The Missing Piece (40 page)
Authors: Kevin Egan
Foxx and Bev followed at a distance as the detective escorted a handcuffed Braman to the elevator and then across the rotunda and out the front door. They stopped at the top of the steps.
“Third time and the trial still doesn't go forward,” said Bev.
Foxx said nothing. He rapped a pack of cigarettes against the heel of his hand as he watched Bev walk down the steps, her skirt swinging against the backs of her legs. At the curb, the detective bent Arthur Braman into the back of a squad car. Then he and Bev got into a black sedan.
Foxx lit a cigarette. He would smoke his entire ration of six today. Smoking helped him think, and he wanted to think about Gary and Mike and how the Salvus Treasure either corrupted or killed everyone who came near it. There shouldn't be a trial. Not now, not thirty days from now, not ever. The Salvus Treasure, missing piece and all, should stay crated in the basement of the auction house until the ground opened up beneath it and it disappeared forever.
He took a last drag and flicked the butt. It spun out over the steps and landed in a flurry of sparks. A moment later, Ivan swept it up with his broom.
Â
Kevin Egan
graduated with a B.A. in English from Cornell University. He is the author of seven novels and numerous short stories. A self-described nonpracticing attorney, he has spent his entire legal career working in the New York State court system, including lengthy stints as law clerk to two state supreme court justices. He now works in the iconic New York County Courthouse. Egan's short fiction has appeared in
Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Rosebud,
and
The Westchester Review
. He occasionally teaches fiction writing as an adjunct instructor at Westchester Community College and regularly teaches legal writing at Berkeley College in Manhattan.
Â
www.kjeganfiction.com
. You can sign up for email updates
here
.
Â
BOOKS BY
KEVIN EGAN
The Perseus Breed
AS K. J. EGAN
Where It Lies
AS CONOR DALY
Local Knowledge
Buried Lies
Outside Agency
Â
Thank you for buying this
Tom Doherty Associates ebook.
Â
To receive special offers, bonus content,
and info on new releases and other great reads,
sign up for our newsletters.
Â
Or visit us online at
us.macmillan.com/newslettersignup
Â
For email updates on the author, click
here
.
Â
CONTENTS
Â
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.
THE MISSING PIECE
Copyright © 2015 by Kevin Egan
All rights reserved.
Cover design by Drive Communications, NY; cover images © 2015 Shutterstock
A Forge Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
Forge
®
is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.
eBooks may be purchased for business or promotional use. For information on bulk purchases, please contact Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department by writing to [email protected].
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-0-7653-7760-9 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-4668-5677-6 (e-book)
e-ISBN 9781466856776
First Edition: April 2015