Dead Cold Mysteries Box Set #2: Books 5-8 (A Dead Cold Box Set) Blake Banner (read out loud books txt) 📖

she looked up and I said, “There is a list of over forty-eight men who crossed swords with Carol Hennessy or her husband, and they are all dead, and from the looks of it, most of them died in unusual circumstances.”

She sighed and took another mouthful of mushroom and mozzarella. She spoke around it. “Have you any idea how many people have crossed swords with the Bush family? With Obama, with Trump? Or in their day, the Kennedy clan, Nixon or the Peanut King?”

“I don’t know, but I can imagine.”

“Hundreds, Stone. Many hundreds. And do you know how many are dead?”

“Obviously not.”

“Well, I can tell you that if I looked into any one of their pasts, I could find twenty, thirty, or forty dead people who had at some time crossed them and were now dead, and with a bit of clever writing I could make it sound as though they died in ‘suspicious circumstances’. Not a single one of those deaths was what you could call a ‘hit’.”

I laid down my knife and fork and narrowed my eyes at her. “David Thorndike was exactly that.”

Just for a moment she froze, then carried on eating. “There were other people who had good reason to want Dave dead.”

“Of the forty people who died after crossing Hennessy, six were mugged in the street and five were the victims of home invasions…”

“Burglaries where property was stolen.”

“Ten were hit and runs, twelve were automobile accidents, three were climbing accidents, and six died of heart attacks, though they had perfectly healthy hearts.”

“I see you do your homework.”

“Is Carol Hennessy a friend of yours?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

I ate my last clam slowly while watching her, then drained the last of my martini. “It isn’t supposed to mean anything. Is she a friend of yours?”

She shrugged. “I wouldn’t say a friend. More like an acquaintance.” She ate her last mushroom and sat back, chewing. “Are we fighting?”

I smiled. “I hope not. I’m asking questions, you’re giving me your opinion.” I gave my head a little twitch. “I don’t have to agree with everything you say, right? Even if it is the New Millennium.”

She shook her head, still smiling. “It’s men like you…”

“My last captain thought I was a dinosaur.”

“He was right.”

“She was also a bent cop.”

“Was…?”

“Who is Lee?”

“Boy! This is fun. Do you do all your interrogations in restaurants, or just the ones you hope to get laid by after the case is finished?”

She was still smiling, but the smile was looking strained. A waitress took our plates away, Vincenzo brought the main course and poured me a small amount of wine. I tasted it and gave him the nod. He poured and left. I raised an eyebrow at her.

“Are you going to hit me now or will you wait till after dessert? They do a Coppa Antica of homemade vanilla bean ice-cream, pecan nougat, and Amarena cherries that you could kill for.”

“Is that supposed to be a joke?”

“No. I’m just hoping you have enough of the ’60s and ’70s left in you to make room for a dinosaur in your busy schedule. I didn’t have you down as the kind of woman who expects everybody to conform to a preordained standard. Or are we swapping the tyranny of the testicle for the tyranny of the ovary?”

She burst out laughing and a few people glanced at her. We ate in silence for a bit. Her smile looked a little less strained. After a bit, she said, “I confess you are kind of refreshing. Intolerable, but refreshingly so.”

“Thanks.”

“I’ll wait till after the Coppa Antica to hit you with my handbag and walk out.”

“Good to know. You never answered my question, by the way.”

She chewed and studied my face for a moment. “What question was that?”

“Who is Lee?”

She concentrated on her food and gave a small shrug. “Lee? It’s not a lot to go on.”

“How many Lees did David know? This one was about as close to him as anybody ever got, he’s an attorney and he is Korean.”

“Oh, Jackson. Jackson Lee, his attorney. Why didn’t you say so?”

I put a smile on the left side of my face, where it looks less humorous and more ironic. “I wanted to see if you would avoid answering.”

Her smile faded. “You bastard.”

I kept eating and smiling. She kept eating and looking hurt. I said, “I can play nice, too.”

She didn’t look up. “Yeah?”

“Sure. Can you?”

Now she looked at me. “Again, Stone, what is that supposed to mean? Why are you giving me a hard time? When I suggested dinner, I didn’t have this in mind, exactly.”

I said softly, “Come on, Shelly. You’ve been keeping information from me from the start in order to protect Carol Hennessy. You suggested dinner so you could find out what direction my investigation was taking. The only question I have is, are you doing this to protect a woman you admire or because she has you on her payroll? And you can drop the injured girl act. You don’t get to be the senior editor of the New York Telegraph by being sensitive and easily offended.”

She drained her glass and refilled it. “Boy, Stone, you know how to make a girl feel special. You’re some piece of work.”

“You hadn’t picked that up when we came to see you earlier today?”

She sighed and started eating again. “Fair enough, you got me. It’s true.” She chewed, sipped, watched me. “But I also liked you. Is that permissible? And I’m not on anybody’s payroll, except the paper’s.”

“I’m glad to hear it. I like you, too. You know where I can reach Lee?”

She rolled her eyes. “Hold me. I’m going to blush. I can’t handle this dinosaur flattery. No, I see