Tex Murphy and the Poisoned Pawn by Conners Aaron

Author:Conners, Aaron
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-02-13T00:00:00+00:00

*****

There was just one road north of Anchorage. I flew over a few little clusters of buildings, then there was a whole lot of nothing until Coldfoot. And Coldfoot was just slightly more than nothing—basically another truck stop. From there, I flew about ten miles east-northeast over rugged, hilly, pine-covered terrain.

I’d almost run out of daylight when I finally caught sight of a cabin. This was the only structure I’d seen in miles, so I figured it had to be Knott’s place. It was made of rough-sawn timber and had been there a while, but was in good repair. There was a Tuff Shed not much smaller than the cabin off to one side and a Tesla speeder parked out front that probably cost ten times what I paid for my Lotus.

Almost certainly the right place.

I landed a non-threatening distance away and stepped out with my hands up in the air. I had to assume Knott would be armed, with a trigger finger as itchy as his feet were cold. But there was no hostile reception.

Hands still up, I walked slowly to the front door and lowered one arm just long enough to knock. No answer. I waited a minute, knocked again, then checked the door. It wasn’t locked.

I opened it slowly and called out:

“Hello? I’m coming in. I’m friendly! Wanda Peck gave me your address! Don’t shoot me!”

I stepped inside and looked around. It was a cozy place. Nicer on the inside than the outside. There were candles and lanterns, but also lamps and a TV, so there had to be a generator and satellite equipment somewhere. No way would there be any public utilities all the way out here.

Even if I hadn’t seen Knott’s speeder outside, I would have known he’d been here recently. On a stand by the front door, I saw a cell phone, wallet, key fob and a Law & Order ID badge. There were dirty dishes in the sink and the previous day’s newspaper on the coffee table. As for where Knott was now—especially without his speeder—I had no clue.

It suddenly occurred to me that he might be here…and dead.

I took a quick look in all the rooms and was relieved to not find a corpse. After that, I took a more leisurely tour of the place, not searching per se, just getting a lay of the land. About half the square footage was in a great room, with a large window offering a scenic view of the surrounding forest and distant mountains. There was a bearskin rug on the floor and rugged landscape paintings and several animal heads mounted on the walls. The furniture that looked rustic, but probably cost a boatload.

One perfectly adequate bathroom. A decent-sized kitchen with all the necessary appliances. All in all, a comfy spot to go off the grid.

There was just one bedroom. A large dog door, covered with a panel, had been cut out of the wall next to the bed. So maybe that’s where Knott was, out walking his dog.

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