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Back Murder Past Due Save as PDF
Chapters (36)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Page
  3. Acknowledgements
  4. ONE
  5. TWO
  6. THREE
  7. FOUR
  8. FIVE
  9. SIX
  10. SEVEN
  11. EIGHT
  12. NINE
  13. TEN
  14. ELEVEN
  15. TWELVE
  16. THIRTEEN
  17. FOURTEEN
  18. FIFTEEN
  19. SIXTEEN
  20. SEVENTEEN
  21. EIGHTEEN
  22. NINETEEN
  23. TWENTY
  24. TWENTY-ONE
  25. TWENTY-TWO
  26. TWENTY-THREE
  27. TWENTY-FOUR
  28. TWENTY-FIVE
  29. TWENTY-SIX
  30. TWENTY-SEVEN
  31. TWENTY-EIGHT
  32. TWENTY-NINE
  33. THIRTY
  34. THIRTY-ONE
  35. THIRTY-TWO
  36. THIRTY-THREE

I was about to tie my tie when the phone rang. It might be Sean, my son. He sometimes called around this hour.

“Hello.”

Melba’s excited voice boomed out at me. “You won’t believe this. The party’s canceled.”

EIGHT

EIGHT

“Canceled?” I was stunned. “But why?”

“I heard Godfrey called the president’s office about half an hour ago and told them he was too ill to come. Peter just called me, and I called you right away.”

“Thanks for letting me know. But Godfrey seemed perfectly fine earlier.”

“It sure is strange,” Melba said, and I agreed.

“Look, Melba, I’ve got to go. Diesel’s demanding his dinner.” I knew that was the easiest way to get her off the phone. “See you tomorrow. Bye.”

I hung up and looked down at Diesel, lying half-asleep on my bed. He turned his head to look up at me, then blinked and yawned.

What had happened to Godfrey?

He reveled in attention, so there had to be a serious reason he’d canceled on a party in his honor.

Did it involve Justin in some way?

On that thought, I left my bedroom and proceeded back upstairs to the boy’s room. I might as well check in case he had come home while I was in the shower. Diesel passed me and scooted up the stairs well ahead of me. He was sitting in front of Justin’s door when I reached the third floor.

I knocked, but there was no answer. I opened the door, and there was still no sign of Justin.

“Come on, boy,” I said to Diesel as I shut the door. “He’s not here.”

Diesel bounded down the stairs before me. I headed for the kitchen, thinking vaguely about having something to eat. But by the time I reached the kitchen, my uneasiness over Justin’s absence had become more urgent.

I couldn’t help feeling that something was wrong. Why had Godfrey skipped out on his own party? Where was Justin?

Even if it turned out to be a waste of time and there was some simple explanation for all this, I decided not to sit home and wait.

So much for my not getting emotionally involved in this mess. But my paternal instincts were kicking in, I guess.

Diesel followed me to the back door, but I told him he couldn’t come with me this time. He assumed a long-suffering expression, as if I were always abandoning him.

“I won’t be gone too long,” I said, adding, “I hope,” under my breath.

Farrington House, Athena’s ritziest hotel, was my destination. Godfrey had to be staying there, probably in their best suite. The hotel occupied half a block on the town square, about ten minutes’ drive from my house. It was dark outside now, and I switched on my headlights as I backed the car out of the garage.