Page 167 of Brutal
“No.” She pauses a moment. “Unless you get in my way.”
I hold her gaze for a second longer than I should. Then I step aside. “Where?” I ask.
“Someone who knew him.”
Him.
Not Halstead.
But it’s there. I hear it.
“Fine,” I say. “Let’s get in the car.”
The place she takes me to isn’t far. It’s older, the kind of place that’s been left alone long enough to become invisible.
I kill the engine.
She’s already out of the car.
I follow.
The porch creaks under our weight, and the door opens before we knock. An older man stands there.
He looks at me first. Narrows his eyes. Then he looks at her.
And something shifts.
He knows her. Or he thinks he might.
“You here for something?” he asks, staring at her.
“I need information.” Delaney clears her throat. “About Victor Halstead.”
Nothing about the old timer shows surprise. A moment passes. Then?—
“I figured someone would come asking eventually,” he says.
“Then answer,” I say.
He ignores me. I’m not used to being ignored.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he says to her.
“I need answers.”
He tilts his head. Pauses. Then, “You’ve got his eyes.”
Say what? I steady myself. I know better than to react to the surprising and unexpected. I’ve been taught well.
I wait for her reaction. Her shock. But she doesn’t move.
That’s all I need.
Something cold slides into place.
“You want to explain that?” I say.
The man finally looks at me. “Don’t need to.”
