Dan Sharp Mysteries 4-Book Bundle (143 page)
Nick gave a begrudging laugh. “I hear you.”
“Some days I think the solution is to live
with
somebody. But then I think about it and I don’t like what it says about my independence.”
“Giving it up, you mean?”
“Yeah, that. At times I want to be with someone, but at other time I don’t want to be crowded out.”
Nick waited. “So why are you telling me all this? Are you asking me out or something?”
“Yes, I am officially asking you to go out on a date with me. No commitments, apart from dinner. What do you think?”
“I’d be willing to consider it.”
Dan laughed. “That’s it? Just willing to consider it?”
“It would have to be a decent place. I may be a cop, but I still like good restaurants with nice atmosphere and top-quality food.”
“How about Italian to start?”
Nick laughed again. “When?”
“I think we should begin tonight. No use waiting. I don’t know about you, but I’m already forty. I’m pretty sure neither of us is getting any younger.”
“I agree,” Nick said. “I’m not far behind you in years.”
“Tell you what. I just got home. I’m going to take a shower. Then I am going to make a reservation for two somewhere in the city. I’ll call and tell you where.”
“Sounds good.”
Dan waited a beat. “By the way, you know how you told me your last lover was the best guy you ever met?”
“Yeah?”
“Well, that’s not me. I’m more thorn than rose.”
Nick laughed. “I never said I was perfect either. But he wasn’t really all that perfect, to tell the truth. You know the thing that pissed me off most about him?”
“What?”
“When he wanted out of the relationship, he was so angry he just moved away. He never even called to say goodbye.”
Dan thought about this for a moment. “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t do that. I always say goodbye.”
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Red Cruz, Mark Round, Luba Goy, David Tronetti, Keith Garebian, Sheila McCarthy, Geordie Johnson, Phil Bedard and Larry Lalonde, Tim Leonard, the staff of The One in the Only Café, John Scythes (current owner of the Lockie House), Shannon Whibbs, and the good folks at Dundurn who give me a reason to keep doing what I do. A tip of the hat to Scott and Ken of the Crystal Method for the groovy late-night vibes that kept me up writing way past my bedtime. Thanks also to you, the readers, who write to tell me how much you enjoy Dan and his world!
Copyright © Jeffrey Round, 2015
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise (except for brief passages for purposes of review) without the prior permission of Dundurn Press. Permission to photocopy should be requested from Access Copyright.
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Table of Contents
Prologue
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven
Twenty-Eight
Acknowledgements
Prologue: Toronto 2008
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven
Twenty-Eight
Twenty-Nine
Thirty
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
Dedication
Epigraph
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Acknowledgements
Prologue
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven
Twenty-Eight
Twenty-Nine
Thirty
Epilogue
Acknowledgements