Murder Lake
Page 6
Once I started looking, it was easy to build a case against Leslie Holloway.
There were plenty of former high school classmates who would admit to rumors about Leslie and Maddie’s friendship. Maddie’s high school diary confirmed it beyond a shadow of a doubt. Holloway heard the rumors and went to confront his daughter. Terrified, she confessed. Holloway had her sent to a boarding school in Europe. She’d then gone to college in New York City. It had been years before she’d come back to Good Isle.
Once they had a warrant, they’d gathered a mountain of evidence from Maddie’s apartment, including her cell phone and laptop, which included messages from Leslie. More than enough to convict her of first-degree murder.
Leslie, of course, wouldn’t get to enjoy her inheritance. We arrested her even though she would no doubt hire a high-powered attorney; it was as solid a case as I’d ever seen. In fact, I was fairly certain a plea agreement would eventually be reached.
The arrest made the national papers, thanks to the Holloway name.
Maura came up to me at the grocery store in tears and hugged me. She wanted to thank me for making sure nobody blamed George for those awful crimes. Her words, not mine. And I had Eleanor, the neighbor, bringing me cookies since I’d been “such a dear” when she’d reported the crime scene. And Dr. Khatri’s brother who came to claim the body had shaken my hand for a full thirty seconds.
Even Donovan stopped griping at me for a few days.
Best of all, Maura had given me one of her hats. It was a derby with a green clover on it.
Maura suggested I get an Irish setter to match.
I told her I would think about it.
27
I was taking a break from renovations when the call came in. I hurried to the kitchen to wash my hands. The caller I.D. flashed up at me and I rolled my eyes.
“Well, well, if it isn’t my least favorite sibling.”
“I’m your only sibling,” John replied.
“Nope. I have a sister-in-law too. She counts.”
I grabbed a glass of water.
“I saw your name in the paper,” John said. “I was expecting it to be a scandal, like you having an affair with the zookeeper up there or something. But it looks like you actually solved a case. Congrats.”
It’s how the Rockne family worked. You always had to surround a compliment with sarcasm.
On one end of the spectrum was the Hallmark family, on the other end, the Rocknes.
“You don’t even know the half of it,” I admitted.
I wandered back towards the foyer as I explained the case to my brother. At the end of it, John gave a low whistle. “Sounds like you really landed in the thick of it. And here I was thinking that Good Isle would be too boring for you. Maybe they should change the town name to Murder Lake.”
“Boredom is in the eye of the beholder,” I said.
I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and turned. It looked like Dawkins was walking towards my driveway.
“So does this make you long for home?” John said. “I mean, I know you miss me, and were finally able to achieve something without my help. But does all this gruesome fun make you miss Grosse Pointe?”
As Dawkins got closer, I could see that he was holding a bottle of wine. I remembered his teasing the other day about us drinking just for fun and not because of a case. I found myself smiling before I realized it.
“I do miss you,” I told John. “Kind of like when an infection clears up and you still want to scratch it.”
He laughed and we said goodbye.
The doorbell rang.
It appeared that I had a gentleman caller.
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About the Author
Dan Ames is a USA TODAY Bestselling Author and winner of the Independent Book Award for Crime Fiction.
www.authordanames.com
dan@authordanames.com
Also by Dan Ames
The JACK REACHER Cases #1 (A Hard Man To Forget)
The JACK REACHER Cases #2 (The Right Man For Revenge)
The JACK REACHER Cases #3 (A Man Made For Killing)
DEAD WOOD (John Rockne Mystery #1)
HARD ROCK (John Rockne Mystery #2)
COLD JADE (John Rockne Mystery #3)
LONG SHOT (John Rockne Mystery #4)
EASY PREY (John Rockne Mystery #5)
BODY BLOW (John Rockne Mystery #6)
THE KILLING LEAGUE (Wallace Mack Thriller #1)
THE MURDER STORE (Wallace Mack Thriller #2)
FINDERS KILLERS (Wallace Mack Thriller #3)
DEATH BY SARCASM (Mary Cooper Mystery #1)
MURDER WITH SARCASTIC INTENT (Mary Cooper Mystery #2)
GROSS SARCASTIC HOMICIDE (Mary Cooper Mystery #3)
KILLER GROOVE (Rockne & Cooper Mystery #1)
BEER MONEY (Burr Ashland Mystery #1)
THE CIRCUIT RIDER (Circuit Rider #1)
KILLER’S DRAW (Circuit Rider #2)
TO FIND A MOUNTAIN (A WWII Thriller)
STANDALONE THRILLERS:
THE RECRUITER
KILLING THE RAT
HEAD SHOT
THE BUTCHER
BOX SETS:
AMES TO KILL
GROSSE POINTE PULP
GROSSE POINTE PULP 2
TOTAL SARCASM
WALLACE MACK THRILLER COLLECTION
SHORT STORIES:
THE GARBAGE COLLECTOR
BULLET RIVER
SCHOOL GIRL
HANGING CURVE
SCALE OF JUSTICE