Bicycle Shop Murder by Robert Burton Robinson (fiction novels to read .TXT) đ
- Author: Robert Burton Robinson
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Greg and Cynthia were approaching Dallas. Soon, they would meet the notorious Buford Bellowin. In the meantime, Greg struggled with his mixed emotions about Cynthia. He was very attracted to her. But he couldnât let the physical attraction blind him to the fact they she might well be a murderer.
He wanted to believe her story, but he didnât want to be a fool. Was this an innocent, kind woman of high moral value? Or was she a talented liar, capable of killing without remorse? He hoped he could survive the relationship until he knew the answer to that question.
Then Cynthia looked at him and smiled, and he knew he couldnât possibly resist her, no matter what she had done. It felt as though the two of them had just stripped naked, and dived off a high cliff over a beautiful river. The water below looked cool and inviting.
But what if it was only six inches deep?
Greg and Cynthia walked through the spacious marble lobby to the large, circular reception/security booth, which separated them from the hallway of elevators. A huge digital wall clock read 4:08 PM. Two uniformed men were carefully watching an array of closed circuit television monitors.
In a quick survey of three screens, Cynthia saw a young couple in one of the elevators, a woman walking down a hallway with an armful of folders and a man opening a door.
One of the guards looked up at Greg. âMay I help you, Sir?â
âYes. Weâre here to see Buford Bellowin.â
âDo you have an appointment?â
âUh, no, we donât.â
âThen Iâm afraid I canât let you go up. Youâll have to call his secretary and set up an appointment. The office numbers are listed over on that board. Iâm sorryâbut, thatâs all I can do for you.â
âOkay. Thanks.â Why hadnât he lied to the guard about having an appointment? Noâthe guard would have called Bufordâs secretary to verify it.
They walked to the information board and found Bellowin & Associates. It was located on the seventeenth floor. Greg typed the office phone number into his cell phone, but did not press the âSendâ button. âLetâs go over there,â he said to Cynthia.
He led her to a small couch close to the lobby entrance. He didnât want to be within earshot of the guards. âOkay. Here goes.â He pressed the âSendâ button.
âBellowin and Associates. How may I help you?â
âI would like to make an appointment with Mr. Bellowin.â
âAre you one of Mr. Bellowinâs clients?â
âNo, Iâm not.â
âWell, now, Mr. Bellowin is booked up for the foreseeable future. But one of his associates could see you
next Wednesday at 5:30. Would that work for you?â
What had made Greg think they could just walk right in and meet with the mighty Buford Bellowin?
âNo, Maâam. Iâm sorryâthis is not about a legal matter. Iâm an old friend of Bufordâs, from his hometown of Coreyville. Iâm in Dallas on business and just wanted to drop by and âshoot the bullâ for a while.â He hoped he sounded like one of Bufordâs friends. On second thought, he didnât know whether Buford actually had any friends.
âOh, I see. Well, heâs in court for the rest of the day, but I could probably squeeze you in sometime between 8:30 and 9:00 tomorrow morning. He reads his email during that time, but Iâm sure he could spare a few minutes for an old friend.â
âThat would be great.â It wasnât great. Now he and Cynthia would be forced to spend the night in Dallas. They had planned to meet with Buford and be back home by late evening, having solved the mystery of the Coreyville killing spree. It had seemed like a good plan. What were they thinking?
Cynthia had an ear close to Gregâs phone, and didnât like what she was hearing. But Greg gave her a look that said, âWe have no choice.â
âNow, what was your name?â
âIf you donât mind, Iâd rather surprise him.â
There was a brief pause before the secretary responded. Maybe Greg had blown it.
âOkay. Just tell the guard that you are Bufordâs friend from Coreyville. He will call me, and I will give him the okay for you to come up.â
âOh. Actually, there are two of us. The other one is a lady friend of his.â
The secretary knew Buford would not want to miss an opportunity to see a lady friend. âGot it. Two friends from Coreyville at 8:30 AM.â
âThanks. See you in the morning. Bye.â
âWhat if he figures out that itâs us?â said Cynthia.
âEven if he does, I think he will be curious to hear what we have to say.â
Cynthiaâs cell rang, and Greg was about to advise her not to answerâbut, he was too late.
âHello?
Ten oâclock? I would prefer afternoon, if thatâs okay.
Good. I will see you at 2:00.â
âWho was that?â
âAndrea Newly, the Assistant D.A. Thank goodness for cell phones. They have no idea I left town. Iâve got to meet with the D.A. tomorrow afternoon at 2:00. Can we be back home by then?â
âI hope so. If we can see Buford before 9:00, we should make it back in time. But we may be cutting it close.â
*
âBellowin and Associates. How may Iââ
ââMillie, itâs me. I just got out of court, and I have special dinner plans tonight. So, I do not want to be disturbed by anyone for the rest of the evening.â
âI understand, Sir.â
âAny important calls?â
âNo, Sir. But, you did get a call from an old friend.â
âWho?â Buford had no friendsâjust associates and clients.
