The Burnt Remains: A Penelope Phair Mystery by Alex P. Berg

Author:Alex P. Berg [Berg, Alex P.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty

Dean pulled his Viper into a free street spot on the corner of Grandview and 1st, one that was listed as fifteen minute parking, but I suppose the designation didn’t apply to police officers. The building in front of which he’d parked was four stories tall, made of heavy gray stone blocks on the first floor and a tan-colored stone on the floors above. There were thick columns at the front holding up a triangular pediment at the top, one with gods and goddesses carved into the stone. The building was designed to look as if it were thousands of years old, but despite New Welwic’s pedigree, it couldn’t have been more than a tenth of that. The architects of yore didn’t know how to make any building that tall with windows.

A sign over the front doors listed the building as the City of New Welwic Executive Offices. I got out of the car and closed the door behind me, staring at the building from the sidewalk. “For what it’s worth, I’m not buying that this Bumblefoot guy is the blackmailer.”

Dean crossed from the driver’s side and joined me on the sidewalk. Moss and Justice had stayed at Vernon’s to help with the CSU sweep of Stella’s room, as well as to make sure they’d gathered all the evidence they could on the blackmail. I’d figured Moss would stick by Dean’s side after the morning, but he’d insisted I come instead.

Dean stuck his hands in his pockets. “And what leads you to that conclusion?”

“Bumblefoot is one of New Welwic’s representatives, right?” I said. “Let’s take Vernon’s accusation at face value and assume Bumblefoot somehow coerced his wife into taking pornographic photos while she was high out of her mind. Wouldn’t it be in his best interests to release the photos to the press rather than blackmail Vernon with them? I mean, for one thing, there’s the legal ramifications of getting busted for blackmail, but more importantly, releasing the photos would probably do precisely what Vernon suggests they would: hurt him with voters, or at least with those who think a woman doesn’t have a right to do whatever she wants with her body.”

Dean lifted an eyebrow at that last part. “Ignoring the blackmail, you do realize it’s illegal to produce pornographic material for sale or distribution, don’t you?”

I shrugged. “It’s a sexist law, but that’s besides the point. You can’t honestly think Bumblefoot is behind this?”

“We have no evidence to suggest he is,” said Dean. “I suppose it’s possible, though. If he’s behind the photos, he could be trying to extract money from Vernon before releasing them to the press, but that seems like an incredibly high risk strategy for anyone, much less a public figure like Bumblefoot. And yet… here we are.”

Dean gave me a bit of a smile, one I couldn’t quite decipher. “Don’t look at me. You’re the one who chose to come here.”

Dean snorted. “I was trying to nudge you into figuring out why we made the trip.

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