Hellhound On My Trail by J.D. Rhoades

Author:J.D. Rhoades [Rhoades, JD]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
Publisher: Polis Books
Published: 2017-01-16T16:00:00+00:00

MADDOX COULD see as he entered the sickroom that it was one of Trammell’s bad days, the kind he always thought might be the last. The old man lay in the hospital bed he’d had moved into the sunroom, the natural light only serving to make him seem more pale. The cancer had melted away fat, then muscle, seemingly leaving nothing behind but baggy, wrinkled, nearly translucent skin lying slackly over bone that seemed ready to snap at too hard a touch. His breath came in long, wet, shuddering snores.

Maddox hated to wake him. He got so little rest these days as the agony stabbed and prodded him. Trammell had told Maddox he fully expected to go to Hell for some of the things he’d done, and now maybe the devils were getting an early start. It had been the kind of dark joke his old mentor had been fond of. Maddox, ever the faithful mentee, had usually laughed along, but that time he couldn’t bring himself to even fake a laugh. He didn’t believe in Hell anyway. From what he’d seen on Earth, there was no need.

Maddox had been walking as softly as he could into Trammell’s room, but the old man’s eyes snapped open, the piercing gaze fixing Maddox like a prison camp spotlight. Maddox froze. Trammell took a long, wheezing inhalation that ended in a gurgling cough. He tried to push himself to a sitting position with arms like twigs, then fell back with a groan. He looked up at the ceiling, panting as if he’d just run the hundred-meter dash. When he’d caught his breath, the old man lay there wheezing for a moment before he spoke.

“You got a face screwed up tight as a cat’s ass,” he said, the words coming out in a grating rasp. “What’s the problem?”

“I’m afraid it’s bad news, sir,” Maddox said. “About Keller.”

Trammell looked up at the ceiling, then said, with a total lack of affect, “Is he dead?”

“No, sir. He was released. Then, apparently, he went home with his lawyer.”

Trammell turned his head to regard Maddox with the most interest he’d seen in a while. “I thought you told me his lawyer was a woman.”

“Yes, sir.”

Trammell let out a horrible strangled sound that could have been a chuckle. “Don’t tell me he’s fucking his lawyer.”

“Doubtful, sir. She’s married. To another woman.”

“Huh.” Trammell swallowed, with difficulty. “So what happened?”

“The lawyer, her wife, and two servants were found dead. Shot. Keller is missing.”

Trammell closed his eyes. “And I suppose he’s blamed for the killings.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Even though that makes no sense.”

Maddox hesitated. “His prints were found on the murder weapons.”

Trammell opened his eyes. “Weapons. Plural.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And that makes sense to the local police.”

“I can’t speak to that, sir. All I know is that a BOLO has been put out for Mr. Keller.”

The man in the bed was silent, his eyes fixed in the ceiling. After a long pause, he spoke. “Of course. Blame the crazy, violent, Gulf War vet for all the local murders, then close the files.

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