Psychosomatic by Anthony Neil Smith

Author:Anthony Neil Smith
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Thrillers, Mystery & Detective, Fiction, Hard-Boiled, Crime
ISBN: 9780809550906
Publisher: Point Blank
Published: 2005-01-01T08:00:00+00:00

TWENTY

Half a minute after banging on the front door, the three officers and one detective were greeted by a cute college-age girl in an old nurse uniform, white stockings, and black loafers that looked too big for her.

“Can I help you?”

“We’re looking for Lydia—” the detective checked his notepad, “Whipps.”

“Come in and I’ll get her.”

The officers came in and spread out in search mode. The detective followed the girl out of the foyer into the living room, where Lydia sat in her chair waiting for them with a pleasant face.

“Miss Whipps?”

“Miss, sure. I’ll take that. What’s going on here.”

“We need to have a talk. I’m Detective Broussard.” He was a black man in his thirties built like a linebacker. Dark skin, fast eyes, and a deep Southern voice that weighed every word. “Did you rent a car recently?”

Lydia laughed and turned to Megan, who smiled in spite of pretending to tidy up the room. Lydia said, “My arms and legs are fake. I can’t move them. My assistant does the driving, and for me that means a special van. I wish I could rent a car and just go away.”

The detective laced his fingers under his chin. “Who did this to you?”

“The doctors. That was to save my life. See, it was a car accident. Why would you think someone would actually do this to me?”

“Well, your husband’s murder—”

“You did your homework. So you also know he was my ex, and we weren’t on good terms. He was a lying prick.”

Broussard glanced at his notes again. “This rental car, your husband’s name and address were given. The clerk doesn’t remember because it was a busy day. Did your assistant rent it?” He nodded at Megan.

“She has her own car, never had problems with it. I’m sure she didn’t.”

Broussard sat on the edge of the couch near Lydia and spoke low. “Maybe she did it without telling you, you know? Identity theft, that sort of thing. It’s a big fad right now, and in your condition…” He leaned back and made a noise like Hmph?

“You think so?”

“Could be. The problem is it wasn’t her driving the car. Two guys, one fat, one kinda wiry looking.” He held up a black and white security camera shot of Alan and Norm as they left the emergency room. “You know these guys?”

Lydia asked Megan to bring the photo closer. It was on copy paper, washed out and hard to see clearly. She did, holding it half an inch from Lydia’s face. Broussard didn’t like it, her face hidden from view like that.

Lydia’s voice from behind the photo said, “No, I don’t think I do. The little one looks familiar in a vague sort of way.”

“So you do know him?”

“I said no. I was thinking aloud, that’s all, trying to help.”

Megan handed the photo back to Broussard, who moved it to the bottom of his pile. He handed another shot to Megan, grinning at her while he did. “Would you mind showing the lady this one, then, please?”

“I’m right here,” Lydia said.

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.