A Murder In Passing by Mark de Castrique Read Free Book Online Page B

building and within a few minutes we were out of sight of the main entry.
    Captain pointed to a bench on the far side of a koi pond. “Let’s sit a spell. We shouldn’t be bothered. Most people stay inside after lunch.”
    He parked his walker at one end and eased onto the cedar bench. I sat beside him. Two friends separated by half a foot and over half a century.
    â€œI’m glad you came by,” he said. “I should have called you first thing this morning.”
    â€œWhy? What’s wrong?”
    â€œThe Mayor’s in intensive care.”
    The Mayor was the oldest resident at Golden Oaks. His real name was Harry Young, but, at a hundred and five, everyone affectionately called him by his nickname.
    â€œWhen did this happen?”
    â€œThis morning. Bertha, the head nurse of critical care, told me after breakfast. I didn’t want to say anything to the girls until later when the medical team knows more. The Mayor just didn’t have the strength to get out of bed.”
    â€œPneumonia?”
    â€œProbably.” Captain’s eyes glistened. “The old man’s friend, we call it. They say it takes you away without pain. There’s a breath, and then never another.”
    I patted his leg. “The Mayor might surprise us.”
    â€œOh, he’s done that already. A hundred and five. The things that man’s seen.”
    Captain sounded like he was part of the Facebook generation compared to the Mayor.
    â€œWell, we all go in our time,” he said. “But not a day passes I don’t think of the young men lost under my command. And wonder why their time was so early.”
    I didn’t say anything. We sat in the sunlight a few moments. The water gurgled through the filter of the pond’s pump. The brightly colored koi glided in and out of the shadows cast by the lily pads. It was a good day to be alive.
    â€œWhat’s on your mind?” he said at last.
    â€œDo you know someone named Lucille Montgomery?”
    â€œSure. Nice lady. Did her daughter get in touch?”
    I stared at Captain with surprise. “How’d you know?”
    â€œI’m the one who told her about you. Marsha didn’t waste any time.”
    â€œWhen was this?”
    â€œYesterday afternoon. She came to have lunch with Lucille. We’d all gone to church together. The ecumenical service in the auditorium.”
    â€œYou’d met her before?”
    â€œOh, yeah. Lucille’s been here about five years. Marsha’s good to visit. She works for Lang Paper Manufacturing. I think she’s in sales. Lucille says her daughter travels some, but she’s usually home on the weekends.”
    Captain’s description of Marsha’s job matched the professional appearance of the woman.
    â€œHow did my name come up?”
    â€œShe caught me at the dessert table. She said she needed some background check run at work but didn’t want to use their normal channels. She said it was a sensitive internal investigation. I thought she was probably talking about some sort of suspected embezzlement.”
    â€œShe didn’t say it was personal?”
    Captain shook his head. “No. She said her mother told her I’d been involved with some investigators from Asheville. She thought hiring someone from out of town might be better.”
    â€œWhere’s the paper plant?”
    â€œOn the outskirts of Brevard.”
    Brevard was about twenty-five miles from Asheville and paper mills had once been a strong component of its manufacturing base. Many had closed as outsourcing and environmental laws had affected profitability.
    â€œShe asked me not to say anything about it because it could reflect badly on the company.” He looked at me curiously. “So if it’s about her job, why do you want to talk to Lucille?”
    â€œThat’s a good question. Maybe we should leave it at that.”
    He grinned. “The private in private