CHAPTER 15 - DRINKING & DARKNESS

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Another night, another bar.

Cromwell is nodding off near the end of the bar. Frowning, the bartender glances his way and shakes his head. The detective notices and sneers. The day’s excitement is on playback in his head.

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Over and over again he sees himself grabbing Mr. Swier’s neck, slamming is head on the interrogation room table, and pulling his pistol on him; grinding into his temple.

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Cromwell snaps out of it and heads to the car. Whether he can put it far enough out of mind to sleep through the night, he can only hope, but his “supper” of alcohol may put an end to it.

“Ring….Ring…” Cromwell’s cell phone is going off.

“This is Cromwell” He answers and peers at the daylight. “Yeah, I know where it is. Give me ten minutes,” he answers.

Cromwell walks into a restaurant and glances around.

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He sees Gary grinning at him like the Cheshire cat, and joins him at the booth.

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“I’m so glad you could join me, Detective.”

“What do you want, Gary?” Cromwell asks.

“That depends on what you have.”

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A plastic smile appears and Mr. Swier lightly rubs his bruised temple.

“I figured I had better sort this out before the evidence turns up missing, right, Detective?”

Cromwell wonders whether he’s talking about the video footage from the interrogation room or the bruise left by the pistol.

Gary glances left and taps his bruise repeatedly. His actions answer the question in Cromwell’s mind, which means he’s still no closer to understanding what happened to the video.

“Gary, I don’t apologize for what happened to you. You were asking for it. As far as I know, you won’t stand a chance at proving anything either. It’ll be the word of a murder suspect against the man trying to bring him to justice, and that’s more motive than anyone will require for your sorry attempt at an accusation.”

“I’ll call your bluff right now; I know you’ll never risk it, so let’s move on to business. I’ll need to see your earnings for the last year. You can pull up your bank account activity on this laptop.”

Mr. Swier slides the computer across the table to Cromwell.

“Since you’re a single man and a homeowner, I see no reason why you can’t get by on about a third of what you make. The rest can be withdrawn in cash every payday and given to me in person. I’ll also need to see any savings accounts you have, so I can determine a fair price for my cooperation.”

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Cromwell peers across the table. “You want to go for a ride instead?”

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“So you can finish the job?!? Really, Cromwell, death doesn’t scare me, but I’d rather kick back and enjoy the easy life for a while first, while I watch you suffer and rot away.”

Gary’s smug smirk only adds to Cromwell’s frustrated rage. He slowly begins to reach down towards his hip…

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THE END OF CHAPTER 15

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TO READ THE PREVIOUS CHAPTERS, CLICK BELOW:

• CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

• CHAPTER 2: THE FUNERAL

• CHAPTER 3: MONDAY, & FREEDOM

• CHAPTER 4: TUESDAY

• CHAPTER 5: INTERROGATION

• CHAPTER 6: PROBATION

• CHAPTER 7: RAY’S TURN

• CHAPTER 8: ICE CREAM

• CHAPTER 9: LATE NIGHT

• CHAPTER 10: WRESTLING

• CHAPTER 11: THURSDAY: MORE QUESTIONS

• CHAPTER 12: WHAT HAPPENED?

• CHAPTER 13: PHONE CALLS

• CHAPTER 14: GAME OVER

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Thank you, and stay tuned for LOVE LIKE HIS : Chapter 16 - Coming soon to a steemit near you

Also, if you enjoyed this chapter, let me know by leaving a comment! Thanks

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