Prudy's Back! by Marja McGraw

Author:Marja McGraw [McGraw, Marja]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Paranormal Cozy, Murder, Murder Investigation, Amateur Sleuth, Ghosts, Cozy, PI, Private Investigator, Los Angeles, California, Hauntings, Cold Case
Publisher: Marja McGraw
Published: 2013-08-27T04:00:00+00:00

Twenty-four

I waited while Hector lit a cigarette and retrieved a beer can from the refrigerator. He was purposely dragging this out. He glanced over his shoulder at me.

“Want a beer? Or do you wanna hear what ol’ Nicky said that night?”

“Of course, I do. Not the beer, your story. I want to hear your story.”

“Nicky was at the same bar as me and my friends that night. He was talkin’ to some guy I never saw before. I overheard him tellin’ his buddy about the old man on his street that tried to get cozy with little Opal. He said the old man wasn’t gonna get away with it. He said… Let me see. Oh yeah. He said his nosey neighbor, Brian Lewis, couldn’t be there to protect that old man all the time. His chance to get even would come.”

“Hector,” Prudy asked, returning to the kitchen, “he said Brian was standing in his way?”

“Yeah. He said he thought about takin’ your husband out, too, but you remember Nicky. He was just a lotta talk. He pumped those weights and built up his body, but it was all show. He was a jackass, too, just like the Framer boys.” He took a long swig off his beer. “Lots of fools in this neighborhood.”

I waited to hear more, but he just watched me.

“That’s it, girlie. There ain’t no more to tell.” His eyelids dropped until he was squinting at me, almost daring me to ask something else. I knew when to cut and run. His squint was devious and distrustful.

“Esther, it was nice to meet you,” I said, holding out my hand. “Prudy, let’s go.”

Prudy followed me out the door without a word. I thought maybe she’d just seen a chapter of real life that she was wishing she hadn’t read.

We walked back to the car in silence, but it didn’t last long.

“Do you know what those tattoos were for?”

I’d known Prudy wanted answers.

“The teardrop usually represents a violent crime like robbery, felony assault or murder, something along those lines. I’ve seen men with more than one teardrop tattoo. And it gave me the chills. The dots that were tattooed on his knuckles stand for the amount of time he’s done in prison. One for each year. Our little Hector has done lots of prison time.”

“He wasn’t so bad as a kid. I sure didn’t expect him to turn out the way he did.”

“Okay, Prudy, let’s see if anyone is at home at your old house.” I didn’t want to think about Hector and his tattoos any more than I had to.

“There’s a car in the driveway,” she said hopefully. “I don’t think it was there when we first drove by.”

A middle-aged woman answered our knock at the yellow house and warmly invited Prudy in to look around after Prudy explained her reason for visiting.

“Has it changed much since you lived here?” the woman asked.

“Not really.” Prudy was grinning, although it looked like she might be close to tears. I decided

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