[03] Death Takes a Ride by Lorena McCourtney

Author:Lorena McCourtney
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: FIC022040, FIC042060
ISBN: 9781441245168
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2014-07-01T00:00:00+00:00

20

Candy had been there before and did not have to wander around to find Kane’s apartment. She drove straight to it and pulled around back to a cramped parking area. She pointed to a gray lump in a shadowy corner space.

“That’s Kane’s SUV.”

The vehicle surprised Cate. No flash here. The old SUV looked as if it should have cat tracks on the hood and a “My son was Student of the Month” sticker on the bumper.

“But he’d rather drive one of the H&B restorations or his bike,” Candy added. “He really liked that Corvette he drove down to Eugene. His bike must be out at H&B.”

The apartment was in an older house divided into separate units. Kane’s apartment, on the third floor, had an outside entrance reached by stairs that looked weather-beaten but solid. Even so, Cate stopped with one hand on the railing.

“You’re not backing out now, are you?” Candy looked down from four steps above her.

No, Cate wasn’t backing out now. Halliday’s life was on the line, and she needed to find out who was after him. Which still didn’t totally cancel the squeamishness she felt about prowling in someone’s private residence. At the landing at the top of the stairs, Cate half-expected “do not cross” police tape blocking the door, but there was only a spiderweb.

Light spilled on the landing when Candy opened the door and reached inside to flick a switch. She stepped inside without hesitation, and Cate followed cautiously. The apartment smelled faintly musty, even though Kane hadn’t been away from it all that long. The scent was almost like a foreshadowing of emptiness and disuse to come, as if the apartment didn’t expect him back.

Dump it, Ms. PI, Cate scolded herself. Get on with it. You’re an investigator; stop smelling and start investigating.

Burgundy drapes covered a skimpy window. A cream leather sofa faced a flat-screen TV, much smaller than the one at Candy’s house. An L-shaped desk in a corner held a laptop. A two-drawer wooden file cabinet stood beside the desk. Pages of a local newspaper littered the floor, and papers and photos, some loose, some in wire baskets, covered the desk space around the laptop and the top of the file cabinet as well.

Only a counter separated the living room and kitchen, and a short hallway led to what was probably a bedroom and bath area. The kitchen sink and counter displayed dirty dishes. A TV dinner container stuck out of the top of a trash container. Cate sniffed. Maybe that was what she smelled. Aging trash. Two cabinet doors stood open. Not totally a rat-magnet kitchen, but it wouldn’t win any housekeeping awards.

Candy planted her hands on her hips. “Kane needs a wife,” she declared. “Where should we start?”

“With finding him a wife or finding something here?”

Candy rolled her eyes at the facetious question.

“Okay, what are we looking for?” Cate asked.

“You tell me. You’re the private investigator,” Candy snapped, as if this had all been Cate’s idea. “I’ll see if I can find anything back in the bedroom while you dig through stuff out here.

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.