Page 10 of Cold, Cold Bones

“I got something I want to roll by you.”

“OK.” Hiding my surprise.

Katy had finished pressing buttons on the microwave and was watching me. I mouthed the name Slidell, then shrugged.

“I got a guy I’m tailing,” he began.

“Why?”

“Let’s call it indiscretion. I hear there’s some gizmo I could put on his phone without me physically having the phone. You know anything about that?”

“You need a techie. I can send you some names.”

“That’d be good.”

Katy pointed at the box. I shook my head. She nodded hers.

“I have something I’d like to roll byyou,” I said, knowing I’d regret it.

Slidell made a sound in his throat. Which I chose to interpret as agreement.

I explained the eyeball, the minuscule writing.

There was a silence so loud it screamed. Then, “How do you get yourself into this shit, Brennan?”

I said nothing.

“So, it’s like one of these freaks who carves Paris on a grain of rice?”

I hadn’t thought of that. “Could be.”

“You sure it’s human?”

“I think so.”

I waited out more empty air.

Then Slidell asked the same question that Katy had. I’d had time to consider who I might have angered.

“I have a neighbor who’s annoyed with me.”

“What’d you do? Pee in her pansies?”

“The man dislikes my turtle.” Icy.

“I thought you had a cat.”

“It’s garden art. Cement. He claims it scares his kid and wants me to remove it.”

“Just take the damn gewgaw inside.”

“I don’t want to.”

“You think this shitbag could be eyeball-level pissed?”

“I doubt it.”

I could picture Slidell wagging his head. Then, “I’ll call over, see if someone can check this out. I’m guessing they’ll bump it to the newbie, a maybe human eyeball not being high priority.”