Kent Conwell - Tony Boudreaux 04 - Vicksburg by Kent Conwell

Author:Kent Conwell [Conwell, Kent]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery: Thriller - P.I. - Mississippi
ISBN: 0803497180
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Published: 2005-04-26T22:10:00+00:00

After my father, John Roney Boudreaux, deserted Mom and me, we moved in with Pa’s folks, Moise and Ola Boudreaux. Often, Grandpere Moise took me hunting down in the swamps and forests where a soul always had to keep a careful eye out for alligators, wild boars, and cottonmouth water moccasins.

Those critters were nothing compared to the buzz saw I ran into when I went back to Jack’s after leaving Goggins.

I was right. WR had called Stewart and Annebelle as soon as I left the hardware store. When I walked into the parlor, the three of them were yelling and screaming at Jack, whom they had backed against the wall between the two sets of French doors. He was fending them off with the plastic scratcher.

Jack spotted me. “Tony! Am I glad to see you”

As one, the three fell silent and turned to glare at me.

“There he is,” WR muttered.

Annebelle took a step toward me. “What’s all this nonsense about John being murdered?” Her tone was a mixture of defiance and belligerence.

I looked at WR. “I figured you would tell them”

“Any reason not to?”

“Just makes it easier for me,” I said, keeping my voice soft. “Now I can talk to everyone at the same time”

Stewart was wearing a powder-blue hairdresser’s blouse. He must have dropped his scissors and come running when WR called. The overhead light reflected off the sheen of sweat on his bald head. He sneered. “You’re crazy if you think someone murdered John. He just got careless.”

“What kind of proof you got?” Annebelle demanded.

I smiled amiably. “None”

Stewart frowned. “Then why are you investigating it at all?”

“Like I told WR, your brother hired me”

Jack pointed the arm scratcher at them. “John was not the kind to get careless. Now, I might be wrong. Maybe it was an accident.” He paused. “I hope it was an accident, but wouldn’t you want to know if someone did deliberately kill him?”

WR and Stewart looked at each other. “I suppose so,” Stewart finally muttered. “But it wasn’t one of us, and I don’t have any idea who would have wanted to kill him.”

Annebelle said nothing.

In a thin voice, WR said, “The way you talked at the store, it sounded like you thought maybe me or Stewart did it.”

“No,” I replied shaking my head. “I said you both, in fact, all four of you have reason enough to kill him, twenty-three million of them, but I didn’t say you did.”

Annebelle frowned. “What do you mean, twenty-three million?”

Jack spoke up. “John’s estate. That land south of Vicksburg is a lot more valuable than we thought”

WR looked at Stewart in feigned surprise. He dragged his tongue under his bottom lip. “Did you hear that?”

Stewart tried to fake his own surprise. “I don’t believe it.” He glanced surreptitiously at me, then hastily looked away.

The expression on their faces told me the truth. They knew. They had known for years.

Annebelle snorted. “Well, we might have had words with John, but none of us would have killed him.”

I ignored her protest.

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