It's a Wonderful Death by Etta Faire

Author:Etta Faire [Faire, Etta]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-11-09T05:00:00+00:00

Hank sounded older than I thought he would, and a lot more sober. I was just getting ready to leave for my shift at the Purple Pony when he called.

I put him on speakerphone and turned my recorder on this time.

His voice had that shaky quality people sometimes got when they hit a certain age. I quickly brought up his Facebook profile on my laptop so I could picture the man again. He was almost completely gray now and he’d ditched the bushy mustache, thank God. He was still thick around the middle, and still with his wife. They’d just celebrated 35 years of marriage.

“Congratulations on your anniversary,” I said in such a way, I was sure he would know where this was heading.

He didn’t. “Thanks,” he said. “People ask me all time. They say, ‘Hank, what’s the secret to a long marriage?’ I tell ‘em. ‘It’s easy. Don’t get divorced.’” He laughed at his own joke.

“You told Agnes you were getting a divorce, though, right after the holidays the night of the party.”

“Yes.” His voice wasn’t nearly as upbeat anymore. “That was a weak point in my life. My drinking was getting out of control, and… well, I called you back because I felt like I owed Agnes at least that. After she passed, I realized life was too short. I quit my job at Dreamstreet, went to AA, and moved my family upstate for a clean start.”

I checked my watch. I had to leave soon. But I had a lot of questions for Hank, especially now. His actions after Agnes’s death seemed very drastic to me, suspiciously drastic. I was surprised the police hadn’t found moving away right after someone’s death suspicious as well, but then you can’t arrest someone for acting guilty.

I kept my voice calm because I didn’t want to let on that I didn’t trust a word he was saying. “In my investigation, there was a witness that saw you pour something into Agnes’s drink before you handed it to her. This was right before she fell ill. Can you tell me what it was?”

“Who’s your witness?”

“I can’t say. But did you pour something into her drink?”

“It was probably Nancy. She was always gunning for someone’s job. Anyway, if I did pour anything into Agnes’s drink, and I probably did, it was rum, or champagne. That’s right. It was champagne. I think I remember. But then, who knows? I drank that entire party, most regular work days too. All the time, really.”

I kind of thought that was going to be his answer.

“You were also going to give her a pair earrings from your grandmother that night.”

He sighed heavily. “Yes. I can hardly believe that one. I was always doing dumb drunk stuff. I gave away a lot. Hurt a lot of people too. I’ve made amends to most the people I hurt over the course of my drinking. The women whose butts I pinched at the office. The times I had my buddies lie for me.

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.