Rest Ye Murdered Gentlemen by Vicki Delany Read Free Book Online

moved beneath my shaking fingers.
    I realized that I knew him.
    Nigel Pearce. The
World Journey
magazine reporter.

Chapter 4

    M attie buried his head into my side with a slow, plaintive whine. I rubbed my hands through his soft fur and closed my eyes, taking deep breaths and sparing a thought for poor Nigel.
    My eyes flew open. Nigel was cold, icy cold, but I’d read somewhere that people who appeared to be frozen to death had been brought back to life when warmed up. I struggled to my feet and shrugged off my winter coat. I pushed the emergency call button on my iPhone with one hand while with the other I draped my coat over the man lying at my feet.
    â€œI’m in the Rudolph town park,” I said when the efficient voice of the emergency operator answered. “A man . . . I found a man . . . I think he’s dead. Almost dead. He’s very cold.”
    â€œWhat is your name, please?”
    â€œMerry Wilkinson. He’s lying in the snow. Not breathing. Send help.”
    â€œAmbulance and police are on their way,” she said. “Stay on the line, Merry.”
    â€œOkay. Is this Alison?”
    â€œYeah.”
    â€œHi,” I said.
    â€œAre you okay, Merry?”
    â€œI’m okay. It’s dark here, but I have my flashlight on so they’ll be able to find me.”
    â€œStay there, then. Do you detect any vital signs?”
    I swallowed and said, “No.”
    â€œHow was the parade? I was sorry to miss it, but you know how busy we get parade weekend, so I pulled an extra shift.” Alison Grimes was a graduate of my mom’s vocal school. I knew she was just making polite conversation to keep me calm until help arrived, and I chatted back, grateful for her relaxed voice and easy manner.
    As we talked, Mattie uncoiled himself from me and went to take another look at Nigel. I grabbed his collar and pulled him away. “I’d better secure my dog,” I said to Alison. “Hold on.”
    â€œI’ll wait.”
    I grabbed Mattie’s leash and led him to a tree about twenty feet away to tie him up. I figured that the EMTs and the cops wouldn’t want to play with a giant puppy, delighted as he would be at the opportunity to make new friends.
    The snow around Nigel had been churned up, first by Mattie’s big paws and then by me. The cops probably wouldn’t be happy about that but there was nothing I could do about itnow. I tried to remember if I’d seen any tracks as I approached, but I couldn’t. I had not been looking for clues.
    I shined my flashlight across the ground around Nigel. The long lens of his Nikon was partially under his body. I wondered if I should lift it out of the snow. Surely, a valuable piece of equipment like that shouldn’t be getting wet. I left it where it lay. Expensive or not, the cops would not be happy if I disturbed the scene any more than I already had.
    The light picked up something I hadn’t seen before: a circle of melting snow about two feet away from Nigel. A mass of brown lumpy liquid was sinking into the snow, warm enough to melt it. I caught a whiff of the scent, and my stomach lurched. Nigel had been violently ill.
    At first, I thought he must have been awfully drunk to throw up like that and then simply lie down in the snow and take a nap. But alcohol hadn’t been served at the party, and if Nigel had been dipping into a private stash, he hadn’t appeared to be at all inebriated. Had he started to drink when he left the party? I’d last seen him less than an hour ago. Surely no one could get that drunk that fast?
    Mattie’s sharp ears caught the sound before I did and he began to bark. Sirens, coming toward us, red, blue, and white lights breaking the blackness of the winter night. A voice shouted, and I waved my flashlight in the air, calling, “We’re over here!” Mattie strained at the leash, his front paws clawing at nothing but cold