Murder on Red Mesa Road by Mary Maxwell

Author:Mary Maxwell [Maxwell, Mary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Unknown
Published: 2019-08-30T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 23

A half hour after leaving Penny Murdoch’s house, I slid into a booth at Drake’s Deli across from Stretch Gusenberg. He’d called earlier in the day to ask if we could meet to discuss the double homicide at the old Stanfield estate. Stretch was a tall, lanky man who drove a taxi by day and played banjo in the evenings with the house band at Ruby’s T-Bone Ranch, a steak restaurant on the east side of Crescent Creek. When he was born somewhere between sixty and sixty-five years earlier, his parents had lovingly named him Arnulfo Grover Gusenberg. After the other kids at school taunted him for such an odd moniker and being noticeably taller than other boys, Stretch was given his nickname by a classmate named Goldie. The best part of the story is the fact that she and Stretch had now been happily married for the better part of four decades.

“What do you think about the murders?” Stretch asked after I settled in across from him.

“I think we’ll all be happier once the perpetrator is behind bars,” I said.

“What I’m about to share with you,” he said, “I already gave to the cops. But I know that you’re always snooping around when things like this happen.” His right index finger tapped the tip of his nose. “You’ve got a good smeller, Katie. You know how to find the scofflaws and jailbirds as well as the professionals.”

I smiled. “Thank you, Stretch. I appreciate the compliment.”

“It’s not a compliment,” he said. “It’s the truth.”

His forehead creased and he tapped his nose again.

“Come to think of it,” he added, “I suppose it’s both. So you’re welcome. But the truth is what I’m most concerned about.”

“Same here,” I said. “And that’s what the CCPD is always working to uncover.”

He pulled a small battered leather-bound notebook from his coat.

“Here’s the thing,” he said. “I was good friends with Ollie Stanfield. And even though they moved away and their family members have scattered to the four corners of the planet, I’m a loyal friend. And if there’s one thing that’s in short supply these days, it’s loyalty. That and an affordable car to drive, but we can hash that out another time. When I heard that two people had been shot dead at Ollie’s old place, it hurt my heart because nothing should besmirch the reputation of an upstanding family like that. And it doesn’t matter if they’re still trying to sell the place. People in town will always refer to that piece of property as the old Stanfield estate.”

“That’s true,” I said. “And you’re right about loyal friends, too. They’re definitely a rare breed these days.”

“Almost as uncommon as rhodium and iridium,” he said.

“I’m not familiar,” I replied.

“No problem,” Stretch said with a grin. “Because I am. Rhodium and iridium are both rare metals. They’re in the platinum group, and they have multiple applications in manufacturing things for everyday use. For example, combine iridium with osmium and you’ve got a super hard metal that’s used to make the tips of fountain pens.

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