Gone to Darkness (Sydney Rose Parnell) by Barbara Nickless

Author:Barbara Nickless [Nickless, Barbara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-06-01T16:00:00+00:00

Outside, we stood in the chilly shadow of the hotel. Up and down the street, lights came on against an early dusk.

Bandoni’s color was high. He tugged at the knot in his tie. “Nice fucking family. Whatever the parents got left between them, this death is gonna blow them apart.”

“I got the impression they haven’t been all that together for a long time.”

“I’ll bet Hal Asher played his sons against each other every chance he got. His idea of motivation. And the mom just ducked when the dishes flew.”

“Harsh.”

“Call it as I see it. What’d you think?”

“We need to look into this seduction community. Talk to Riley Lynch. See if he can identify Craze and the other man in the photo.”

“I start needing someone to point out the obvious, I’ll get a furry partner of my own.”

I patted Clyde’s head. “Not sure you could keep up. We also need to find the neighbor or friend who took the photo.”

“I’ll get patrol to recanvass the neighborhood.” Bandoni dug out a cigarette, patted his pockets for a lighter, and swore. “You got a match?”

“Sorry.”

“Damn it.” He shoved the cigarette back. “I had a chat with Smith and Wesson about Water Resources. Noah was a good employee. Liked by the handful of people who worked with him.”

“A couple of people have mentioned Noah and climate change in the same breath. Anything threatening about their environmental stance?”

“Nah. The company seems invested in conservation and resource management. And they’re careful to get input from all concerned parties before they start a project. Farmers. Recreationists. Indigenous populations.” The wind ticked up, and he shoved his hands in his pockets. “Unless something bites us in the back, it’s safe to put that line of inquiry on the back burner.”

“When were you going to share that with me?”

“Now. And while we’re crossing our t’s.” He held up three fingers. “One, no one in the sex business has heard of the Superior Gentlemen. Two, Noah never made a move on anyone at his gym. Not, at least, that management got wind of. And three, none of my contacts in the LGBTQ community has ever heard of Noah Asher.” He lowered his hand. “Which means we still don’t know why the fuck a guy who called himself a pickup artist was wearing a dress.”

“Progress by elimination?”

“What this job is.”

“We know almost as little as we did at the start of all this.” I zipped my coat. “Who did Noah betray? One of his so-called loser geek friends?”

“Why don’t I have a chat with his students? Rivero and Markey. See if I can get a few names. And I’ll get someone on the squad to check out their alibis.” Bandoni absently scratched his cheek. “As for the Superior Gentlemen, our friend Riley Lynch should be able to shed some light. I want you to pull up his DMV data. And see if he’s got a record. Especially for assault or battery. Or stalking. We’ll have a chat with him tonight after our date with the punks.

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