The Dead Don't Lie by Stuart M. Kaminsky

Author:Stuart M. Kaminsky [Kaminsky, Stuart M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: mystery
ISBN: 9780765316028
Goodreads: 312120
Publisher: Forge Books
Published: 2007-08-07T00:00:00+00:00

11

There were too many choices. Robert E. Lee Chang did not want too many choices. He wanted this all to be simple and done quickly.

He stood in front of the door of the second-floor apartment in a building in Edgewater. The building was no more than a mile from his own apartment.

When this was over, he would have to come up with a story about why he ran from the big policeman in front of his apartment building. That would not be a major problem. He would come up with something. He would simply go directly to the police and tell a lie, say that he had shot the Lindqvist man because he had mugged him, that he had run from the policeman because he thought the man was a mugger. He would even pretend that he had trouble understanding English even though he had been born in Chicago as had his parents and grandparents.

“Why did you have a gun?” the police would ask.

“To protect myself. I had read about muggers in the neighborhood. My gun is registered.”

“Why didn’t you go to the police after you shot the Lindqvist man?”

“I was afraid, confused, embarrassed.”

Ah, he could pull another Chinese ploy.

“I was ashamed of being beaten, ashamed of what my family and friends would think and say.”

“And the money Lindqvist says was stolen from you?”

“Money? There was no money. He was mistaken. Or he was lying. Why would I not tell you if someone stole money from me?”

Why indeed?

That would all be easy if he could retrieve Mr. Woo’s money.

Robert adjusted his glasses, looked around the empty landing, put his right hand around the gun in his pocket, and knocked.

“Yeah?” came a man’s voice, the voice of the man in the hospital.

Robert didn’t answer. He knocked again. Harder.

“Answer it, Jamie,” a woman said, almost too softly for Robert to hear.

The door opened. Robert Chang, gun now pointed at Jamie Cuervo’s face, stepped forward as Jamie backed into the room.

Beyond Jamie, Robert could see the woman sitting at a table, a slice of rye toast in her hand, a cup of coffee in front of her.

Both the man and the woman looked surprised. Good.

Robert kicked the door shut. He wanted them afraid. He wanted the damned money. He wanted to deliver it to Mr. Woo and then make one of his very rare visits to his mother who had an apartment with his sister in Albany Park. He wanted to be with people who cared about him. He wanted to stop trembling with fear.

“My money,” he said.

The man and woman looked at each other and the woman said, “We need it.”

“It is not yours,” said Robert, his voice vibrating.

Jamie had backed away till he was almost at the table.

“We were talking about that, Jamie and me, and we wondered about whose money it was.”

“Mine,” said Robert, raising his voice, looking around the room for his briefcase.

“How’d you get it,” Elsie said. “Why didn’t you tell the police about it?”

“I didn’t have time,” said Robert.

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