Simon Says... Forgive by Dale Mayer

Author:Dale Mayer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller
ISBN: 9781773367880
Publisher: Valley Publishing Ltd.
Published: 2023-08-26T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

Kate got up to get dressed, then remembered the crazy events of the night before. She had seen Simon ripping into the bed with a stake—and heard the rips—but now that she looked at the bed, there was no sign of any such damage. It unnerved her, yet, at the same time, it was a mystery that she was thinking of discussing with Simon. Now she only had to figure out the best way to ask him about it.

She drove home, changed into a fresh shirt and pants, then hopped the next bus to the station. Walking inside, she felt a little bit better, until Rodney looked up at her, and the expression on his face changed. “How’s Simon?”

She frowned. “He’s okay, a little bit perturbed because he had very little warning. He got himself to a bench, and that was it.”

Rodney winced at that. “That would suck.”

“Yeah, a lot of it sucks,” she noted, “and you don’t really think about it.”

“In your case, I didn’t think you ever thought about it.”

“No, I didn’t,” she admitted, “and I still don’t want to either.” And, with that, she checked her computer. After bringing up the case of Bartlett’s suicide, she made a call to the morgue.

When the call was answered, she introduced herself and got straight to the point. “I was looking for information on Bartlett Morris, believed to be a jumper from yesterday.”

“Oh, yes, I have that case file right here. Any particular reason you’re asking?”

“A friend of mine saw him the day before and is quite upset at the idea of him going out a window and wondered if there was anything untoward about it.”

“Hmm.” Then apparently Smidge was put on phone.

“Interesting friend you have there.”

“A good friend, and he’s done a lot to help me out.”

At that, his tone changed. “Are we talking about Simon here?”

“Yeah,” she replied, relenting because Smidge would be more cooperative if he knew that, rather than not. “Bartlett had asked him to have a look at the books of his business and to see if they could come up with a way forward. According to Simon, there were viable options, but it was quite serious and might mean declaring bankruptcy and restructuring the company. He advised him to get a forensic accountant and a lawyer on it right away.”

“But instead he stepped out of a window?”

“Apparently.”

“You don’t believe it?”

“I’m not sure what I believe,” she admitted. “Simon told me that there’s no way, and, of course, that just adds to the confusion. Simon thinks Bartlett wasn’t suicidal, hence my predicament.”

“Of course if Simon says there’s no way,” Smidge added, “we should definitely take another look.”

Such an ironic tone filled his voice, it was all she could do to hold back a snappy response. When she did get a hold of herself, she replied in a calmer tone than she felt. “I think it’s more a case of feeling terribly guilty about potentially having made his friend feel like this was the only solution.

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