Chosen To Die (Alvarez & Pescoli)

But Brewster pinned him harder and started patting him down. Jeremy squirmed. He couldn’t let Heidi’s dad see the pictures she’d been sending him. Brewster would kill them both. “Let me go!”

“I think you’ve got some weed on you, punk!”

“No, I don’t!”

“Stop it, Brewster,” Alvarez warned.

“What is this . . . Oh, here we go.” He reached into Jeremy’s pocket and pulled out his wallet and cell phone.

“Give that back!” Jeremy said, panicked. Oh, God, the guy was going to look at his cell phone. “It’s mine!”

“What’s it got on it? Your dealer’s number?”

“No, Mr. Brewster, please, don’t—” The change 246

Lisa Jackson

of tone was a mistake. Jeremy saw it in the flare of interest in Brewster’s eyes.

“Then you’ve got nothing to hide.”

“Isn’t this an invasion of privacy or—?” Jeremy’s voice dropped as Brewster opened the phone and dark red color climbed up his neck to burst into his face, so that his blue eyes looked about to pop from his head.

“What the hell is this?” he hissed. “What did you do to my daughter?”

“Nothing!”

“Are you trying to tell me that Heidi sent you these of her own free will, you little snot?” He was advancing on Jeremy again and this time Alvarez stood between them.

“Stand down, sir! If you don’t stop harassing this boy, I’m going to arrest you.” Alvarez was all business. Jeremy thought she might draw her damned weapon.

“Arrest me? Are you out of your mind, Detective?” Brewster snarled.

“You don’t want the department to face assault charges. Sir.” Her voice was like steel. Brewster snorted, “This punk’ll hide behind the law over my dead body.”

“Fine!” Before he could think, Jeremy rounded on the man, his fist smashing into Brewster’s jaw. The older man’s head snapped back and he went reeling against the far wall, Jeremy’s cell phone clattering to the floor. Jeremy looked down and saw the picture, the one of Heidi in the Santa hat and red panties, her beautiful tits with their dark nipples completely bare while she was sucking on a candy cane and winking at the camera.

Oh, Jesus.

CHOSEN TO DIE

247

“You little pervert!” Cort Brewster sputtered, back on the balls of his feet and rubbing his cheek, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction. “You’re under arrest!” He glanced at Alvarez. “Read him his rights, Detective, and make sure he understands that he’s in my custody now.”

“Sir, his mother is—”

“Doesn’t matter.” Brewster pointed a shaking finger at Jeremy. “This kid’s a troublemaker. Walkin’ a thin line. Now put his butt in jail. He assaulted me. The way I figure it, we’re doing his mother a favor.”

Brewster, looking like he would like to kill Jeremy, turned on his heel and strode out of the room.

“That was a dumb thing to do,” she hissed to Jeremy once they were alone. “Real dumb.”

“He’s an asshole.”

“And the undersheriff.”

“He wanted to fight me.”