RAGE (eBook)

A JOHN COOPER NOVEL

G.S. Marriott (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2023 | 1. Auflage
200 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
979-8-3509-1358-3 (ISBN)

Detective John Cooper had seen it all, done it all---until now. He and his partner, Kelly McArthur, are dispatched to a homicide of a low-level druggie, who was brutally tortured. All identification on the body has been removed: fingerprints, tattoos, scars, teeth and even clothing tags, all gone. Weeks later, a second body turns up miles away, also a small-time hood, exhibiting similar viciousness and lack of identifiers. Cooper's question is, why? What is the killer(s) hiding and why the cruelty to their victims prior to death? A tip from an unlikely source leads the detectives to now believe their case may have roots which began in Canada. Although their highly problematic murder case is time-sensitive, McArthur can't ignore the abrupt transfer of a close friend and fellow policewoman, who refused to succumb to the constant sexual advances of a superior officer. The 'old boys club' is apparently still alive and well. McArthur desperately wants to take on these misogynistic predators to help her friend, but even with Cooper covering her six to the max, she can't help but hesitate because, win or lose, pursuing this could spell the end of her own career.

Breakfast. Best meal of the day in Cooper’s mind. Today he and his partner were enjoying that particular day-starter in a restaurant they rarely got to, primarily due to its location. It sat on the outer edge of the normal patrol zone for the downtown area, but since they were done for a few days and out that way anyway, decided to treat themselves. Treat, because this wasn’t your usual greasy spoon diner. This one was unique, not only with top-quality food and people, but also the esthetics. It was an old-style converted Airstream trailer; the shiny aluminum kind, adorned by two horizontal red stripes which went all the way around the exterior. Though totally grounded, with additions added to allow for more seating, it still looked as though, at a moments notice, it could be jacked up, pulled away and never seen again.

However, that was never going to happen. The proprietors of this establishment, a couple by the name of Ken and Donna Entwistle, had told Cooper on an earlier visit, they were both born in Canada, but had moved to California several years back, from a place called Flin Flon, Manitoba. She advised him they became tired of the cold winters and decided to move south and try their hand at running a restaurant of their own. It was a lot of work, but they obviously had made the right choice, because both loved being here and their dreams of success had indeed become a reality. Hard work will do that, but so will great food, people and wonderful optics, Cooper knew.

The interior reflected an era, probably circa 1960-70s, as it was adorned with vintage chrome stools, covered with the bright red padded vinyl seats. They were bolted down to a raised platform of black and white checkerboard tiles, which ran the full length of the countertop and matched the larger ones covering the floor. The remaining decor followed the same nostalgic motif, with its’ four-seat booths bordering the windows, 45 rpm records of past hitmakers scattered about the walls and even old-style mini juke-boxes attached to the walls of each booth. Astonishingly, for the price of a quarter, they actually worked. Flip the metal pages, pick your song, insert quarter and push the button and voila, there’s your song coming over the speakers. It was like stepping through a time portal. Cooper had only seen these things in magazines. The place was called ‘The Skyway’ and sat directly under a railway overpass, topping off the visual effect perfectly.

Kenny was an average sized guy who looked to be in his mid-fifties, but still in pretty good shape. The brown hair was thinning, somewhat, leaving the remaining follicles leaning more to the silvery side. The sideburns still looked good though. Everything had been orchestrated perfectly right down to his black and white striped, button-up cotton shirt with the establishment’s logo emblazoned on the left breast in a brilliant red. His black pants and the customary white socks and black penny loafers filled out the attire. Donna, his wife, was a black-haired dynamo, somewhere in her early fifties and was like the ‘energizer bunny’, whizzing about the eatery like a gazelle in her black and white saddle shoes. The girl was fit as a fiddle and her slim body was a testament to that, no doubt due to her daily workouts in the diner. One could tell she loved every minute of her job and the customers seemed to genuinely love her. She wore a high collared white blouse with tight, black calf-length pants, commonly known back then as peddle-pushers. All the female servers replicated Donna’s outfit, while the guy’s mimicked Kenny. The clientele obviously loved this place, judging by the continuous flow of patrons through the door.

The music playing over the speakers presently, came from a time when most of these diners weren’t even born yet, including Cooper. Want to escape today’s reality for a short period of time? This is where you went. They served only breakfast and lunch entrees and usually closed up by mid-afternoon, four at the latest. Wisely, the proprietors stayed away from serving dinner for various reasons and they had run their business this way since moving to town. It was a good decision on their part, Cooper concluded. Probably saved them enormous amounts of grief from late night drunks, robbers and other sun-down miscreants, that would constantly be trolling the streets.

