The Amorous Attorney (A Nick Williams Mystery Book 2) by Butterfield Frank W

Author:Butterfield, Frank W. [Butterfield, Frank W.]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2016-06-13T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

Hotel Riviera del Pacifico

Tuesday, May 26, 1953

About ten before 6 in the morning

We went back to find the boys. On the way there, we stopped at Rhonda's room, which was the first in the series of what Jeffery had referred to as "queer row."

I listened to see if I heard any signs of life. No one was speaking at least.

I knocked on the door. "Rhonda?"

Now there was some movement.

After about thirty seconds, a disgruntled voice asked, "Who is it?"

It didn't sound like Rhonda, so I assumed it was her girlfriend.

"It's Nick Williams and Carter Jones. We need to talk to both of you right now. Something has happened."

"Hold on," was the surly reply.

I looked at my watch. It was now 6:50. I wondered how quickly the local police would arrive. The only reference I had were the stereotypes that were often bandied about. People talked about Mexico and the mañana way of taking time to do things. But, as I had discovered in the South Pacific, there was usually a little bit of truth behind these stereotypes but mostly a lot of laziness that pointed to an arrogance on the part of the ones who used them.

Presently, the door opened and a very disheveled Rhonda Starling stood there. She was wrapped in a silk robe whose green color really favored her skin tone. Even with mussed hair, she looked beautiful.

She smiled lazily. "Morning, fellas. What's on your minds?"

I asked, "Can we come in for a moment? It's bad news."

I heard the girlfriend sigh dramatically.

Rhonda looked put out but she walked away from the door and let us show ourselves in.

"What's up?" she asked. She stood by the door to the bedroom. The girlfriend was sitting at the edge of the double bed closest to the door which was the only bed that had been slept in. She was wearing a man's white undershirt and boxer shorts. It was really cute, actually.

"Taylor's been murdered." I looked at both of them.

The girlfriend said, "Well, fuck me."

Rhonda threw her a look and then started to cry.

It was the most amazing piece of acting I'd ever seen. In two seconds, she was the scolding mate. Count one and she was the grieving bride-to-be. Unbelievable.

Carter pulled out his handkerchief and offered it. She waved it away and walked into the bedroom, over to the bureau, and grabbed one of her own, holding it to her nose and covering her mouth.

"How did it happen?" she asked through the handkerchief.

"Someone walked into the suite a little before six this morning and shot him at point-blank range with a police Colt."

"Did he suffer?" I was racking my brain to remember what movie this dialogue was from. She sniffed significantly.

"No. If you don't have to look at the body, I wouldn't recommend doing so. It's pretty gruesome."

I looked over at the girlfriend who was smiling grimly and taking a deep drag on her Parliament cigarette.

"Do you think I'll have to make a statement to the police?" Now I had it.

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