Back in Black (McGinnis Investigations #1) - Rhys Ford Page 0,77
out for the evening with Ichi, I’d been left on my own, and I was looking forward to getting myself sick on processed foods, drinking a few beers, and then falling asleep on the couch until he came home.
“He’s going to give me shit about not eating vegetables,” I muttered to myself, looking into the drink fridge for something to go with my sandwiches. “Does pumpkin ale count as a vegetable? Screw it, I’d rather have a Harp.”
I’d just finished pulling Honey’s snack out of the microwave when someone knocked on the door. Catching myself before I tossed the dog her sandwich from the kitchen, I called her over to heel so she would follow me into the foyer, where I could give her cheese and bread without her thinking she was getting away with something. Another knock on the door sounded before I could open it, and a quick check through the peephole showed me a very haggard-looking O’Byrne standing on my front stoop.
“You okay?” I stepped aside, and after I opened the door, I was chagrined I hadn’t answered it immediately, considering how tired she looked. It was still early, about eight in the evening, but I knew the hours an LAPD detective worked. It wasn’t a nine-to-five job by any means, and the truly dedicated usually work themselves into the ground every day, only to wake up the next morning to do it all over again. O’Byrne was definitely one of those cops. As she went by me, something Jae-like crawled up out of me from wherever it’d been hiding and came out of my mouth. “Have you eaten? Let me get you some food.”
“Food would be good if you got some, but I’ve got to ask you a few things officially first.” She sniffed at the air. “Something burning?”
“I made grilled cheese.” She nodded, and once again I reassured myself that O’Byrne was good people. Only the true connoisseur of trash food understood a delicate touch of burn was needed on the bread to make it a true grilled cheese sandwich. “Want to come into the kitchen and talk first? I could make you a couple. Dog will probably be happy. Means she’ll get another end piece if I can dig it out.”
“This is actually kind of serious, McGinnis,” Dell replied, pulling out her notebook from her jacket. “When I say officially, I mean I actually have to question you about your whereabouts this afternoon and early this evening. Is Jae around? It might be best if we have privacy while I take care of this.”
“He’s out with Ichi. They’re probably not going to be back until around midnight. It’s just me, Honey here, and Neko, but that’s it.” The hunger I’d stoked up in anticipation of my sandwiches quickly faded away. O’Byrne was deadly serious, wearing a cop face without any hint of friendship in it. “What’s this about? Do I need to sit down for this?”
“We can take this into the living room and get it over with,” O’Byrne suggested. “And I hate to ask you this, but is there anything on you that I need to be worried about? Gun? Knife?”
I stopped midstep on my journey toward the living room and turned back to face her. Something definitely had gone wrong, and I was now suddenly in O’Byrne’s crosshairs. It was hard not to be resentful of it, especially after everything we’d gone through, but I also understood she had a job to do, even if it meant I was in the hateful position of being under suspicion for something I didn’t even know what it was yet.
After taking a deep breath, I answered her calmly, “I’ve got a couple of Glocks in a gun safe over there in the hall closet and another one upstairs with a trigger lock in the dresser. The only knife I’ve touched recently was the butter knife I used on the bread for my sandwiches.”
“Would you have a problem turning over your weapons if I asked for them?” She studied me carefully, her dark eyes unreadable and hard.
“What exactly do you think I’ve done?” There was every possibility O’Byrne was there to take me in for something. I just didn’t know what. “And no. You want my weapons? You can take them. Just give me a receipt so I get them back. Now you going to tell me what’s going on? Or am I going to have to sit in the back of a cop car and