âHe wouldnât give his name. Said he wanted to surprise you. And thereâs a lady friend too. Theyâre from Coreyville.â
âCoreyville?â
âYes. I told them to come by at 8:30 in the morning.â
âDid they say anything else?â
âNo, Sir. That was all.â
âOkay. Thanks, Millie. See you in the morning.â
Buford got into his Mercedes, locked the doors and thought for a few minutes. Who would be coming to see him from Coreyville? He hadnât been there in eight or ten years. What if Marty had suspected that Buford sent someone to kill him? He might be coming to kill Buford right there in his own office. He wouldnât care if he got caught. But who was the woman?
What if it was Cynthia Blockerman. And Greg Tenorly? What if Dorothy Spokane had told one of them what Buford had done? Marty had killed Dorothy. But what if she had already told Bufordâs dirty secret?
His pistol was locked safely in his office drawer, along with plenty of bullets. He would have it ready to go by the time they got there. He had spent an adequate amount of time at the shooting range to handle this situation. If they knew too much, he could shoot them and say it was self-defense. He could put one of his big, heavy golf trophies in Gregâs dead hands and say that Greg was about to hit him with it.
He would come up with some way to justify Cynthiaâs killing as well. He had a very sharp legal mind. He would get himself out of this. And of course, the police would believe almost anything he told them. He was a powerful man. A man who would, in a few short years, be governor of the Lone Star State.
*
Angela Hammerly popped her head into Andrea Newlyâs office. âGot Cynthia Blockerman lined up for tomorrow?â
âYeah. Sheâs coming in at 2:00.â
âWhy not first thing in the morning?â The D.A. was clearly disappointed in her new A.D.A.
âShe had a conflict in the morning. I donât knowââ
ââyou should have made her come in to suit our scheduleânot hers!â
âIâm sorry. Should I call her back?â
âNo. I donât want it to look like Iâm undermining your authority. We need a united front.â
âSo, you really think she killed her husband?â
âWell, letâs look at the facts.â Angela walked in and took a seat. âThe night of the murder, as I was getting out of my car at Cynthiaâs house, I saw Greg Tenorly driving by. Or at least I saw his big red convertible. Itâs the only one like it in town. I canât be sure he was driving itâbut, for now, letâs just assume he was.
âWhy was he driving down her street at three oâclock in the morning? And one of the vice presidents at her bank said he saw Greg go into Cynthiaâs office on Tuesday afternoon. By tomorrow, weâll have their phone records. That should be interesting.
âWe also know that she attended his choir rehearsal Wednesday night, the very night of the murder, and stayed late for a private meeting with Greg. And hereâs the best part: the church organist says that she overheard Cynthia telling Greg she wished Troy was dead.â
âAre you thinking Greg Tenorly is the murderer?â
âI donât know which one of them actually cut Troyâs throat, but I think they planned it together.â
âSo, Greg and Cynthia were sneaking around having sex while plotting to kill Troy?â
âSomething like that.â
âI can get their credit card records and see if one of them has checked into a hotel lately. If so, we can try to find out what the other one was doing at that time,â Andrea said with a wicked tone Angela particularly liked.
âNow youâre thinking. If we can catch them in bed together, after the factâthen weâve got âem.â Angela almost looked proud of Andrea.
âI just hope they were stupid enough to use a credit card.â
âTheyâre not stupid. But I can guarantee you theyâre not as smart as they think they are.â
John X stole a silver F-150 pickup from a Wal-Mart in Shreveport. It was easy. The owner had parked it thirty feet away from other cars, probably in an attempt to avoid dings. It was a 2004 model, but looked brand new.
If someone had seen him stealing the truck, he would have been too far away for a positive ID. Even if the owner himself had walked out of the store at the moment John X was popping the lock, he would have had no hope of stopping him. He was just too good. Too fast. Too cool.
He didnât like the George Strait CD or the preset Country radio stations. But it didnât take long for him to find a heavy metal station and crank up the volume. He wasnât happy unless the music made his teeth rattle, even if it blew out the speakers.
He took Interstate 20 West, then Highway 59 North to Marshall. Then he merged into Highway 154. Coreyville was fifteen miles away. He knew Marty was much older than he was, but probably a little wiser too.
But he had no intention of giving Marty any chance to avoid extermination. So, it had to be rightâon the first attempt. One perfect shot, delivered without warning. Marty was just an ex-con punk. John X was a professional hit man.
Over the past two years, he had averaged two jobs per month, the first few for a measly $5,000 each, and then upped his price to $10,000. He was now ready to raise it again. After all, heâd never failed to complete an objective. A failure could put his employer in jeopardy. And
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