Hannibal Jones - 04 - Damaged Goods by Austin S. Camacho

Author:Austin S. Camacho [Camacho, Austin S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery
ISBN: 9780976218135
Google: gKATxAM7iGIC
Amazon: 0976218135
Goodreads: 1579076
Publisher: Intrigue Publishing
Published: 2005-12-16T13:00:00+00:00

* * * * *

Ben Blair’s home office was both smaller and simpler than Hannibal expected. The cherry wood desk appeared to take up most of the space, with three tiers of open shelves in place of a traditional hutch. The phrase “organized disorder” came to Hannibal’s mind as he stepped in. Papers and computer discs covered the desk and all three shelves, even crowding the flat screen monitor, but Hannibal suspected that Blair knew what each was, and that every sheet of paper was exactly where it belonged. An acoustic guitar standing in the far corner struck him as the one incongruous note.

Hannibal stood quiet while Blair tapped at a keyboard with steady intensity, like a virtuoso charging through the end of a Dvorak sonata. When he reached the finale, he released a big breath and turned his easy, boyish smile on Hannibal. The straw thatch on his head was uncombed and one could hardly guess that seconds ago this man in a faded Planet Hollywood tee shirt and shorts was directing a billion dollar empire through his simple Dell computer.

“So, Mr. Jones, what do we know that we didn’t know forty-eight hours ago?”

“Well, as I just told Anita, I’ve caught a break in the search for Rod Mantooth. He left his car at a shop for repair and I’ll be alerted when he returns for it.”

Blair waved Hannibal to a chair. Not until he sat did he realize that Blair was burning incense in the room. He wasn’t sure, but he thought the scent was called chamomile. Hannibal got a mental picture of Blair, relaxing like a sixties hippie, strumming a tune in his incense fogged room, maybe getting high.

“That’s not catching a break,” Blair said, crossing his right ankle over his left knee. “That’s due diligence. I knew you were the right man for this job.”

“Thanks. I think it will do a lot for Anita’s self-esteem if this man is made to pay for hurting her.”

Blair nodded. “Unfortunately, it might be impossible to prove that he’s committed a crime. What about the property he stole? Do you think you’ll be able to recover it? Or is there any evidence that he’s already sold it?” Blair maintained his usual casual attitude, but the fingers of his left hand drummed a rhythm on the desk and his right foot, shook frantically in space.

“Interesting that you didn’t ask if I’ve learned what he took. But, you’ve known all along, haven’t you? Or at least suspected, right?”

Blair’s smile didn’t drop, but it hardened. “I’m not sure I get your meaning.”

“It never occurred to me that you knew anything about your cleaning woman’s father,” Hannibal said, “but Anita says you knew enough to tell her that he was a genius. I’m thinking you suspected from the beginning that the only thing he’d hide for her that could be of great value was some new pharmaceutical breakthrough. Then I remembered that among your holdings is an on-line pharmaceutical company.”

Blair lowered his foot to the floor and sat forward just a bit.

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