pleasure.
    "Why do you wear those contraptions if they hurt your feet?"
    "To aggravate you. Looks like I succeeded." She snared the last sandwich as Carlo unlocked the door and wheeled the party remains past her and into the hall.
    When he finished, he made sure she watched as he wedged the protection rod beneath the door handle, double locked the door again, and turned to her. "I need to be sure my luggage has been transferred to the room next door and make certain my door key works. I'll be right back."
    By the time he returned she'd eaten the sandwich and was thumbing through the contents of the conference package she'd dumped out in her lap. "This badge holder has a place to carry money and a room key."
    "Not a good idea. An agile thief could cut the flimsy strap and disappear in the crowd waiting for the elevator or leaving a workshop. You might not even miss it until someone asks to see your badge. A money belt inside your clothes is a much better idea."
    "The wise man has spoken. I concede defeat."
    "You know, you'd be an attractive woman if you'd learn to keep your smart mouth shut."
    "In my line of work assertiveness is a necessity."
    "That's right. The Captain told me his mother lives in San Diego and when he visits, he watches you. You didn't tell me you have your own show."
    "I co-host an early-morning newscast," she said proudly, wiping her hands on a tissue before opening the conference schedule and perusing it.
    After a lengthy silence she glanced at Carlo. "What does it take to become a police detective?"
    "Hard work. Perseverance. Graduating from the police academy and patrolling the streets for at least three years without getting killed."
    "How long did it take you?"
    "Almost four years. I learned my lesson after the first two years and began going the extra mile. Took classes after my shift on patrol, and kept my nose clean, not always easy to do."
    "Why?"
    "I suppose there's petty jealousy on any job. I've run into my share of back-bitters and just plain bums who should have been weeded out of the academy and never allowed to wear a badge.
    "It took me a little longer than the required three years to make detective. The Captain said my attitude got in the way of my promotion. I couldn't help it at first. Attitude is as much a part of me as breathing. Without it, an inexperienced cop would be too frightened to face a known criminal, too shaky to aim a gun. Attitude may not make friends, but it is what gives an officer the backbone needed to stay alive."
    "But doesn't make him very likeable. What's it like riding patrol?"
    "Nowadays, a man on patrol feels like a sitting duck. I loved never knowing what the day might bring. I dealt with the dregs of society and those on the top. They're all reduced to the same level once they break the law. Some will lie, rather than admit their guilt. Others try to bribe the arresting officer. The weaker ones cry."
    She chuckled. "I imagine crying doesn't get them anywhere. Have you ever taken a bribe?"
    He gave her his not-in-this-lifetime look.
    "Being a cop sounds depressing."
    "Not always. Every year for the holidays I make a difference in the lives of a down-on-their-luck family. One time I bought a new bike for an eight-year-old boy laid up in the hospital with two broken legs. He'd been riding his bicycle on the sidewalk when a truck with a drunk driver at the wheel hopped the curb and ran him down. The accident totaled his birthday bike."
    Remembering, Carlo grinned. "You should have seen his face when I wheeled in his new bike."
    "You like children, don't you?"
    "What's not to like? It's not until later some of them go bad."
    "Why?"
    "It usually starts with petty shop-lifting at the corner store. Crimes of opportunity. If there's not enough food at home to go around, some previously well-behaved kid joins a gang before a patrolman can blink an eye."
    "I read gang members are responsible for most of LA's crime."
    "Sad, but true. Poverty and the easy