Valley of Shadows: detective noir set in LA by Paul Buchanan

Author:Paul Buchanan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Legend Press

IT WAS STILL A quarter of an hour before quitting time, but Mrs. Dodd was already packed up and ready to go when Keegan came out of his inner office. The dust cover was pulled over her typewriter, and her purse was on the desk’s edge, ready for her to grab as she headed out the door.

Keegan couldn’t blame her. It had been a painfully slow day, with only a couple of phone calls coming in and no new jobs on the horizon. More than once, Keegan had wandered out to catch Mrs. Dodd slipping one of her movie magazines back into her desk’s top drawer. There didn’t seem any point in keeping her there another fifteen minutes, just for appearances. There was nothing for her to do.

Keegan shook his head in mock annoyance. “Go on home,” he told her. “Get a jump on traffic. Give Wendell my best.”

“You sure, boss?” Mrs. Dodd asked. She seemed coiled and ready to jump up from her desk as soon as he delivered his answer.

“Yeah,” he told her. “Go ahead. I’ll lock up.”

When Mrs. Dodd was out the door, Keegan closed the blinds in the window next to her desk. He went into the inner office and did the same and then turned off the overhead lights. The dog jogged after him.

In the outer office, Keegan got his jacket off the rack by the door. He was about to pull it on when the phone on Mrs. Dodd’s desk rang. He looked at it, debating with himself whether to answer as it rang twice more. It wasn’t yet five, so the office was supposed to still be open. It might be Sue Belk, with news of the elusive Lillian Cole.

He hung his jacket back up and sat down at Mrs. Dodd’s desk. He picked up the receiver and pressed the lit button. “Jim Keegan,” he said into the phone.

“James?” the voice on the other end said. “Am I talking to James?”

James? Only Danny Church ever called him that, but it clearly wasn’t the kid on the line. This voice sounded older, deeper. It conveyed the settled weight of authority.

“Yeah, this is Jim Keegan,” Keegan said. “Who’s calling?”

“My name’s Burritt,” the voice said. “Milton Burritt.” He spoke as though the fact of his name held great importance. “Look, James, I appreciate how you’ve been looking out for Danny. I only just heard from him today. I had no idea he was back in California.” Keegan heard a phone ring loudly on the other end of the line, but Burritt’s voice didn’t pause or acknowledge it in any way. “I’ve known Danny Church since he was born, and—well—let’s just say the boy can use all the guidance he can get.”

“I’m really just a professional acquaintance,” Keegan said. “But he did mention you. You were Ida Fletcher’s attorney. The old family friend.”

“Yes, I’ve known the Fletchers more than forty years,” Burritt said. “Been their attorney nearly all that time. So, I was more than a little surprised to hear that Ida might have changed her will.

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.