Chasing The Chameleon – Paul Coggins

Manny returned the gesture. Not a word passed between them. The silent transaction spoke volumes about where Leroy spent his off-duty hours. Since Cash’s last sighting of the agent six months ago, Leroy had packed on ten, maybe fifteen pounds. His ass hung over the seat like saddlebags. If his butt widened any more, he would need two barstools. In a show of solidarity, Leroy elbowed a DEA buddy to his right. Again, no words. He looked to his left at Cash. No hint of recognition.

He turned back to the beer at hand. Cash returned to his beer flight, biding time until Leroy’s colleague bailed at 11:05, leaving Cash and Leroy alone at the bar. Cash leaned over and said, “Hey bud, got the time?” Leroy checked his watch. “Why yes, it’s time for another brewski.”

He belched before giving Cash a straight answer. “I’ll buy,” Cash said. “Pick your poison.” Leroy gave Manny the universal sign for another round and moved to the barstool next to Cash’s. “Don’t recall seeing you before. New here?” “New to Dallas and to this watering hole.” The Shiners arrived, and the two clinked mugs.

Intro­ductions followed. First names only. “Most of the assholes here are cops or exes,” Leroy said, “with a few feds like me thrown in to raise the average IQ. You look like a cop.” Hardly a compliment but exactly what Cash was going for. “Ex,” he said. “Carried a badge in Buffalo for twenty-two years.” He was careful to pick a city where Leroy hadn’t been stationed. “Are you Bureau?” “Them’s fighting words.” Leroy put up his dukes but quickly dropped them.

“DEA all the way. Twenty-four years, seven months, and fifteen days, but who’s counting? Dallas is my fifth and final posting. Figure to settle down here.” “Here in Dallas,” Cash said, “or here at the A-Hole?” Leroy belly laughed. “Hey, that’s not a bad idea. Get Manny to rent me a room in back. Save travel time.” He took a swig. “How about you? Why the move to Big D?”

“Decided it was time to defrost my blue balls. Also moved in with my granddaughter, at least for the time being.” “Makes sense,” Leroy said. “Crashing with family takes a little pressure off your sweet police pension.” “Be even sweeter if I can pick up spare change as a private detective.”

“How’s that working out for you?” Leroy said. “Must be tough to drum up business in a new town.” “Getting tougher all the time. I had an in with an up-and-coming defense lawyer, but the damn fool went and got himself killed.” Leroy recoiled. “Are you talking about Darrell Pendergass?” “Yep.” Leroy leaned over and lowered his voice. “I wouldn’t mention him here. You don’t want your first visit to the A-Hole to be your last.”

“Roger that.

Also by the Author Sting Like a Butterfly The Eye of the Tigress 1kitap1.com/en 1kitap1.com/en A SAVIO REPUBLIC BOOK An Imprint of Post Hill Press ISBN: 979-8-89565-396-8 ISBN (eBook): 979-8-89565-397-5 Chasing the Chameleon © 2026 by Paul Coggins All Rights Reserved Cover Design by Jim Villaflores This book is a work of fiction and a product of the author’s imagination. While some characters, places, and situations are based around real people, locations, and criminal cases, in all other respects any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is purely coincidental.

Where real-life people and criminal cases serve as inspiration, the situations, incidents, and dialogue concerning them are entirely fictional and not intended to depict actual events or commentary. This book, as well as any other Savio Republic publications, may be purchased in bulk quantities at a special discounted rate. Contact [email protected] for more information. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author and publisher.

posthillpress.com New York • Nashville Published in the United States of America 1kitap1.com/en Contents Prologue 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 Chapter Forty-Six Chapter Forty-Seven Chapter Forty-Eight Chapter Forty-Nine Chapter Fifty Chapter Fifty-One Chapter Fifty-Two Chapter Fifty-Three Chapter Fifty-Four Chapter Fifty-Five Chapter Fifty-Six Chapter Fifty-Seven Chapter Fifty-Eight Chapter Fifty-Nine Chapter Sixty Chapter Sixty-One Chapter Sixty-Two Chapter Sixty-Three Chapter Sixty-Four Chapter Sixty-Five Chapter Sixty-Six Chapter Sixty-Seven Chapter Sixty-Eight Acknowledgments About the Author 1kitap1.com/en As always, to Regina and Jessica, whose love of books is second only to their love of family 1kitap1.com/en T Prologue he lies of married men follow a predictable pattern, as Veronica Stoddard had come to learn.

In her line of work, that lesson had kept her alive. Tonight’s “date” fit the pattern. Homer Donahue, surely not his real name, claimed to be single (one Pinocchio), a CEO (two Pinocchios), and looking for a long-term relationship (a whopping four Pinocchios). The makeup mirror in the bedroom stared back at Veronica with two faces: the flawless one the world saw and a work in progress by a magician named Dr. Solomon Katzenbach.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

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• Unique ID: 3cb6d87f806ece80
• File Extension: .pdf
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• Title: –
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• ISBN: 9798895653968, 9798895653975
• Pages: 348
• Language: English (en)

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