Deadly Gamble: The First Charlie Parker Mystery

by Connie Shelton

  "Charles Tompkins is an investment banker, isn't he? He probably just wanted to hush it up about his own unwise money management. I'm sure it was nothing personal toward you." he said. "You can press charges on the tire slashing," he continued, shuffling the papers together inside the Detweiller file. "As for being followed home, you don't have any proof of that, do you? And no harm was done."

  It was about what I expected from him. I told him not to worry about the tire. I left feeling a little down. I was poised to turn out of the downtown police station parking lot, when a thought hit me. I had to make one more visit to Larry Burke.

  The red sports car was backing out of his driveway when I arrived. I sped ahead to cut him off, honking wildly.

  "What the hell. . .?" Burke jumped from his car, ready for a fight.

  "Just a couple of quick questions, Larry." I huffed the words out as I ran up the driveway.

  "What questions? I thought you were done with this."

  "I'm just curious. Charles Tompkins had won big on a horse called Bet The Farm. Two days later Gary headed for Vegas, with you. Gary didn't skip out; he came back. But where's the money? Tompkins never got it."

  Burke's perfectly capped teeth gleamed as he smiled. "This is rich, babe, I'll tell you."

  I let the unwanted familiarity slide past.

  "Old Gary did get greedy. He wanted to keep that money. Said Tompkins was a jerk who didn't need more than he already had. See, Gary had a real attitude about those people at that snooty country club. Couldn't believe they could have all the shit they had, and still want more."

  "So he decided to keep a chunk of it for himself."

  "Sure. Was Tompkins gonna make a big stink about it? And lose his reputation as an investment banker? Hell, a hundred grand sounds like a lot to you and me, but that guy takes home three times that much every year."

  So, what meant more to him, a one-time jackpot or keeping the cushy job? I had a pretty good idea.

  I filled in the blank. "So, Gary took the money to Vegas and the two of you blew it having the time of your lives."

  He chuckled. "Actually, no. He had some other money, about five grand."

  From the sale of Stacy's watch.

  "We spent that. He took that whole hundred grand from the other deal and set up some kind of trust fund for his kid."

  "What!"

  "Yeah, had a lawyer do it up and all. I think the kid's supposed to get it when he turns twenty-one."

  How ironic. A few more years and Josh would have been rich on his own. Now, I felt sure an investigation would take place into all Detweiller's business. As a convicted felon, Josh couldn't inherit, and if they dug deep enough they'd find out the money really belonged to Tompkins. His career would probably be ruined, but he'd get the hundred thousand. Of course, if Josh were never convicted...

  Three days later I was sitting in my office, tying up loose ends. Stacy's final billing had gone out and I was now back on track with my tax returns, feeling better because I would get everything filed on time. I'd resolved not to worry about the outcome of Josh's trial. The little bit of press coverage I'd heard on the case only served to make me angry. It appeared that Josh had indeed gotten himself a good lawyer.

  My travel agent sent my plane tickets and hotel confirmation for my vacation to Kauai. Six weeks away and believe me, I'm counting the days.

  Author’s Note

  I really hope you enjoyed reading Deadly Gamble, the first book in my Charlie Parker mystery series. If so, please tell your friends! You can also follow my blog, visit my website, (where you can subscribe to my free mystery newsletter) and follow me on Twitter @mysteries4U

  As of the publication of this e-book, in late 2009, there are eleven books in the Charlie Parker series, with more to come soon. And I will have updates and I hope some surprises in store in the coming months, which I will announce through my newsletter.

  Besides writing my own books, I also teach a writing course, so if you’ve ever had a yearning to write your own stories you can subscribe to my free fiction writing tips and find out more about my methods at Novel In A Weekend.

  Happy writing and happy reading!!

  With my best wishes,

  Connie Shelton

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