Read The Way We Die Now for Free Online Page A

economics from Florida International University. Gonzalez had a poor sense of direction and often got lost in Miami, even though he had lived in the city for the last ten of his twenty-five years. Hoke almost always found it necessary to brief him about directions before he sent him out of the office to do legwork. On the other hand, Gonzalez was excellent with figures and had saved both Ellita and Hoke money when he had prepared their income tax returns for them.
    Hoke hadn't realized how much he had depended upon Ellita for detail work until she was no longer his partner. Gonzalez was barely adequate at best, if he was told exactly what to do. He had no initiative, and Hoke had already asked Brownley for a replacement for Gonzalez at the earliest opportunity. But the Homicide Division was shorthanded, after three recent suspensions and several resignations, and it was unlikely that Gonzalez would be replaced.
    After Gonzalez left, Hoke took a clean yellow file folder out of the cabinet. He began to grid it with a black felttipped pen and a ruler to make up a pool card. There would be forty squares. At two bucks a square, if he sold them all, the winner of the revocation of the no smoking pool would win seventy-eight dollars. After he finished the card, Hoke wrote his name in number three, and Ellita's in number five and left his cubicle to look for Commander Bill Henderson.
    Henderson emerged from the elevator, carrying a Styrofoam cup of coffee in his left hand and his clipboard in his right. He grinned broadly as Hoke approached him, holding up the pool card.
    Henderson shook his head. "Forget it, Hoke. There's been a compromise. There'll be no smoking in vehicles, but it'll still be okay inside the building. Not out here in the bull pen, but in offices like yours it'll be okay. Men can smoke in the john, too. We finally persuaded the new chief that it would be impractical to have men going to and coming from the lot all day and all night."
    "Shit. It took me twenty minutes to make up a pooi card."
    "Hang on to it. The new chief's really gung ho about this no smoking business and may change his mind back again."
    "I don't see anything wrong about smoking in a patrol car, unless a man's partner objects."
    "I don't either. But that was the compromise. Besides, it doesn't apply to you because you drive your own car. But it will apply to unmarked cars from the motor pool."
    "Unmarked cars, too? That doesn't make sense."
    "That's the rule. I'm going to type up the notice and post it on the bulletin board now--after I finish my coffee."
    "Any other truly important news at the meeting?"
    "Yeah, there is. Every division's got to appoint a crack committee. They want us to come up with something or other to help the new Crack-Cocaine Task Force. According to new statistics, Miami's got more crack houses than New York had speakeasies during Prohibition. So something drastic has to be done. You didn't shave this morning, Hoke, so you're the new chairman of our Homicide Crack Committee."
    "You told me yesterday -not- to shave, you bastard!"
    "I know I did. But I don't have anyone else available just now. You can pick out two more detectives for your committee, and start thinking of ways to crack down on crack abusers and crack houses."
    Hoke ripped up the pool card, tossed it into a wastebasket, and went down to the basement cafeteria. He got a cafe con leche, dark on coffee, and sat at an empty table. He was due in court at ten-thirty, making an appearance as the investigating officer in an old case that had already been continued several times. It would, in all probability, be continued again because the defendant, who had killed his wife with an aluminum baseball bat, had fired his courtappointed lawyer and the court would have to appoint a new one.
    Hoke finished his coffee and lighted a Kool, wondering what, if anything, he could come up with (as a homicide detective) to combat the use of crack in Miami. He couldn't think of