Read The Killing Edge for Free Online Page A

blasting dance music, though he brought in an acoustic guitarist now and then, someone with a mellow voice. People went to Jimmy Ray’s to talk, because he knew there was no talking when you had to compete with blasting speakers.
    As Stuckey had predicted, the place was relatively quiet.
    “Hey, Jimmy Ray!” he called as they entered.
    Jimmy Ray, bald as a buzzard and equally intimidating, looked up from behind the counter. “Hey, Stuckey. Chloe.”
    He didn’t greet Jack. Chloe was glad.
    Stuckey had the good sense to usher her into a booth, then follow her in to sit beside her, blocking any escape. Jack Smith sat down across from them.
    Stuckey rubbed his hand over the crisp white hair on his head. “All right,” he began, then stopped. Jimmy Ray had sent his waitress, Katia, over to them, her order pad in hand. “Coffee for me,” he said. “And…ah, hell, I’m here. A Mighty Meat pizza.”
    “Chloe?” Katia asked. She was a very pretty girl, an immigrant from Ukraine, and had only been there for five years. In that time, she had learned English with only the trace of an accent.
    Chloe smiled at her. “Iced tea, please.”
    She was disturbed when Katia turned to the newcomer and smiled—familiarly. “And what would you like, Luke?”
    She’d been right about one thing, Chloe thought with satisfaction. He wasn’t Jack Smith.
    “Coffee, thanks, Katia,” he said.
    Katia went away, and Stuckey turned to Chloe. “Seems as if we ought to start from the beginning. Chloe, this is Luke Cane. Luke, Chloe Marin.”
    “Luke,” she said sweetly, staring at him.
    “Miss Marin,” he returned.
    “Chloe Marin,” Stuckey said, frowning, as if he wondered if he had remembered to mention her first name. “Chloe, Luke is investigating the disappearance of Colleen Rodriguez and looking into what’s going on with Rene Gonzalez.”
    She stared across the table, frowning.
    “But nothing’s happened to Rene—until he chased her away tonight,” she said, staring accusingly at Luke.
    “Her parents have been worried,” Stuckey explained. “The last few times they called the mansion, Myra told them that Rene wasn’t there, and she didn’t know where she was or when she’d be back. And after what happened to Colleen on an agency shoot…”
    “But…she…oh,” Chloe said.
    “Oh what?” Stuckey asked.
    Chloe shook her head. “I don’t know the whole story. But I think she’s kind of hiding from her father. He’s Cuban, very macho, very old school. He doesn’t want her modeling. It’s not what nice girls do, you know? But she’s over twenty-one, and it’s what she wants to do.”
    “I’d still like to talk to her,” Luke said.
    Katia brought their drinks, then discreetly slipped away.
    “Why?” Chloe demanded suspiciously.
    “Because of Colleen Rodriguez.”
    She stiffened. She had infiltrated the agency herself because of Colleen Rodriguez.
    “Why are you trying to talk to Rene specifically?” she asked, pretending she didn’t know.
    “They were best friends,” Luke said.
    Damn. He knew his stuff. She frowned.
    “So I gather you two know each other well,” Luke said, looking from her to Stuckey as he changed the subject.
    Stuckey sighed. Explaining their friendship was always difficult.
    Luke sat back, one arm stretched along the seat. His eyeshadn’t lost a shred of hard silver suspicion as he stared at her. “Are you a licensed P.I.?” he asked her.
    She was irritated to feel her cheeks grow red. “No. Are you?”
    He nodded.
    “I’d like to see your license,” she said, making no secret of her own suspicion.
    He arched a brow and produced his wallet, opening it before handing it over. She stared at the insert, then glared back at him. “That’s a fishing license.”
    He shrugged, not about to comply any further.
    “He’s the real deal,” Stuckey said quietly, obviously getting irritated himself.
    “Well, you might have said something,” she said, staring accusingly at