Dead Wrong (A Cal Murphy Thriller Book 7) Jack Patterson (good beach reads .txt) 📖

think I might have another theory thanks to this text.”

“Are you gonna tell me what it is or am I gonna have to beat it out of you?”

Cal eased off the brake as the light turned green. “Read it for yourself.”

Kelly read the message aloud: “Mr. Murphy, I got your cell number from a colleague. I hope you don’t mind me sending this to you, but it’s something I think you need to know. Here is a document that I saw before Kelvin Jameson died while I was in the office of Perry and Associates. I no longer work there and the original was shredded, but I took a picture just in case.”

Attached to the message was the image of Jameson’s letter giving Perry and Associates a 30-day notice that he was terminating his contract with the agency.

Slack-jawed, Kelly stared out the windshield before she spoke.

“What do you think? Is Scott Perry our new suspect?” Cal asked.

“I’m still trying to figure out how that could be a strong enough motive to kill someone.”

“Maybe Perry snapped. Maybe he didn’t like getting jilted. I don’t know.”

“Well, you need to work on that theory a little bit before you float it by Hale because he won’t like it. It’s too flimsy and I think you know that.”

Cal pulled the car into the driveway and started unloading the luggage. He read a note from his mother-in-law that said she’d taken Maddie out for pizza and would be back later. “You’re right, but there are some other elements at play in this case.”

“Such as?”

“Such as why someone would want to kill us. I’m just reporting the truth.”

“Maybe you know something you shouldn’t. Or maybe someone is afraid you’re going to unearth something in the process.”

Cal’s phone buzzed again. He placed the luggage in his bedroom and read the text. “You mean like this?”

He handed Kelly the phone. She read the message from Corliss, telling him that Tonya Jameson was not at one of the bars she claimed to be at the night of her husband’s murder—and that there’s no evidence to corroborate her claims that she was except for the word of her best friend.

“So you still think Perry had something to do with it?” she asked as she handed him back his phone.

Cal shook his head. “Not sure. But since your mom is out with Maddie, I need you to do something for me tonight.”

CHAPTER 35

IN THE TIMES’ BUILDING, Cal barely acknowledged anyone as he strode toward Marcus Hale’s office. Nursing a cup of coffee, Hale spilled some of it as Cal’s sudden entrance startled him.

“What are you doing down here?” Hale asked as he mopped up the small spill in his lap.

“There’s some crazy stuff going on with this story, and we need to talk about it,” Cal said.

“Any time a reporter’s life is threatened during the course of a story, I tend to assume it’s crazy.”

“Threatened is putting it mildly.”

Hale motioned for Cal to shut the door to his office. “So, what’s up now? And I only want to hear it if Will Simon hasn’t written it yet.”

“Trust me—nobody is writing about this. One name: Scott Perry.”

Hale looked at him incredulously. “The agent?”

Cal nodded. “You got it.”

“What would be his motive for killing Jameson?”

“Jameson dumped him for—get this—DJ O.T.U.S.”

“Revenge? Money? Why do it?”

“Why not? Not to mention that it’s Kelvin’s wife and now widow who has been seen in public with DJ O.T.U.S.”

“What’s that got to do with anything? Maybe they were all conspiring against Jameson.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Well, it better be a tight story.”

Cal exited Hale’s office and sat down and began writing. An hour later, he sent the story to Hale.

Murdered, but by Whom?

By Cal Murphy

The Washington Times

When murder charges against Wizards’ owner Nikolay Gavin were dismissed almost as quickly as they were brought on Friday, the Metropolitan Police Department made it perfectly clear it believed Kelvin Jameson was murdered.

In an interview on the courthouse steps Friday, Gavin’s attorney Reese Olson reiterated that point.

“It’s clear based on their actions today that they aren’t satisfied with the initial apparent explanation and will continue to seek answers until they achieve justice,” Olson said. “I am relieved that we have a legal system that believes in due process of law and strives to make sure the right people serve time for the crimes they commit.

However, the question that begs to be answered is this: Who did it?

Sources close to the investigation revealed Friday evening that Tonya Jameson, Kelvin’s widow, who claimed to be at a local D.C. bar was never there. And she’s been unable to produce any physical evidence to prove as much.

Yet Tonya Jameson’s story isn’t the only one that raises questions.

Powerhouse sports agent Scott Perry also has new questions to answer following the release of a document obtained exclusively by The Times. Kelvin Jameson wrote a letter just days before he died that allegedly arrived at the offices of Perry and Associates before his death. The contents of the letter? He gave notice to the agency that he would be taking his business elsewhere.

While The Times has been unable to confirm this information, various sources suggest that Jameson was taking his business to the startup agency run by DJ O.T.U.S.

Cal emailed the article to Hale with the subject line reading, “How’s this for an update?” He waited for a few minutes until he returned to Hale’s office.

“So, what’d you think?” Cal asked.

Hale rolled his head around several times as he massaged the back of his neck. “It’s a good start.”

“A good start? This is new information.”

“Sort of, but not exactly.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Look, it’s good, but it’s not publishable at this point. We need people to go on record, sources who believe in what they’re telling you. We keep writing this speculative garbage, we’re both going to be thrown out on our ear. Got it?”

Cal nodded.

“Now, get me some more definitive proof and beg at least one of your sources