Today’s excerpt is from Whodunit
Did It, the first of three Elmer Bader books. Elmer and part of the group that will help
him on the major case are in the early stages of their investigation, and
having some fun along the way. Enjoy and
have a fantastic day.
m.j.
Elmer told
Gordon that Bert had plucked a real possibility out of the stack of files as he
handed it to Gordon. He also told him
Bert had been dispatched to get everything else on the file. Gordon read the file, then nodded,
“Yeah—looks like our guy, okay. You sure
must trust the kid, to send him off to get the full details and evidence on
this one, Elmer.”
“I do. Alan keeps eating himself to death without
ever working out, I’ll be happy to take Bert as my new partner, after we bury
Alan.”
Alan held up his
hand, “Okay, I surrender. I’ll start
working out. Ruth’s words stung, but I
was already thinking about it.”
Gordon and
Reggie both had inquisitive looks on their faces. Elmer told them about the scene in the
kitchen while Alan was waiting for his shirt.
When he finished, Gordon asked, “You ever gonna marry that girl again,
El?”
“You’re the
second person to ask the same question in two days. The answer is, maybe—but things sure are
going well the way we're going. For a
while I was hoping to knock her up.
Doing so would sure push us toward it again. But she hit forty, two months ago—don’t tell
her I told you her age, please—so she’s on the wrong side of getting pregnant
age-wise. I guess it isn’t gonna
happen. Three wives, no kids—I’m
starting to wonder if I shoot blanks.”
Reggie, who had
four children, joked, “Maybe I should enlist you to service my wife before she
gets with child again.”
Gordon shook his
head. “I’m going back to work.”
To Gordon’s
back, Elmer yelled, “Yeah—since we’re letting Reggie be a cop again for a
while, you gotta do your own paperwork, Gordo.”
Reggie just
shook his head, smiled, then reached for his next file. They kept at it, without much to show for
their efforts, until Bert got back with a box of evidence from the case he had
gone to investigate. Soon all four were
going over what was there. When each of
them had seen everything Bert had brought back—except for the surveillance
video—they played it. When it finished,
Elmer nodded, “Yeah—it’s our guy. Bert,
anyone working the case now?”
“No, Elmer…it’s
gone cold. Did talk to the two guys who
worked it, though…or rather a lady and a man.
They told me they never developed anything like a true lead on the
thing. They wished us well with it. Seemed to be glad to see me leave with all
this stuff.”
Alan chuckled,
“Don’t blame them. I’m starting to feel
the same way on this stinking case.
Someone comes in here to take it away from us, I’ll not cry.”
Elmer shot him a
dirty look. “I stand corrected. I would cry.”
“You’ll also be
working out before the day is over. But
before that happy event, let’s get through the rest of these files.”
Reggie sighed,
“Hell’s bells—it’ll take three days, Elmer.”
“Better order in
some pizza then.”
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