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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 opened the door and stepped into Peter’s office. “Good morning, Peter,” I said.

Peter looked up from his desk. “Good morning, Charles. I am most pleased to see you. There is something I feel I should discuss with you. I value your judgment, and I know you will offer sage advice.”

He seemed to have forgotten that I wanted to talk to him, but I knew there was no point in trying to divert his attention.

Suppressing a sigh, I sat down. “Tell me about it, and I’ll do my best.”

Peter stared at me, as if suddenly mute. As I watched him, beginning to grow concerned, his face reddened. Was he having some kind of attack?

“Peter, what’s the matter? Do you need a doctor?” I rose from my chair, ready to yell for Melba.

He waved a hand, indicating that I should sit down. “There is no need,” he said, his voice low. “I am simply embarrassed by what I have to tell you in order to solicit your counsel.”

“There’s no need to feel embarrassed,” I said. “I won’t betray your confidence, I assure you.”

“Thank you,” Peter said. “I know you are a man of honor.” He sighed. “And that is the crux of the matter. I fear that I have acted in a dishonorable manner.”

“How so?” I did my best to maintain a patient tone, but Peter could be maddeningly slow getting to the point.

“I refer to the matter of the phone call which we discussed yesterday,” Peter said.

“You mean the call from Godfrey? About his feeling too ill to attend the dinner in his honor?”

“Yes, that is correct.” Peter drew a deep breath. “I lied to you, Charles. There was no phone call.”

TWENTY-ONE

TWENTY-ONE

“No phone call?” I stared at Peter in disbelief. “Were you playing some kind of joke on Godfrey?”

“Would that were all it was,” Peter said, his face reflecting his pompous tone. “The message from Godfrey Priest was real enough. The method of delivery was quite different, I regret to say.”

Peter’s conversational style was giving me a headache. I yearned to grab him and shake him a few times, maybe knock loose some of the extra words so he would get to the point sooner.

“Then tell me how and when you talked to Godfrey.” That came out far calmer than I expected.

Peter grimaced. “I yielded to a base impulse. I have just cause to despise the man, though perhaps you are unaware of said cause.” He paused for a moment.

I didn’t want to tell him I already knew about his wife, in case he asked me for the source of my information. Melba wouldn’t thank me for snitching on her.