Trouble in Rooster Paradise by T.W. Emory Read Free Book Online Page A

Dirk is
involved—”
    “ Dirk?”
    “ My godson. Dirk Engstrom. I’ve
known the family for years. His late grandfather was my best
friend. And his father and I regularly go on fishing trips
together. He’s a local jeweler and a gem of a man. Pardon the
pun.”
    I absolved him with a lift of one
brow.
    “ And this jeweler’s son is the Dirk
who was romancing Christine Johanson?” I asked.
    “ Precisely. