In Dark Company: A Kate Burkholder Short Mystery by Linda Castillo

Author:Linda Castillo [Castillo, Linda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Mystery & Detective, Police Procedural, Women Sleuths, Thrillers, Suspense
ISBN: 9781250314161
Google: 6C9ZDwAAQBAJ
Amazon: B07CWRZ23V
Barnesnoble: B07CWRZ23V
Goodreads: 40097967
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Published: 2018-05-29T05:00:00+00:00

I go to the next letter.

Dear Mr. Stahl,

Mamm passed last night. We are heartbroken, but we know she is with God now and for that we are happy. I need to withdraw my cash to buy a new generator for our milking business. Last I heard from you it was $898.00, but you can just send me $600.00 or so.

God be with you and your family . . .

I flip through dozens of letters just like it. Some are second and third requests for money they’d invested in the foundation. I look at Els.

“None of them got their money,” she whispers. “At first, I thought Leanard was taking care of it. He’s good with money. Always making wise investments and letting his clients know they’ve made a good return. But when the letters started coming . . .” She looks down at the stack and shakes her head. “They broke my heart. I kept hoping I was wrong. That Leanard would make it right. Those people believed in him. They trusted him, and he stole from them.”

“Did you confront him?” I ask.

Nodding, she looks down at her hands. “At first, he told me he’d paid them, and I should mind my own business. For the first time in my life, I didn’t believe him.” She shakes her head. “Chief Burkholder, in all the years I’ve known him, I’ve never seen him angry. I’ve never heard him raise his voice. That night, he was a stranger to me, and I was afraid of him.”

“Tell me what happened,” I say.

“I called him around five o’clock or so and told him about the letters. He came right over. I was in my office, working. I figured he and I would work together and make it right, you know? Pay those poor people back. But he was furious. He demanded the letters. And then he fired me. Told me to get out. Go back to Minnesota. Keep my mouth shut.”

Her voice breaks on the last word. “I was sitting at my desk, crying. He was pacing and ranting, saying the most ungodly things. I remember seeing him pick up the lamp.” She shakes her head. “The next thing I know, we’re in the car, out in the middle of nowhere. I had no idea where we were. He had a gun, and he was panicked. There’s no doubt in my mind he was going to kill me. So I jumped from the car and I ran.”

“Holy shit,” mutters Tyler.

“All right.” I look at them and nod. “I think it’s time we talked to Chief Deputy Light.” I’m reaching into my pocket for the Explorer keys when the lights blink and go out, plunging us into the waning light of dusk.

“Stay quiet.” Tugging the mini-Maglite from my pocket, I flick it on, averting the beam so it’s not visible from the windows. “Don’t move.”

I take the hall to the living room, go to the front window, part the curtain, and look out. A cold, steady rain falls from a darkened sky.

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