Currently playing was a tune called ‘Never been to Spain’ by a group called Three Dog Night. Cooper, though not personally acquainted with the era, knew the song and group well. His house had been a haven for all genres, when growing up.

Presently, Cooper was devouring a ‘western omelette’, surrounded by sausage and home fries, accompanied by copious amounts of coffee, while his partner was sipping her usual herbal tea to wash down a single poached egg and croissant. They had just come off closing an investigation that had lasted close to a month and this was their first chance to finally sit back and have a proper meal and relax. Once done, they would head back to the office, tidy up some paperwork and take a couple of days off.

Sitting in a booth, three down from them, were two patrol officers. One was a senior guy, forty-five, give or take. The other, twenty-five, tops. Cooper noticed them sliding from their booth. They put on their hats and turned to leave the premises. Both looked to be pushing six feet with average builds, though the senior guy seemed to be struggling with some frontal gravity issues. He observed Kenny approach them both quietly and respectfully, saying something to the older patrolman in low tones. The patrolman then leaned in very close to the man’s face and said something back and the look on the officer’s face, coupled with the proprietor’s reaction, led Cooper to believe it wasn’t anything pleasant. Cooper slid out of his booth and approached them. “Be right back, Kel.”

“Is there a problem here, guys?” he asked.

The senior patrolman was obviously new to this precinct area, because he didn’t recognize Cooper or his female partner, who had now covered his six. Cooper, surprisingly, didn’t recognize this guy either. Possibly just a guy who stepped out for a bite with his trainee. The older officer turned deliberately and menacingly towards Cooper now, looking sternly into his face. He placed his hands on his hips.

“Naw, no problem at all, Pal. This is between me and this guy here.” He said, pointing to Kenny with his thumb. “Now, why don’t you and your little squeeze there, move along and mind your own business or you and I will be having a problem, copy?” He growled.

“Seriously?” Cooper replied, laughing.

The officer, not returning the smile, moved even closer, speaking in lower tones, so only a couple of patrons might hear. “Listen, you really don’t wanna fuck with me, Slick.” The officer glared. “…. or you’ll be getting three meals and a cot real fast, comprende?”

Cooper stared incredulously at the guy and glanced over at the younger officer, who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but where he was standing, right now. Cooper was also forced to hold out his arm in order to hold back his partner’s constant surge, whose presence he could feel pushing on his back. He knew, given half a chance, she would have jumped around him and pummeled the daylights out of this guy. Cooper locked in on their nameplates. The older one was ‘Prentice’ while his young companion’s read ‘Becker’. Cooper decided this was not the time to make a scene, especially with another copper, but he didn’t move out of the patrolman’s way, either. He lifted his arms in mock surrender, holding his position and forcing the two to detour around.

“I just thought I could be of some help, Officer. Sorry.” He apologized.

“No, what you were doing, was putting your big mouth where it didn’t belong, Slick.” The officer snapped.

Cooper then locked eyes with Entwistle, hoping the man would read his mind and walk away. Fortunately, he understood, slowly backing away and headed for the kitchen. Officer Prentice, now emboldened, stared at Cooper, then quickly at McArthur and smiled, but instead of leaving, decided, since he now believed he had the upper hand, to direct one final salvo before leaving.

“Good call, Asshole. You’re not as stupid as you look, after all.” He then looked over at McArthur. “Ma’am.” He said, touching the peak of his hat as a gesture of mannerly behaviour. Prentice then turned and walked out of the diner. The younger officer hesitated briefly, as if to apologize, but then quickly left on his partner’s heels. Cooper eyeballed their unit number as they pulled away. It was a patrol car from North Hollywood. These guys were well out of their jurisdiction. They were either down here for a mail run or just simply passing through.

Once gone, Cooper motioned the proprietor to come over and join them. Kenny was a real decent guy who, along with his wife, Donna, simply wanted to make a living for his family and have some fun doing it. They certainly didn’t need this kind of thing going on. When asked what the dispute was all about in the...

Erscheint lt. Verlag	17.7.2023
Sprache	englisch
Themenwelt	Literatur ► Krimi / Thriller / Horror
ISBN-13	979-8-3509-1358-3 / 9798350913583

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