Dead Man's Puzzle by Parnell Hall

Author:Parnell Hall
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Macmillan
Published: 0100-12-31T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 35

Chief Harper wrestled George Brooks into the kitchen. Rick Reed had roused the husband from his funk. After being nearly catatonic, the man was livid.

“Son of a bitch!”

“Easy,” Harper said. “Easy.”

“My wife is dead! And then I hear it’s his fault!”

“It’s not his fault.”

“Oh, no? What’s this about an interview?”

“He’s a reporter. They interview people. Sometimes they’re irresponsible.”

“Irresponsible!”

Cora peered over Chief Harper’s shoulder. “Someone killed your wife. That’s who you’re really angry at.”

“I don’t need your amateur psychology!”

“But you need to calm down.” With Chief Harper’s help, Cora managed to guide Brooks into a seat at the kitchen table. “Look here. Whoever did this will not get away with it. I promise you that.”

Brooks blinked.

Cora Felton was decked out in her finest Miss Marple attire, a white blouse and tweed skirt, and she looked as she did in the picture that adorned her Puzzle Lady column, like everyone’s favorite grandmother.

“You promise me?”

“I’m tougher than I look, buster. We’re gonna get this guy, but we’re gonna need your help. You need to calm down, answer Chief Harper’s questions, help him do his job.”

Brooks glared at her a moment. Then his lip trembled, and he heaved a huge sigh. “I can’t believe it. I simply can’t believe it.”

“Easy,” Chief Harper said. “I know this is hard, but we have to do it. You think you can answer questions?”

“Yeah.”

“You were gone all day?”

“I was in New York City.”

“On business?”

“I work in New York.”

“What do you do?”

“I work for an insurance company. What difference does it make? How could this happen?”

“What did you do after work?”

“I went out with the guys.”

“Guys from the office?”

“That’s right.”

“Where’d you go?”

“Huh? Oh, have some drinks. Shoot some pool.”

“You didn’t get home until eleven-thirty?”

“That’s not late.”

“You got to the house and found us here?”

“That’s right.”

“And then you went upstairs. With no idea what you would find?”

“Of course not.”

“Your wife was home alone?”

“Yes.”

“She was in her nightgown. What time does she go to bed?”

“When she gets tired.”

“Eleven-thirty wasn’t early for her to go to bed?”

“No. What are you getting at?”

“Just trying to get the general picture. When was the last time you saw your wife alive?”

He shuddered at the question. “When I left for work this morning.”

Cora leaned in. “Did you speak to her during the day?”

He frowned. “Why do you ask?”

“I’m just wondering if you did.”

“I called her to say I’d be late.”

“When was that?”

“In the afternoon. I don’t remember what time.”

“Before you went out with the boys?” Cora said.

“Yes. That’s right.”

“Hmm.”

Brooks looked at her.

Harper jumped back in. “Does your wife work?”

“No, she doesn’t.”

“She was home all day?”

“Yes.”

“Alone?”

Brooks moaned slightly. “I didn’t think.”

“Of course not. How could you?”

“Well, the Overmeyer murder might have been a hint,” Cora said dryly.

Brooks glared. So did Chief Harper. Neither man could quite believe she’d said that.

“Sorry,” Cora said. “But we’re tiptoeing around the subject here. Which can only make it worse. Mr. Brooks, can you think of anyone who’d want to harm your wife?”

“Juliet? No. Of course not.”

“Do you think it’s true?

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.