The Barcode Murders by Scott Wittenburg

Author:Scott Wittenburg
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: mystery suspense murder, mystery private detective, mystery short novel
Publisher: Scott Wittenburg

CHAPTER 19

It was ten-thirty and Alan was on his second beer when Charlie finally called back.

“Please tell me you’ve had some luck,” he answered.

“Need I say this has nothing to do with luck, my friend?” Charlie said.

“I know; it has everything to do with skill and finesse. Now please tell me what you’ve found out.”

“I’ll start with the woman. Marcy Markham is deceased. She passed away last April, a couple of months after her layoff from UrbanGroup.”

Chloe was murdered in May, Alan thought, so he could definitely rule Markham out. Still seemed a little suspicious, though.

“Did you happen to find out how she died?”

“I knew you’d ask that so I dug a little deeper. She died from a pre-existing heart condition. No foul play suspected.”

“Hmm, so what about Gerald Thomas?”

“Where do I begin? This guy has clearly had a rough time of it since losing his gig at UrbanGroup. Troubles began not long after his release. He was picked up on a DUI a month later. It was his first offense and he was somehow able to keep his driver’s license.”

“Wait a second. How in the hell did you find that out?”

“It’s a matter of public record. In fact practically everything I got on Thomas was from public records.”

“So he’s had trouble with the law,” Alan said.

“Yup and plenty of it. Shall I go on?”

“Yes, please do.”

“He was arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct at a campus bar a few months after his DUI. He didn’t get any jail time but had to pay a sizeable fine and was put on probation.”

“Jesus, the guy must be a drunk.”

“Make that, is definitely a drunk. He was picked up for DUI yet again and lost his driver’s license.”

“Hmm. Did you find anything about his employment?”

“I did. He apparently was unemployed for quite a while after being laid off from UrbanGroup until he finally got a job as a cashier at Wal-Mart. That only lasted a few months though. His last known employment was at a Burger King. That gig pretty much ended shortly after his second DUI.”

“So this guy is really on the skids,” Alan said.

“Pretty much looks like it.”

“Do you by any chance have an address for him?”

“I do. He lives in an apartment just off campus. You want the address?”

“Yeah, what is it?”

Charlie read off the address as Alan jotted it down.

“Got a phone number for him, too?”

“No luck there—there’s no record on file of a land line for him. He could very well have a cellphone, though. Do you want me to find out if he does and try to hack the carrier for his number? Pretty costly task, I remind you.”

“Go for it. I think I still have a couple of pennies to rub together.”

“You got it. I’m emailing you the links that pertain to my research on both of these folks in case you want to refer to them.”

“Thanks a million, Charlie. I have a feeling you’ll be hearing from me again soon the way this investigation has been going.

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