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

Dehan snapped, “Can you just answer the question, Mr. Gonzalez?”

“No! I have not left the house.”

“Is there anybody that can confirm that?”

He laughed. “Sure.” He turned his head to look back into the house. “Sandy, honey, have I left the house this afternoon?”

A voice came to us in the negative. He smiled at us like he’d done something real clever and he knew we were going to be mad about it. I studied his face for a moment, trying to decide whether he knew what was coming next.

“Mr. Gonzalez, I have some news which you may find upsetting. Would you like me to give it to you here on the doorstep, or may we come in?”

He sighed and rolled his eyes. “Come on in, Detectives.” He walked away from the door, talking over his shoulder. “You like my house so much, why don’t I make you up a room so you can move in?”

We stepped into the large, warm living area where the huge fire was burning in the hearth. Sandy Beach was sitting curled up on the sofa, holding a glass of wine, where the flames were reflected in rich orange among the oxblood red. She glanced at me as we came in, looked embarrassed and turned away. Dehan closed the door and Giorgio went to the fireplace. The mantelpiece was a huge beam of driftwood. He leaned his elbow on it and spread his arms wide. “So, Detective Stone, what is your sad news. I have to tell you, I am a happy soul. It is no easy to make me sad. But give it your best shot.” He looked at Sandy and grinned. “Eh, Sandy?”

She didn’t answer him, but looked at me and then at Dehan, waiting.

Dehan said: “When was the last time you saw Fernando, Giorgio?”

“We are on first name terms, now, Detective? Or should I call you Carmen?”

“Just answer the goddamn question.”

He winked at Sandy and chuckled. “Yesterday. He came over and we had dinner. Then he went home, maybe midnight. Is that OK, Carmen? Is that obedient enough for you? You like men to be obedient, Carmen…?”

“He’s dead.”

He went very still, narrowed his eyes, frowned. “What?”

“Fernando is dead. He was murdered. Probably this afternoon. Did you kill him?”

The approach wasn’t subtle, and it wasn’t one I would have chosen right then, but I studied his face carefully. What I thought I saw was incomprehension, but it was hard to be sure. He was a performer. He could have been acting. Sandy had gotten to her feet. Her hands had gone to her mouth and her glass fell and smashed on the wooden floor, spilling the red wine among the jagged shards. “Fernando? But that’s… No… That’s absurd! Why?”

I ignored her and kept watching Giorgio. He frowned and shook his head, like somebody looking at an equation that doesn’t make sense. “Fernando is dead? Murdered?”

Dehan almost snarled, “I asked you a question, Giorgio. Quit dodging my questions. Did you kill him?”

“No!” He was looking at her like she was crazy. “Why the hell would I kill Fernando? We were like brothers!”

“Where have you been since we saw you this morning?”

“Here! I told you! With this weather… Oh my God…”

“Can anyone confirm that?”

Sandy stepped forward. “I can. I’m sorry. I am in shock. I’m not thinking. After you left, I came over…” She gave me an apologetic glance. “I wanted to see if Giorgio was all right. We spent some time talking and he kindly asked me to stay for lunch. I’ve been back and forth a couple of times, but not long enough for him to go any significant distance.” She smiled again. “We have spent practically the whole day together.”

Giorgio went and sank onto the sofa. He covered his face with his hands and started to sob, strange, long, wailing sobs. I spoke while watching him.

“I’m afraid you can’t stay here, Ms. Beach.”

“Why in the world not? He needs my support now more than ever. I can’t leave him alone.”

I turned and frowned at her. “Ms. Beach, you need to snap out of it. Whoever killed Fernando might well come after Giorgio next. And believe me, this is one brutal son of a bitch. If he finds you in the house, he will not hesitate to kill you too. You cannot risk being here.”

She went very still, like she was trying to grasp what I was saying, but it wasn’t real to her. I went and stood over Giorgio. All the arrogant flamboyance was gone. He was staring up at me with wet, swollen eyes.

“Why…?”

“You tell me. Listen, Giorgio, we are not vice. We don’t give a rat’s ass what kind of games you get up to, but you need to understand that Fernando was just stabbed in the heart and gutted like a fish, and the same might happen to you if you don’t level with us. Are you trafficking?” I pointed around the house. “You’re not affording this on art lessons, right?”

His eyes were staring and his lips kept trembling. “A bit of dope, a bit of coke, but we’re not in the big league. We don’t owe nobody…”

“I’m going to put a couple of cops here for the night.” I pointed at him. “Step outside to get the paper off your mat and I will put you away for cocaine trafficking. The closest you’ll get to a piece of skirt for the next ten years will be when you get screwed in the showers. Do I make myself clear? Do not step outside your house.”

I turned and pointed at Sandy. “You, go home. Do not come near this house again. I am not asking. Come near this house and I will prosecute you for obstruction of justice. Now scram!”

She gathered her dignity about