Pipe and Pestle: A Sam Archer Novel by Joseph Weinberg

Author:Joseph Weinberg [Weinberg, Joseph]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Insomnia Publishing
Published: 2017-03-14T23:00:00+00:00

I won’t recount what I did since it’s the exact opposite of exciting. I wandered around the room trying to find something to do. When the hour was up, I returned to the candle and recited the stupid incantation again. Brad also made me wait again, but he did show up.

This time, Brad dresses like Columbo. Long trench coat, soaked with a rain that doesn’t fall from the sky, rumpled shirt, crooked tie, half burned cigar. He has the look down solid, and his Peter Faulk impression is spot on.

“I have what you need.” He starts patting himself down as if looking for something in a pocket somewhere. “Let’s see, where is it… somewhere around here. There are some loose ends to tie up. Nothing important, of course. Just a few things.”

“Great, Brad. Very impressive. What have you found?”

“The answer to your question. It’s around here somewhere.” Finally, he pulls out a crumpled piece of paper from one of his pockets and offers it to me. I don’t move. No way I’m reaching across the circle. Bead can’t pull me across, but he might rip off my arm. “Let’s see, then. The killing was ordered by a middle man known as Kaiser. He used a monster of some kind, strictly hired muscle. He, in turn was hired by — hmm, let’s see…” He looks off into the distance and chews on his lips. “Ahh, here we are. Hired by the Emperor.”

Oh, shit. The Emperor, as he’s called, is the other part of the underworld the Albino doesn’t control. Three major crime bosses live around these parts, though most people aren’t aware of it, and they split the Twin Cities among themselves. The Albino controls his territory, and the Bicycle Man controls his. The Bicycle Man is scary, but he’s more or less your normal mobster type. People call him by the silly moniker because of a rumor saying he uses a deck of cards — bicycle cards, to be exact — to determine whether or not to kill people. Sounds like a Batman villain to me, but I don’t start the rumors, and I don’t give out the nicknames.

So what about the Emperor? If the Bicycle Man is the normal side and the Albino is the middle, then the Emperor is the side farthest from normal. A lot of guesses debate what he’s the emperor of. Some quirky people trying to be funny say he’s the Emperor of Ice Cream, although the reason changes with the punch line. Personally, I don’t think there’s anything more to the Emperor’s alias. It’s like Prince. He’s not prince of anything; he’s just Prince. Same with the Emperor. If he’s involved, I’m in way over my head.

Brad turns to go, then holds up a hand in a manner just like Peter Faulk. “There’s one more thing. You wanted to hear whose fault it was that she died. It’s probably nothing, but it could be important.”

“Tell me.”

“The one responsible for the death of the woman you knew as Ella Saint Claire.

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.