Dead Cold Mysteries Box Set #4: Books 13-16 (A Dead Cold Box Set) by Blake Banner (best ereader for academics .txt) 📕

The inspector frowned at me. “Surely that was suicide, John?”

“No. The more I think about it, the more certain I am that he was murdered. And I’m pretty sure I can prove it. First of all, there was the phrasing of the letter. It was unnatural, like somebody trying to write like a redneck and not knowing how. Second, drowning yourself is probably the most difficult way to commit suicide. The reflex against inhaling water is just too powerful. He was young, strong and fit, there was no way he was going to drown in ten or fifteen feet of water in a small bay six or seven feet from the pier. That just isn’t credible.” I pulled out my phone and called Frank.

“Stone, what a surprise.”

I put it on speaker. “Listen, Frank, this is important.”

“More surprises.”

“I mean it. Did Am Nielsen have bruising on his lower arms and wrists?”

“You know he did.”

“So the water in his lungs, I need you to…”

“I’m looking at the initial results right here, John. I know my job. I can’t tell you yet what kind of water it is, but I can tell you it’s not saline, which it would have been if he had drowned in the Harlem, it being tidal. He was drowned somewhere else, in clear water. And yes, the bruises are consistent with having had his arms held behind his back. He also has bruising to his scalp, where his head was held down.” He paused. “By the way, Robles’ last meal was Scotch whiskey.”

“Yeah, I kind of knew that. Thanks, Frank. You’re one of a kind.” I hung up and looked at them. “Somebody used Am to kill Robles.”

Dehan said, “Costas.” She looked at us both in turn. “It makes perfect sense. Robles’ big obsession was dominating people and hurting them, right? He was a sadist and a bully. He used Costas to hurt Mohamed—Daniel Brand—and once he had Costas hooked, he went for him, started threatening to blow the whistle on him. We can’t prove it yet, but it is a pretty safe bet. Then, when Robles consults him about the offer from LightYear, Costas sees his chance. He tells Am about it, convinces him the only way to save his work is to kill Robles. Maybe he even suggests selling the research to LightYear as his own, who knows? Point is, the plan is to frame Agnes as the jealous lover. So Costas gets Agnes out of the house for the night on some pretext, calls Robles to come over, badabim badabam badaboom, they kill him and frame her. And remember, Costas himself told us he knew nothing about wine.”

The inspector nodded. “Then he pressed me to investigate, partly to cover himself but also partly in the hope of casting suspicion on Agnes, whom they had framed. But when the investigation went too deep, he killed Am and planted the partially true confession on him. I imagine the muscle who carried out the actual killing was the same man in the car. I can’t see Costas doing it himself.” He thought for a moment. “How do you want to proceed? We pull in Costas and force a confession out of him?”

I shook my head. “We haven’t much leverage yet. Frank will be looking for prints on Am’s arms and scalp. We might get lucky.”

I went to the window and stood looking a while at where the sleet had turned to soft flakes and was starting to drift on the sidewalks under the yellow light of the streetlamps.

“The key to this whole thing is that research.” I turned to look at them where they were both watching me, Dehan uncertain and the inspector frowning, curious.

“Whatever the motive for Robles’ killing, that research played a central role. I want to go to Costas and tell him we are closing the case, and to rest easy. Then I want a twenty-four hour a day watch on him. If he has that research, he is going to try and sell it.

“Meanwhile, we get a warrant. We go to Dr. Meigh and we tell her the murder aspect of the case is closed, but we need to tidy up the issue of the research which appears to have been stolen. We search her house and the team’s offices and computers at the university. If it shows up…” I shrugged. “We conclude she was telling the truth. If it doesn’t…”

Dehan interrupted. “If it doesn’t, we need to give Costas a choice, confess and save his family public humiliation, or drag them through a trial.”

The inspector nodded. “I agree. Costas is our man. Fine, good work as always. I’ll apply for the warrant first thing in the morning. Now I suggest you two get home and get some rest.”

We went down, grabbed our coats and made our way out to the car. I climbed behind the wheel and she sat next to me, watching me as I stared out at the trees in the parking lot in front of me.

“You going to start the car or are you going to freeze us to death instead?”

I turned the key and the engine roared. I backed out and headed for the boulevard.

“So,” I said, “if some day we decided to have kids...”

“What do you mean, ‘if’? That’s decided. It’s going to happen.”

“OK, when we decide to have kids…”

“Will I continue to work? I don’t know, Stone. I’m old school. Happiest, healthiest kid is the one who has his mom at home. Home smells of baking. You know what I mean? There are probably a thousand psychologists and sociologists out there who can prove I’m wrong. But what the hell do they know? They’re probably all screwed up because their mothers were out burning bras and smoking hash instead of baking cakes at home.”

“And I’m the dinosaur?”