No Way to Die by M. D. Grayson Read Free Book Online Page A

do you think?” I asked.
    “I don’t know,” Toni said as she flipped through her notepad. “I think it’s too early to say. I’m eager to see what the police have.”
    “Me, too. Presumably, it could be a case of all the physical evidence pointing to a suicide and all the background evidence pointing to a murder.”
    “What she said made a lot of sense,” Toni said. “She seems pretty sincere—pretty convinced.”
    “Yeah, it does. But I’ve got to say, I’ve heard similar stories a few times before. When I was in the army, I had to investigate suicides. In all cases, what we thought might be suspicious turned out to be exactly what the evidence said it was—a suicide. We couldn’t always tell the motive, but I’m confident we never let any murderers skate away.”
    “Could be that way this time, too,” Toni said. “We’ll have to dig in to find out.”
    I nodded my head in agreement.
    We drove in silence for a few blocks. My mind bounced around with thoughts about Katherine and Thomas Rasmussen.
    “Here’s something to consider, Danny,” Toni said.
    “What’s that?”
    “If Katherine is right, and Thomas was murdered, someone—someone who’s highly skilled, by the way, and not afraid to actually murder people—was able to kill him and manipulate the evidence so as to fool the police.”
    “Yeah.”
    “Whoever that skilled murderer is, he might not appreciate a couple of PIs nosing around in his perfect murder. In fact, he might get pretty damned annoyed at us. I’m just saying.”
    I thought about this for a minute. Then I said, “You know, the thought of a murderer being pissed at me—even at us—doesn’t bother me.” I shook my head. “I’ve had homicidal idiots on my ass before. Fuck those guys. If I’ve got you watching my back, I’m good. Their mistake. In fact, they’re the ones that need to watch out for us.”
    Toni smiled. “Hooah,” she said.
    “Damn straight.”

Chapter 3
     
    WE ARRIVED AT the Logan PI office at about nine thirty and immediately went straight to my office to call our contact at the Seattle Police Department. I didn’t know Detective Inez Johnson, so I was hoping a detective I knew would put in a good word for us. Otherwise, she might not even talk to me—some cops don’t like PIs. I pulled the speakerphone into the center of the desk and dialed.
    After a few rings, a curt voice announced, “Special Investigations, Lieutenant Brown.”
    “Dwayne, it’s Danny Logan calling.”
    “Danny Logan,” Dwayne said, his voice brightening. “How you doing, man? You getting anybody killed this week?”
    I laughed. “Trying not to,” I said. “But it’s only Monday—the week’s young. Who knows?” He laughed. “Dwayne, I’ve got you on speakerphone because Toni Blair’s here in the office with me.”
    “Ah—the better half,” Dwayne said. “How you doing, Toni?”
    “I’m fine,” Toni answered, smiling.
    We both genuinely liked Dwayne—he was one of the “good guys.” I’ve known him for several years—since I was stationed at Fort Lewis. He and I worked several cases together—me as an army CID special agent, he as a Seattle Police Department detective. Last summer, we worked on the Gina Fiore disappearance together.
    “Wait a second,” Dwayne said. “I’ve got to switch you over.” A couple of seconds later, he returned to the line, which now echoed like he was speaking from the bottom of a barrel. “I’ve got you on speakerphone now too, because there’s someone in my office you may remember. Then again, maybe not. He’s not all that memorable.”
    “Gus?” Toni called out.
    “Live and in person,” said Goscislaw “Gus” Symanski, Dwayne’s partner. “How’s my favorite PI?”
    “I’m fine,” I said.
    “I wasn’t talking to you, moron,” Gus answered.
    Toni laughed. “I’m good, Gus. How about you? Is Dwayne working you too hard?”
    “He always does,” Gus answered.
    “Good,” Toni said. “I