Page 82 of Dirty Reads

Fuck!

“What the fuck’s going on?” I screamed as he walked through the front door.

He stopped at the threshold. “Quit being a prick and go get the money. I’ve got to swap some things around. I need a small screwdriver set.”

“Where’s Jess?”

“I told you. The police station. I need to do a few things before I go get her.”

I walked around the corner of the bar and began to stomp my way to where he was standing. “Like fucking what?” I snarled.

“Like making sure they can’t charge her with a crime. Grab that money and get me that screwdriver set.”

“You’ve got the money?”

He nodded. “All of it.”

Having the money was reassuring, but I wanted the girl. I stomped out to the car, grabbed the money, and stomped back into the house.

I tossed the money on the entry hall floor and turned toward the garage. After digging through my toolbox, I returned with a small set of jeweler’s tools.

“Here.”

He carried his diamond tester to the bar, disassembled it, and began to pry against the circuit board with one of the screwdrivers.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

He lowered the tool, sighed, and turned to face me. “I tested the stone. It was authentic. I said it didn’t test out. Your plan, Dick, had a hole in it. Now, what I need to do is disable this tester to make it inoperative, go to the police station, and in the event that the question arises – and I suspect it may – I can back up my end of the story. They have a fake 10 carat diamond, but they may have a real one that I am unaware of. This way I’m covered no matter what.”

“You lost me.”

“I’m not surprised,” he said.

“Don’t start getting smart with me, you motherfucker. I’ll…”

“Give it a rest, Dick.” He screwed the back onto the tester, slid it into his leather satchel, and glared at me for a second.

“See you in an hour,” he said as he turned away.

I had no idea what his ridiculous plan was fucking up his tester, but he was the attorney, and I wanted to assume he knew what the fuck he was doing.

He paused as he reached for the door. “Where’s the crazy cat?”

Oh fuck.