Checking Out Crime by Laurie Cass

Author:Laurie Cass [Cass, Laurie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2021-04-06T00:00:00+00:00

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Ash waited until I was done talking, then pushed his notepad and pen away and said, “Let me make sure I have this right.” He leaned back in his chair and gave the ceiling a thoughtful look. “Max Compton, your octogenarian friend, recently had two friends die. Both of these men were, as far as we know, approximately the same age as Mr. Compton. For reasons unknown, Mr. Compton is convinced that one or both of his friends died under suspicious circumstances, specifically murder. Mr. Compton is so certain of his convictions that he has reached out to you, asking you to contact us to make sure justice is done.”

Laid out like that in one long thought, it sounded as ridiculous as it had in my head. But Max was my friend, and I owed it to him to make as strong a case as I could.

“Both deaths were relatively unexpected,” I said. “Yes, they were on the elderly side”—I ignored Ash’s raised eyebrows—“but what are the odds of a man having two friends die in such a short time frame?”

“You’re calling a heart attack for a man who’d already had heart attacks ‘relatively unexpected’?” Ash asked, and his calm, reasonable voice made me cringe on the inside.

For Max, I told myself. Though I didn’t believe either death had been due to anything other than natural causes, for Max’s sake I had to try. “And, yes, Fred Hallenius died of heart failure, but he hadn’t had anything else wrong with him.” Especially if you discounted the facts that he was in his eighties, and, according to Max, had smoked like a chimney for years and had high cholesterol.

Ash picked up his pen and started tapping the edge of the table with it. Since I was asking a huge favor, I made a solemn vow to not find it annoying. But since that was close to impossible, I started trying to make up words to fit the rhythm.

Rat-a-tat-tat, this is for Max. Rat-a-tat-tat, Ash needs to think. Rat-a-tat-tat, do not interrupt. Rat-a-tat-tat, this will work out.

“Tell you what.” Ash stopped tapping and I sent up a silent prayer of relief. “I’ll have the medical examiner take a closer look at the investigation reports.”

“Thank you,” I said, smiling gratefully.

“Can’t promise it’ll be soon,” he cautioned. “And we both know what she’ll almost certainly find.”

Nothing, was what she was going to find, but still. “Anything is possible.” I started to stand, then sat back down. Because this was a perfect time to shift into the task Tabitha and I had assigned to me. “Speaking of which, thanks for telling me about Emily Acosta.”

He looked up from the notes he was making on a notepad. “I knew you’d hear eventually and I didn’t want you to get any misinformation.”

Otherwise known as gossip and rumors. “Thanks. But Tabi—” I caught myself. “But I’ve been thinking about Brown’s murder, and I was wondering if you’ve come across the same information I have.”

The pen tapping started again.

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