Page 88 of Stone Coast

I smiled. “I know. I’m supposed to be dead. I wanted to talk to you about that.”

The .38 in his waistband came out, and he took aim at me.

My heartbeat elevated, and a thin mist of sweat coated my skin.

I kept smiling with my hands in the air. “You’re not gonna shoot me here, are you? That would be bad for business.”

The .38 stared me down, unwavering.

“Look, I don’t hold a grudge. I know you’re just a middleman. I want to know who hired you.”

“You’re either stupid as fuck, or you’ve got bigger balls than most!”

I shrugged. “Last I checked, I didn’t have any balls. I guess I’m just stupid.” I figured it was the more disarming response.

I took a step inside the office, closed the door behind me, and helped myself to a seat across the desk from him. I kicked up my feet and leaned back like I owned the place. I figured if he was going to shoot me, he would have done it already. I might as well have a little fun.

The barrel of the pistol followed me.

“Lady, I think you’ve got me confused with someone else.”

“No confusion. Carter couldn’t keep his mouth shut.”

The muscles in Ray’s jaw flexed.

“I don’t know if you keep up with the news, but I’ve beenaccused of his murder.” I reassured him, “Don’t worry. I’m unarmed. I’m not here to hurt you.”

Ray chuckled. “Lady, you couldn’t hurt me if you tried.”

“Who hired you?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Ray, come on. We’re past that.”

“I don’t think you understand how this works.”

“I don’t. How about you enlighten me?”

“You just made my job a helluva lot easier.” A slight smirk tugged his thin lips. “How about I pull this trigger? Maybe then you’ll get all the answers you need.”

“You don’t want to do that. Think of all the blood. You can never really get rid of it all. People will come looking for me. People you don’t want to piss off.”

Ray laughed again. “You’ve obviously pissed off someone pretty powerful.”

“Like who?”

The door opened, and two of Ray’s goons stepped inside. He must have had some kind of panic button under the desk.

“Is everything okay?“ one of the thugs asked.

“Everything is just fine,” Ray said. “Take our guest into the storeroom and explain to her that she shouldn’t ask so many questions. Then get rid of her.”

“Get rid of her?” he asked for confirmation.

“Do it somewhere else. Not here. Make sure the body is never found. Get proof of death.”

I swallowed hard but put on a good face. “I think that’s a really bad idea.”