Pronounced Ponce: The Midtown Murders by Ray Dan Parker

Author:Ray Dan Parker [Parker, Ray Dan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Published: 2020-10-07T22:00:00+00:00

. . .

An hour later, I’m at home, enjoying peace and quiet. Curious, I open my laptop and Google “Rapid Refund.” I get page after page, mostly sponsored links, none of them connected to the late Jacob Epstein. I try variations of the name followed by “LLC” or “Corp.” I find a site listing DBA names, nothing else.

At eleven AM, Bogie trots in and nudges my hand. I take him for a walk. Turning onto Greenwood, we encounter Oscar Arrington returning from the Publix on Monroe with a bag of groceries. He’s decked out in a black, broad-brimmed fedora, wraparound sunglasses, and a matching black cape over a white linen suit, like some Toulouse-Lautrec character. He invites me onto his porch while he takes in his groceries.

“I would ask you in, but this place is a dreadful mess. Would you like a glass of Pinot Noir?”

“Sure. Why not?”

From inside I hear Oscar’s pug yapping.

“Oh, hush up Waldo!” Oscar shouts.

I settle into a wicker chair and let out Bogie’s retractable leash so he can explore the tiny front yard. Waldo continues barking while Bogie blithely ignores him.

Oscar returns with two wine glasses. “You’ll have to excuse Waldo,” he says as he lights a cigarette. “He gets so jealous when there’s another dog around.”

“No problem. I’ve been meaning to drop by. I was wondering what else you might’ve heard about the murders.”

Oscar takes a drag from the cigarette, holds it, and slowly exhales. “Nothing else, I’m afraid.”

“My daughter and I went to the neighborhood meeting at Sergio’s last night. Police Lieutenant Paxton Davis was there. He doesn’t seem to be making any progress.”

“That’s because they aren’t looking. If the victims were straight, the police would leave no stone unturned. I heard about that meeting. I knew it would be a waste of time”

“I’ve spoken to several people in the area, but none of them have anything to offer. They seem as baffled as the police. I did meet one of our neighbors, an elderly lady named Helen Weiss. She’s convinced the black man next door to her is the killer.”

Oscar gives a disdainful look. “That figures. Always blame the black guy.”

“I met the man later. He seems pretty harmless.”

“Is he the big one who lives upstairs above Alicia Moonbeam?”

“Yes. Do you know Alicia?”

Oscar rolls his eyes. “Oh, God yes. Everybody in Midtown knows Alicia. Did you meet her?”

“Yeah. She’s a character. She wanted me to come inside for a palm reading.”

“I’m sure that’s not the only thing she wanted. Did she start talking about Eastern religion and mysticism?”

“As a matter of fact, she did.” I laugh.

Oscar leans back, releases a smoke ring, and watches it rise. “That woman knows as much about Eastern religion as I do about quantum physics.”

“Did you know she carries a gun?”

“Of course, she does,” he says with a dismissive wave. “Just about everyone around here has a gun.

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.