Laying Ghosts (Dolly Games)
Page 20
As Steve lifted him, someone else slit the rope that secured his hands and he was aware of the tingle of returning circulation in his fingers; painful enough to wake him fully. Blinking, he stared up at Steve and shook his head.
The police detective said, “When Ike called me, I wasn’t about to let you rob the department of arresting that bitch, so we hurried over here with the siren going and what do you suppose we found?”
He moved out of the way and Carl could see Harry Michaelson standing over a body on the floor near the door and as Michaelson turned to retch onto the floor, he saw fully what had been done to Ginny Nelson. Nearly beheaded by the stroke that cut her throat; her head lolled to one side and seemed to be looking down at the welter of intestines that spilled from her slashed stomach. There was a look of shocked surprise on her face and now, it was Carl’s turn to throw up.
* * *
Winter had closed down with a vengeance, coming early this year and leaving the city covered in nearly two feet of snow. Nevertheless, the courts still functioned and Quinton and Erica Nelson’s suit against them had gone forward. This morning, the four of them stood on the steps of the courthouse, chagrined that they had lost the suit, but relieved that the penalty had been less than they expected.
Ike said, “Well, there goes the bonus Webster paid us.”
Frowning down at the sidewalk, cleared of snow, but showing the muddy tracks of countless feet, Julie said, “Yeah, and the reward for finding the stuff in his house.”
Carl lit a cigarette, his mind still on the mystery of who had killed Ginny Nelson, saving his life. The investigation of the crime scene had revealed that she had been about to kill him when she was surprised by whoever had interrupted her plan. He remained silent.
DeeDee said, “Well, at least we didn’t lose anything we can’t live without. The company is still solvent and we can stay in business. They didn’t insist on Carl leaving the company or even giving up the managing partner’s duties. We’ll be alright. We just lost a bunch of money we didn’t really have a chance to get accustomed to having.”
Almost heartbroken, Ike said, “But, Baby! Eight million dollars! We could have hired more operatives and gotten to be a big company!”
Carl said, “There are more important things.”
Remembering that Carl had received no good news regarding the possibility of Marta still being alive, DeeDee said, “That’s right, Carl. We’ve all got our health, the business isn’t in debt and while we might have lost this suit, we have a pile of cases to work on. People understand that we are damned good at what we do and want us to work for them.”
“Well, at least Missy Cuthbert is in prison. She won’t get away with what she and Ginny Nelson did.”
Grinning with satisfaction, Ike said, “I’ll bet she’s some Big Bertha’s plaything right about now!”
Worried, Carl said, “I wish I knew who killed Ginny Nelson. It bothers me that I don’t even know who to thank. For ruining her plans, she might have decided to punish all of us, and start by killing me.”
Carl turned and began walking toward the parking lot down the street and the others followed him. Julie had looked at him with a stony expression when the others had spoken about Marta being dead, but had never told him that Marta had called. She had been surprised when there was no follow-up call and the past month she had spent on tenterhooks, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
As they passed the bank of newspaper boxes, Ike stopped dead, his eyes big and round, staring at them and hurriedly fumbled in his pocket for change. Getting one of the papers from its box, he held it as the others waited for him to catch up to them, the northwest wind blowing the promise of more snow across the city.
Still staring, he turned the paper to show them the headline.
Dolly Dagger Copycat Strikes!
Julie lurched to one side as her foot slipped on a bit of packed snow, her hand going to catch at Carl’s sleeve to keep from falling as she said, “Oh, my God!”
* * *
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If you’ve enjoyed this novel by Derek A. Murphy, then please visit the author’s page on
Amazon.com to select from his other novels.
All available for reading on the Kindle.
Derek A. Murphy
The S T & D Detective Agency saga:
Dolly Games
Laying Ghosts
The author’s post apocalyptic series:
Gulf of the Plains
Gulf of the Plains II: Fog and Bog
The Port Morgan Cycle of Stories: (also contains the S T & D Detective Agency stories)
Taken Apart
Eggs of Empire
Questionable Interests
Cold Feet (Included in The Empty Heart: A Collection)
Other novels by Derek A. Murphy
Congruencies
Behind the Stone
A Taste for Blood
Stitch in Thyme
It Happens Every Day
A Quart of Djinn
The Empty Heart: A Collection (Short Stories)