Rob Cornell - Ridley Brone 02 - The Hustle by Rob Cornell Read Free Book Online Page B

obituary didn’t give any details about actual cause of death. Old age, probably. A heart attack or stroke. Out of curiosity, I did a little searching and found a small blurb on the back pages of the Tribune , where the paper gathered all the local tidbits—parades, wedding announcements, bake sales, charity auctions, and the occasional story about a lost member of the community.
    Ruby Arndt had a nice little piece about her involvement with the animal shelter, a small mention of her taking Eddie in after his “tragic loss,” and the kicker—how she had died. Apparently she had mixed up her medications before bed one night. The mistake proved fatal. She died in her sleep. A “peaceful exit of a blessed soul” according to the article.
    But not a natural death.
    The curse of Eddie Arndt had struck again. Only there was no such thing as curses. And while I did believe in coincidence, there comes a time when you have to admit there’s a pattern, no matter how far flung.
    Four members of his family and one soon-to-be wife, all killed by unnatural causes. Eddie wasn’t cursed.
    He was a target.

Chapter 7
    “Now you believe me?” Eddie’s jaw nearly hit the table.
    “I think so. I’m not sure.”
    We sat in my booth at the back of the High Note . I’d have rather been in my office, but I had this odd sense of responsibility to watch over the bar during operating hours. Part of the baggage that came along with that whole deal with my parents.
    A girl no bigger than a twelve year-old—though definitely over twenty-one, or she couldn’t have gotten into the bar—had the mic. She sang “People” and put Streisand to shame. How such a big voice could come from such a little woman, I had no idea. Nice change from the usual. Though, speaking of the usual, I noted Hal’s absence again. Two nights in a row without Hal. Didn’t feel like the same place.
    Eddie’s eyes looked ready to pop from the sockets. “Do you or don’t you?”
    I didn’t have a drink in front of me. I wanted one, but I feared the alcohol might upset an already twitchy stomach. “Tell me about the rest of your family.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Grandparents. Aunts and uncles. Cousins.”
    He blinked while running a hand over his head. “Shoot, I don’t know. There aren’t many left of them.”
    My stomach flipped. Good call on the no booze decision. “Why’s that?”
    “What are you getting at?”
    “Did you have a big family?”
    He shrugged. “Not super huge. Probably average, I guess. The usual pair of grandparents. An uncle on my dad’s side. Two aunts on my mom’s. I had four cousins, but only two of them are still around.” He squinted. “I think one lives in California, or maybe it’s Arizona now. The other one actually lives here in Hawthorne. He’s the one comes over to my place to watch UFC.”
    There aren’t many left of them. The words chilled me. But the way he was so casual about it baffled me. “What happened to the family that isn’t left?”
    “Grandpa on my mom’s side, Grandpa Wagner, died of a heart attack. He didn’t eat very healthy. Was about four-hundred pounds when he died. Grandma Wagner died a while later. She was ninety-two. Got sick with the flu, but never recovered. She just shut down.”
    I started to doubt myself. Those two had clearly died from natural causes. I could hear the air hiss as my theory deflated. “What about the others?”
    “Why are you asking me all this?”
    I wanted to get unbiased answers from him, didn’t want him to coat his memories with wishful thinking. But the more questions I asked in this direction, the more likely he was to catch on. I came at it from a different direction. “Were you close to your extended family?”
    “The Arndt side, yeah. I didn’t see much of Mom’s side, except during holidays. I got the feeling she didn’t really get along with them.” He shrugged. “Amy moved away right out of high school and never came back to visit