Walk in Darkness - A Thriller (Jon Stanton Mysteries) by Victor Methos Page B

like some bulb dangling from the sky. Then a sound nearby broke the peace of the moment: tires screeching, and he looked over and saw a Volkswagen Beetle tearing out of the parking lot farther down the beach.
    He turned back to the sea and watched the waves come. There were twenty or so surfers still out there, catching wave after wave, hoping each set would be the one they would go back to their parties and talk about , the one that flung them twenty feet or dragged them under and nearly drowned them.
    His cell phone was next to him and he toweled off and dialed Melissa’s number.
    “Hey, Jon.”
    “Hey.”
    “I hear waves. You at the beach?”
    “Yeah, I’ve really gotten into night surfing now. You and the boys should come out with me.”
    “You know I don’t surf.”
    “I could teach you.”
    “Like how you taught me to drive a stick?”
    “That crappy seven hundred dollar car was all I had and you nearly destroyed the transmission. We had to stop.”
    She laughed softly. “I’ll never forget your face after the first few times we heard that awful grinding sound. You were sweet to let me keep trying as long as you did.”
    He looked up to the sky. “I wish you could see the moon the way I’m seeing it now. It’s so clear it feels like it’s taking up the whole sky.”
    “I’m lying in bed. I can see it through the window. Is it true more crimes happen during full moons?”
    “Yes.”
    “Why?”
    “I don’t know. The moon seems to have some sort of psychological effect on us, but science hasn’t caught up to superstition yet. We’re not really sure why.”
    There was silence between them a few seconds and she sighed. “I miss you.”
    “I miss you too.”
    “Are you coming to pick up the boys this weekend?”
    “Yeah. I’d like for you to come with us. I thought maybe we’d hit the zoo.”
    “I can’t, I have to work. One of the girls quit and I was given all her clients. It’s nice ‘cause it’s so much more money, but I don’t like having to work on the weekends.”
    Stanton counted three waves as they sat quietly on the phone. But it wasn’t an awkward silence , more a silence bred from the comfort they felt around each. “I better go. I just wanted to talk to you right now.”
    “Okay. Be careful, Jon.”
    “I will. I’ll see you when I pick up the boys.”
    After he hung up he got his board and headed back to his apartment. It was Friday night and there was a line of cars all headed to beach parties that had barely gotten underway. A car full of girls hollered at him as he crossed the street and he waved.
    When he got back to his building, there was a man sitting in one of the chairs in the lobby. He looked familiar though Stanton couldn’t place where he’d seen him. The man rose as he came in. He was chewing gum and he spit it out into an ashtray before walking over to him.
    “Detective Stanton,” he said, holding out his hand, “Lieutenant Ransom Talano. Pleasure, Detective. I’ve heard a lot of good things.”
    Stanton shook his hand. “Have we met before?”
    “No, not that I’m aware of. I’m just doing some follow-up on the Darrell Putnam case. I’m sure you know by now the family’s filed a lawsuit, so I’ve just been assigned to make sure all the T’s are crossed. You know how it is.”
    “I didn’t know that’s all IAD did. Just cross T’s.”
    He was silent a moment before saying, “Why would you think I’m with IAD?”
    “Your firearm’s on your left side but you shook with your right and threw out your gum with your right. Most officers keep their firearm on the side of their dominant hand for a controlled draw. The only division I know that doesn’t is IAD, because it’s annoying to bump your sidearm while filling out paperwork.”
    He smiled and pointed at him with his index finger. “You are good. I heard as much. One of the best on the force is what everyone keeps telling me.”
    “Why are you here, Ransom? Is it to give me rope to