Board Stiff (Mattie Winston Mysteries) by Annelise Ryan Read Free Book Online

“You just happened to run into Mattie here at the nursing home?”
    “Not exactly,” I say. “It’s a long story. I’ll fill you in later.”
    Hurley opens his mouth as if to say something more, but after a moment he apparently decides otherwise. He turns his focus to Bernard’s body and cocks his head to one side as he studies it. “What is that in his mouth?” he asks of no one in particular, squatting beside Bernard’s head.
    “I think it’s isolyser powder,” I say. “It’s that stuff that turns a liquid into a solid.”
    Hurley looks at me with a grimace. “You mean that stuff we use in the back of the squad cars if someone pees or pukes in there?”
    “Probably,” I say with a shrug. I’m not sure what the cops use for those purposes, but since health care facilities use it the way Hurley just described, I imagine it’s all the same stuff.
    “Eww,” Junior says with a shudder. “Is that what killed him? If it was, it couldn’t have been a nice way to go.”
    “I’m not sure if that’s what killed him, but it looks like it might have been,” I say.
    “Who found him?” Hurley asks.
    Irene shoots me a panicked look and after a moment’s hesitation I say, “Irene did.” Technically it’s the truth as far as I know since we don’t know if Bernie was dead when Bjorn fled the restroom.
    Hurley doesn’t miss the exchange of looks. “So Irene, what reason did you have to enter the men’s bathroom?”
    Crap! Clearly I hadn’t thought my answer through. But Irene is saved from having to answer by the arrival of several more people who enter the administrative wing from the front inside doorway: Izzy, another uniformed cop named Brenda Joiner, and my brother-in-law Lucien.
    Lucien’s arrival, as usual, is problematic. I know there will be awkward explanations of how he knew to come here at all. Plus, because of my history with him, I’m always nervous whenever he’s around, anticipating some obnoxious comment or leering look. His appearance usually adds to the level of discomfiture because it’s never what anyone would call professional. His clothes are always wrinkled, stained, and frayed-looking, and his strawberry blond hair has a vigorous natural wave that Lucien tries to tame with enough grease to deep fry cheese curds for the entire town.
    Today he looks worse than I’ve ever seen him. His clothes are messier than usual, his hair is weeks past the need for a cut, and his chin is covered with several days’ worth of stubble. Plus his face looks haggard and tired. There are large, dark circles under his eyes, and his skin has a pale, sagging look to it. He looks ill and that frightens me. Lucien may be a big pain in my ass much of the time, but he is my brother-in-law and in some small part of my heart, I feel affection for him. I’ve long suspected that his obnoxious behavior and apparent misogynistic attitudes are nothing more than a cover he uses to protect his true feelings and to scare the bejesus out of everyone he meets. It’s part of what makes him such an effective and successful lawyer, and such an annoying human being.
    Hurley, not surprisingly, moans in frustration at the sight of Lucien. “What are you doing here, Colter?”
    “Mattie called me to represent certain folks here who feel they need someone to look out for their best interests.”
    Hurley shoots me a venomous look, to which I shrug.
    “All I did was track him down for Irene,” I say. “It was her idea and at her request.”
    Izzy looks in the bathroom and then at me. “How did you get here already?”
    “Irene got a hold of me. Long story.”
    “Have you done anything yet to process the scene?”
    I shake my head. “I didn’t know what I was walking into,” I explain, “so I had Irene call the cops first thing when I saw the body.”
    Izzy sets down his scene kit, opens it, takes out a camera, and hands it to me. “Why don’t you start shooting pictures while I do the preliminary exam.”
    I