Killer Weed by Michael Castleman

Author:Michael Castleman [Castleman, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781849822909
Publisher: M P Publishing Limited

33

Crossing the bridge, Ed maneuvered so he was able to get a glimpse of the Thunderbird’s plate. Back home, it took only a few clicks to determine that it was registered to one William Parker of Richmond.

Ed Googled the name, but it was so common that all he got was junk. He tried Facebook and found hundreds of William Parkers, with several dozen in California, but fortunately only four in Richmond. One of them had posed next to a classic car. He listed his occupation as private investigator.

Which meant he needed a license. It didn’t take Ed long to find the state database. William Parker worked for Rubin and Wolper Investigations of Oakland. He’d been a PI eleven years, and for six of them, he’d had a carry permit for a nine-millimeter automatic.

Who’d hired him? Owen Pendleton was the obvious choice. Ed first noticed the tail shortly after Pendleton threw him out. Close personal surveillance didn’t come cheap. Pendleton had presumably stashed a fair amount during his years as a dealer and now he owned a chain of hair salons. He could afford the luxury.

Which left only one question—why? What was Pendleton afraid of? There were the ugly incidents south of the border and in Mendocino, but Mexico was a million miles away, and whatever had occurred up north happened more than three decades ago. The statute of limitations had expired long ago, unless—

Ed’s fingers flew across the keys. In California, there was no statute of limitations for murder. A compelling reason to keep your mouth shut and tell your lover you didn’t want to make him an accessory.

Of course, Ed had no evidence that Owen’s outlaw trio had been involved in anything like that, not even a rumor—just Ken Kelly’s recollections that Owen had been very upset and wouldn’t discuss it. But murder was the only crime that could come back and bite Pendleton now. Why else go to all the expense of a PI? Unless Pendleton was just being himself: paranoid and weird.

Assuming it was homicide, who’d gotten killed? Probably someone who’d threatened them or ripped them off. Soon after, Doug had left the country. Why? Wanderlust? They were out of business and he was no longer tied down by growing. He’d been to Vietnam. Maybe he wanted to see the world. Then again, maybe he’d killed someone and fled.

Ed thought back to the Kirsches’. Doug’s presence had clearly surprised Owen. They hadn’t seen each other in a long time. And Ed had sensed some wariness on both their parts, as if they still felt residual tensions.

But then, on his way out, he’d seen the two ex-partners in a circle, smiling, passing a pipe. Maybe no one got killed. Maybe they just lost one too many crops to thieves and decided to hang it up.

Or perhaps Owen put a tail on Ed not for who he’d been decades ago, but for who he was now. Ed noodled around the Internet. Pendleton might be a prize ass, but he was also surprisingly philanthropic.

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