Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 95421 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95421 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
“Entrapment? You mean for the Gregor case?”
Naomi nodded.
“How is there entrapment?”
“Well, the informant is a known drug addict, right?”
“Yeah. That’s how the narcotics division flipped him. Rich bastard uses his silver spoon to put drugs up his nose.”
“Did the DA know the building inspector was a recovering addict? I bet they did. They basically dangled temptation in front of the person they were investigating, and when he took the bait, the informant shared drugs and then handed over government funds in the form of a bribe. That’s crossing the line to me.”
“Hmm… Good point. It’s worth looking into. Let’s schedule a deposition with the informant to see what the ADA instructed him to do, or if they told him about the inspector’s drug use.”
A loud gurgling noise came from somewhere. It sounded like water moving through pipes that had air in them. I looked around and realized the heat wouldn’t be on in August. The AC was. I pointed to Naomi. “Was that…your stomach?”
She covered her face. “I was hoping to get away with that. I haven’t eaten since yesterday. I lose my appetite when I’m nervous.”
“What were you nervous about?”
“My first day.”
“You feel any better now?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Let’s get you fed then. If you don’t mind a working lunch, I’ll order us some sandwiches from the deli down the block. I’d like to hear the rest of the thoughts you’ve kept to yourself over the last two hours while I rambled on about these cases.”
She smiled, and my eyes lingered on her lips for a heartbeat too long. I forced them away and cleared my throat, quickly heading for the conference room door. Ten feet at all times, Reed. “What are you in the mood for?” I asked from a safe distance.
“What are you getting?”
“Pastrami on rye and an order of steak fries.”
Her little nose scrunched up. “I don’t eat meat.”
A joke was on the tip of my tongue, but I managed to control myself. “They have salads.”
“That sounds good.”
“What kind do you want?”
“Anything.”
“A cobb without the turkey and bacon?”
“Actually, I don’t eat eggs or cheese either.”
“So…lettuce?”
She laughed. “How about I place the order?”
“Sounds good. There’s a menu for Gem Deli in one of your drawers. They deliver, and we have an account there.”
“Great. So a pastrami on rye and an order of steak fries?”
“On second thought, make that two orders of steak fries.”
“Two?”
“I didn’t eat breakfast either. I went to the gym this morning. They have a protein-shake bar there, and I usually pick one up on my way out, but for some reason it wasn’t open today.”
“You went to the gym today? But you were here at six forty-five?”
“I’m an early riser.”
“I need to get my butt back to the gym now that this cast is off.”
“Your butt looks pretty good to me.” I winked.
I thought her cheeks might’ve pinked a bit, but I wasn’t getting close enough to find out. “Thanks for ordering.”
***
“So what made you move to New York?” I asked before shoving a fry into my mouth. “Ben mentioned your sister lives here. Did you guys grow up in the area or something?”
Naomi shook her head. “No. We grew up in Virginia. My sister met her husband in college, and he was from Brooklyn. They moved to Manhattan after they graduated. I was looking for a change and wanted to be closer to my sister. Frannie has AML, acute myeloid leukemia. She was diagnosed seven years ago, but it went into remission. It came back three months ago, and the treatment has been rough on her. Our mom died from the same thing. It’s not supposed to run in families, but…” She shrugged. “She really needs a bone-marrow transplant. I was her best hope, but I wasn’t a match.”
“I’m sorry.”
She nodded. “Thank you. She’s a single mom now with two young kids, so I figured I could help out. I’m staying with her. She lives down in the financial district. Or Fidi, as they say. I need a New York acronym dictionary.”
I smiled. “Had you ever spent time here before moving?”
“A weekend here and there over the years, but no extended period of time. I was originally debating moving out to California before my sister got sick again. I love San Diego. But I thought if New York couldn’t give me a fresh start, at least it’s big enough to allow me to get lost for a while.”
“Do you know anyone here besides Lily and Ben?”
“One other person. Simon. He’s an old friend. I guess technically he’s an ex-boyfriend. We were a couple for a few years in college. We split up on good terms when we graduated. He went to medical school in Texas, and I went off to Michigan to go to law school. We’ve kept in touch over the years, even though we don’t get to see each other too often. He’s an oral surgeon, but he recently took a three-month sabbatical to do a Doctors-Without-Borders-type program over in India. He specializes in cleft-palate surgeries and jaw reconstruction. He lives up on Eightieth Street.”