Snakes and Ladders

by Matty Dalrymple

  The older man sighed. “How about the cause of the fire?”

  “Gotta be arson. The fire chief says that there’s not just one origination point—fires started in a number of rooms, all about the same time. It appears that the fire started near the outside walls and worked its way in. We’re guessing someone put a match to the drapes, but not just any old drapes. The bits that are left look like they are impregnated with an accelerant.”

  “What the hell—?”

  “Looks like whoever did the decorating wanted the option to be able to torch the place on demand.”

  “Jesus.” The older man shook his head. “Who are the owners?”

  “Gerard Bonnay and Louise Mortensen. Husband and wife, ran the Vivantem fertility clinic in Center City. Bonnay died back in December, Mortensen is under investigation by the AG’s office. We haven’t been able to locate her yet.”

  The older man sighed again and wiped a hand down his face.

  “Anything else?”

  “Broken vodka bottle in the kitchen.”

  “What?”

  Brady shrugged.

  They stood in silence, watching the fire investigators, dressed in protective gear, clamber over the remains of the building.

  After a moment, the older man said, “Busy night last night. I heard there was a shooting in Kennett Square.”

  “Yeah, some guy mugged behind Dos Sombreros. Took a bullet in the shoulder. He’s at Mercy.”

  “How’s he doing?”

  “Still unconscious, but they say he should make it.”

  “Local?”

  “Don’t know. No wallet, no ID. Folks at the hospital think he might be a doctor. He had some medical-type documents in his pocket.”

  “And they can’t tell who he is based on the documents?”

  Brady shrugged again. “No doctors’ names listed on them. Also, he has a tattoo that’s not like what I would expect a doc to have. A big castle on his arm, with initials worked into it: OR. Not referring to any organization we’re aware of. Maybe a girlfriend.”

  “Run the tattoo through the system, see if there are any hits on it.”

  “We’re on it.”

  The older man took a sip of his cold coffee, grimaced, and tossed out the dregs. “Let’s get the mugging cleared up ASAP. We’re going to be spending a lot of time figuring out what Louise Mortensen and George Millard were up to.”

  Acknowledgments

  Thanks to all the people who shared their expertise on various aspects of the story: Nancy Gable, Jane Gorman, Donna Yates Kling, Jen Lawrence, Vance Martin, and Jeffrey Walton.

  Special thanks to Austin Conley of the Delaware Museum of Natural History; Sergeant Aaron Dick of the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office; David L. Fried, MD, FACP; Ken Fritz, FF/EMT-P; Linda R. Liotti D.O. (a.k.a. author Linda Rawlins); and Sergeant Rodger Ollis of the Coatesville Police Department.

  Thanks to editor Marta Tanrikulu for taking this craft on its shakedown cruise.

  Thanks to Mary Dalrymple for her multiple reads of the evolving book and her unflagging enthusiasm about my authorial endeavors.

  And, as always, thanks to my partner in crime, Wade Walton, for his tireless support and encouragement.

  Any deviations from strict accuracy—intentional or unintentional—are solely the responsibility of the author.

  Also by Matty Dalrymple

  The Sense of Death: An Ann Kinnear Suspense Novel (Book 1)

  The Sense of Reckoning: An Ann Kinnear Suspense Novel (Book 2)

  Close These Eyes: An Ann Kinnear Suspense Short

  May Violets Spring: An Ann Kinnear Suspense Short

  Rock Paper Scissors: A Lizzy Ballard Thriller (Book 1)

  About the Author

  Matty Dalrymple is the author of the Ann Kinnear Suspense Novels The Sense of Death and The Sense of Reckoning, the Ann Kinnear Suspense Shorts, including Close These Eyes and May Violets Spring, and the Lizzy Ballard Thrillers Rock Paper Scissors and Snakes and Ladders. Matty lives with her husband, Wade Walton, and their dogs in Chester County, Pennsylvania, which is the setting for much of the action in The Sense of Death and Rock Paper Scissors. They enjoy vacationing on Mt. Desert Island, Maine, where The Sense of Reckoning takes place, and Sedona, Arizona, the setting for much of Snakes and Ladders.

  Matty is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, and the Brandywine Valley Writers Group.