Gene Search:
a Collin Carter Mystery
By Kathleen Steed
Copyright © 2012
All rights reserved
Cover illustrated by: Christine Ticali @ https://darkroaddesigns.com/
Unique Book Cover Designs
Featuring stock model
photography by https://storms-stock.deviantart.com/gallery/25645943#/d2v4u6u
Chapter One
Collin was sitting in the cold and dark again. He was in his car, waiting. Missus. Holt had been inside the tiny motel for fifteen minutes. Collin ducked down when he saw the Chevy Camaro park. A nice looking thirty-something exited the car, leaned down to check his hair in the side view mirror, glanced around the parking lot then went inside. It was always the same. These two thought nobody knew their secret. But, Doctor Holt had guessed and Collin was here to confirm, Missus Holt was having an affair. Collin waited two more minutes, grabbed his handgun and camera off the seat next to him and quietly got out of his car. He holstered the gun, slung his camera over his neck and snuck up on the motel.
He slipped around the side of the building. The balconies faced the back. He hoped to get a glimpse of the two through a sliver of space between the curtain and the wall. Ever more slowly he approached. As he peeked through the space between the curtain and the wall he could make out a commotion under the covers of the bed. He raised his camera and took a couple of shots of the blankets even though you couldn’t see who was beneath. Then he was startled by the blankets rising toward the ceiling and falling to the floor. There she was facing the camera. Collin could only get shots of the thirty-something’s back but Amy Holt’s face was clearly visible. And clearly she was enjoying the moment.
Collin tiptoed back around the side of the building. He took a shot of the Camaro with the license plate visible and jumped into his sedan. He had an appointment at Holt Genetics Laboratory (HGL) the next day at noon. This time he had the evidence he was being paid to collect.
Twenty minutes later he opened his townhome door and walked inside. The townhome had two bedrooms and a kitchen dining area that lead into a large living room. It was all on one level. It even had a fenced backyard. Collin slid the gun into the drawer of the end table near the couch and locked it. He left the camera on top of the end table with his keys. He was creeping through his living room to the kitchen when Lily spoke from the hallway just outside the bedrooms.
“Caught ya!”
“Lily! You gave me a heart attack. I was trying not to wake you.”
Collin Carter was a slender man and only five feet six inches tall. His size allowed him to sneak into and around places in his profession as a private investigator. Lily Post was an inch taller than Collin and out weighed him by twenty pounds. Her extra weight suited her well. She was curvaceous with a slender waist.
“Why were you trying not to wake me? Don’t you want to talk to me?”
Collin opened the refrigerator and took out a beer. He asked Lily, “Want one?”
“No. Answer my question Colly.”
Collin didn’t really like it when she called him that. He said, “Lily, it is two a.m. Most people would appreciate not being awakened at two a.m.”
He walked past her to the living room and sat on the couch. She sat down on the chaise opposite him. “I never got to see you at all today. You were sleeping when I left for the hospital and you were gone when I got home.”
He drank some of his beer. “Did you by chance make any dinner? I’m starving.”
“Yes I did. I’ll warm you up a piece of meatloaf.”
“Could I get a kiss first?”
Lily got up and walked over to him. She sat in his lap and smothered him in kisses. She went to the kitchen to get him a plate. She warmed the meatloaf in the microwave and added a small bowl of fruit salad to the plate. He still had some beer left when she brought him the food.
He reached up and kissed her when she handed him the plate. He gobbled down the fruit first.
“I’m going to get paid tomorrow.”
“At last. It took a long time to get the evidence for your client this time.”
“Yeah. They kept the curtains drawn.”
“How did you do it?”
“Remember I told you they were repeating the rendezvous place?”
“Yes, I remember.”
“I got the manager to let me in this morning. I stapled the side of the curtain so it didn’t close flat against the wall.”
“That was clever. The manager didn’t mind?”
“I did it while he wasn’t looking. I’m really glad this one is over.”
Lily was a nurse. Both she and Collin understood the responsibilities of confidentiality. So when they talked about work they never mentioned names. Lily had no idea that Collin had been investigating the wife of wealthy and famous George Holt of Holt Laboratories. Collin finished the meatloaf and his beer.
“Thanks, you make the best meatloaf. I’m sorry I wasn’t here to eat dinner with you.”
“I understand. You go get ready for bed now.”
“Meet you there.”
Lily took his plate and put it into the kitchen sink while Collin prepared for bed.
Chapter Two
Gene Search: A Collin Carter Mystery Page 1