Murder, Mayhem & a Fine Man by Claudia Mair Burney

Author:Claudia Mair Burney
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Howard Books
Published: 2008-10-15T16:00:00+00:00

We arrived in the driveway of Vogel Senior’s brownstone in the heart of Detroit’s New Center area. The restored house had been sandblasted to a high gloss. It had all the trimmings, was landscaped to perfection, and reeked of money.

We hadn’t gotten out of the car before I gave Jazz a hard time. “Didn’t you already talk to Vogel Senior?” I asked with an annoyed edge I didn’t bother to hide.

“Yeah, and I still haven’t ruled him out. Think of me as Columbo. I keep coming back until I don’t have to anymore.”

“Hasn’t the man suffered enough? I can’t imagine finding my own child dead.”

“He’s not you, and Jonathan isn’t your kid, Bell. You know full well that it’s not unusual for the person who finds the body to be the perp, not to mention it’s standard protocol to check out the family first.”

“It’s Dr. Brown, and yes, I’m aware of that. However, this man is a Christian who hired specialists to try to help him get his son back.”

“Everybody is a suspect until I rule them out, including you.”

“Me?”

“You’ve been to the house. You knew one of the victims and his father. You were even at the crime scene. For all I know you could be a short, fine hit woman trying to throw me off the trail.”

“Are you nuts?”

“Nuts? Is that a clinical term, Dr. Brown?”

I gave him a light shove. “Jazz Brown, if you think I’m a murder suspect, why on earth would you want to work with me?”

“No touching, woman! I’m working with you because you’re a smart, cute murder suspect, and you smell good, though you don’t dress the same as you did that first night.”

“I did not kill those men. For your information, the Mob is not in the habit of hiring black women as hit persons. And what’s wrong with how I dress?”

“You don’t have to respond without a lawyer present. You have the right to remain silent…you know the rest.”

“Are you arresting me for murder or for bad taste in clothing?”

“I don’t think you have bad taste—those pajamas being the exception, but I’m hoping they were an anomaly. Take what you’re wearing right now for instance. Basic black pantsuit, conservatively cut, with a little bit of spice that lets a brother know you can let loose when you need to; perfectly acceptable attire for a psychologist. It ain’t that red dress, though.” Then he laughed. “You should see your face, Bell. You are so easy to frustrate.”

My shoulders were touching my ears.

Okay, relax. Do not kill him, thereby proving his point.

A few deep breaths and a little more self-talk later, and my shoulders returned to their rightful place. “I don’t think I like you, Jazz.”

“I beg to differ, but we’ll discuss that when we’re not working.”

Mr. Vogel must have grown suspicious of the unmarked cop car lurking in his driveway with two arguing people in it. He walked toward us.

He was taller than I remembered. It had been seven years, but he seemed to have aged considerably.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.