A Witch Steps into My Office: A Noir Urban Fantasy Novel (Alexander Southerland, P.I. Book 2) by Douglas Lumsden

Author:Douglas Lumsden [Lumsden, Douglas]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Sort2
Published: 2020-08-07T22:00:00+00:00

***

The Shipper home was a beehive of activity when we arrived there. Since it was a crime scene, we had to sign in with the sergeant at the front door. Scanning the names on the list, I was surprised to see a familiar one.

Kalama saw it, too, and looked up at me. “What’s Lubank doing here?”

I shrugged. “Beats the hell out of me. Let’s go find out.”

We walked past a cop carrying a loaded cardboard box, presumably filled with evidence from the late Dwayne Shipper’s room, out the front door.

Kalama scowled. “That’s probably the kid’s porno collection. The boys always find some justification to collect that kind of shit, but in this case it might be legitimate evidence. You’ll never guess what was on the little pervert’s computer last night when the killer caught him.”

“Do I get three tries?”

“I’ll spare you the effort. The vic was watching video of his stepmother sunbathing nude in the back yard. From the angle it looks like he took it himself through his bedroom window with his phone. We found a bottle of baby lotion and a box of tissues on the floor. And the kid wasn’t wearing pants.”

I shook my head. “Figures.”

We walked through the house to the dining room, where we found Mrs. Shipper sitting at the table with her stepdaughter, Kaylee. Standing next to Kaylee, head barely clearing the tabletop, was Rob Lubank. A stack of three or four stapled sheets of paper lay in front of Mrs. Shipper, and Lubank was holding out a pen.

“Sign the agreement, Mrs. Shipper,” the lawyer was saying. “It’s in the best interests of all parties.”

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“Southerland! Th’fuck you doing here? This is a business matter that doesn’t concern you, so butt out.” The lawyer turned back to Mrs. Shipper and put a smile on his face. “The sooner we get this done, the less you’ll have to put up with bums like this guy padding through your lovely home.”

Mrs. Shipper turned and favored me with a sunny smile. “Hi, Alex. It’s good to see you again.”

“What’s going on?” I repeated.

“Kaylee has made me an offer through her attorney, Mr. Lubank. I may get to continue living in this house after all.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. Isn’t that generous of my stepdaughter? All I have to do is sign this agreement waiving my rights to Dwayne’s share of my late husband’s inheritance.”

“Is it a good deal?” Given Lubank’s presence, all I knew for sure is that the little bloodsucking leech would be walking away with a big pot of dough if Mrs. Shipper put her signature on that agreement.

“Mr. Lubank assures me that it is.” Mrs. Shipper put a schoolgirl smile on her face. “But I don’t know if he’s aware of the fact that I spent several years as a legal secretary, and that I’ve typed up hundreds of documents like this one. So if the learned counsellor will keep his pen in his pocket for a few more minutes, I’ll glance through this and find out just what kind of offer my darling stepdaughter is making me.

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