Fixed in Fear by T. E. Woods

Author:T. E. Woods
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2015-12-08T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 21

“You guys want something to eat?” Bilbo Runyan settled his lanky body down on the top step of Carlton Smydon’s porch. He pulled a pack of Camels from the pocket of his flannel shirt and shook out one filterless cigarette. “I’m not much of a cook or nothing, but I got some cheese and bean burritos I can nuke up.”

Mort noticed Bilbo was more hospitable than he’d been during their previous visit. Was it Larry’s assurances he was interested only in Carlton’s religious artifacts and research material that put the man at ease? Or was it the contents of that small pipe Bilbo just stuffed into the pocket of his sagging sweatpants?

“That’s okay, Bilbo.” Mort followed Larry up the stairs to the front door. “My digestive system’s a little too sleepy to take on burritos this early in the morning.”

“It’s Friday, man.” Bilbo’s eyes were at half-mast. “Don’t need to follow no rules on Friday. That’s why they give it the ‘TGI’ designation. Besides, a burrito always sounds good to me.”

Mort had no doubt.

Larry had wanted to make another pass at Carlton’s office. He’d been sidetracked the first time by the cache of letters from Helen. Mort accompanied him for at least two reasons. First and foremost, he’d be there to support his friend as he plowed through a lifetime of Carlton’s papers. There were sure to be references to Helen, and Mort would be there if Larry needed him. The second reason Mort wanted to join Carlton was he hadn’t yet heard back from Rita Willers. The chief said she was going to interview Blue Dancer herself to see if there was any doubt in her assessment that Bilbo Runyan wasn’t the man she’d dropped off at the sweat lodge the day Carlton and the others were killed. Until Bilbo could be ruled out, Mort wanted to stay close.

But there was another reason Mort was willing to spend his morning standing by Larry as he went through a dead man’s records. He knew Lydia would be using every one of her resources to locate Allie. Until she did, he couldn’t calculate his next move. Mort hated the helplessness of waiting. Even if there was nothing more to be learned from Carlton’s papers, and Blue Dancer was certain Bilbo was not the second killer, he’d rather be chasing dead ends than twiddling his thumbs hoping a phone would ring.

Mort laid a hand on Bilbo’s shoulder. “Enjoy the morning, buddy. Larry and I will be back in Carlton’s office.”

“This may take a while,” Larry warned before entering the house. “If you need to be somewhere, we can lock up after we leave.”

Bilbo shook his mop of uncombed hair. “This is my kingdom, man. Ain’t no other place for me to be. You know the way, right?”

Larry assured him they did.

Carlton’s office was bigger than Mort had expected. The room filled the entire back half of the small house. Windows were centered on the east and west walls, but on this

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.