Hard Fall: A gripping, noir detective thriller (Thomas Blume series of Hard-Boiled Mysteries, Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

into my office and flicked the switch. “You’re my landlord,” I said, “not my Mommy.”
     
    “Yes, but saving money on electricity will help you stop taking crappy jobs like this one with Anthony Taylor.”
     
    “You heard about that, huh?”
     
    He nodded. “Come on. Let’s eat.”
     
    ***
     
    “I’m done with cases like that,” I told Amir as I polished off my very average meal. The comment was random, a stark contrast from our reminiscing about the past. But I knew why Amir had wanted to have lunch with me. He was checking up on me, plain and simple.
     
    “Good,” Amir said. “I’m glad. But can I ask why?”
     
    “Well, what if this little discovery did push Taylor to kill himself? Without the work I did for him, would he ever have gotten the proof?”
     
    “You can’t do that to yourself,” Amir said. “Why heap guilt on yourself? You’re carrying enough of it already, don’t let it poison you. Besides, I thought you came to London to relieve the grief, figure things out. Not to add to it.”
     
    “Yeah, that was the plan.”
     
    The waiter came by and took our dishes. He also brought me a third beer. Amir glanced at it sadly. He waited for the waiter to leave before he asked me, “Thomas, are you okay?”
     
    “Yes.”
     
    “That’s a very bad lie.”
     
    “You’d prefer a good one?"
     
    “I’d prefer the truth. Why do you continue to do this to yourself?” Amir asked. “All you do is drink and look at those pictures of your wife and child. Neither of those things will bring either of them back, so why do you put yourself through this?”
     
    “I’ve got to.”
     
    “You see the tragedy of all this, my friend, is that you don’t. Go home, find some help. There’s nothing for you in London anymore.”
     
    I swallowed some water, washing down a bite of falafel. I looked Amir in the eyes. “I need to know who did this to them.”
     
    “And all this excessive drinking? You think this will help your investigation?”
     
    I grimaced. “I sleep better when I’m loaded,” I said. The dreams seem to go away. And when I’m awake, the memories don’t hurt as bad if I’m drinking.”
     
    “So this isn’t a purposeful self-destruction? You’re medicating yourself?”
     
    “You could say that.”
     
    He looked to me with the unconditionally loyal eyes of a dear friend. Ever since I had saved his sister, Amir had treated me like family. He joked that we had become soul brothers because I had unintentionally followed him across the globe. “I didn’t know you were a doctor, Thomas,” he finally said.
     
    I sighed. I knew he was right. I was never going to be able to solve Sarah and Tommy’s case if I kept drinking the days away. “I think I have been purposefully putting it off,” I muttered.
     
    “What’s that?” Amir asked.
     
    “I’ve just been going over these case files over and over again. I haven’t been making any forward progress. You’re right. If I want to get to the bottom of this I need to kick the drinking, shape myself up. Then I can start for real.”
     
    Amir sighed, disappointed. “And then where will you be? Still obsessed with your past. Do you think Sarah would want to see you this way? No, she would want you to move on. Focus on your present; your future.”
     
    Not that I had much future, I thought. At least not in London. Even if the cops didn’t deport me, I was going to run out of money soon. Eventually I was going to have to figure out how to get some cash flowing in. Still, the thought of letting Sarah and Tommy’s case go cold made me hate myself. “No,” I shook my head. “This is too important.”
     
    “Why?” Amir demanded. “Why is it important to chase the killers of the dead? What do you hope to accomplish?”
     
    “Justice.”
     
    “You don’t want justice, you want revenge. And with revenge you will find only more pain and more guilt.”
     
    “What would you have me do, huh?” I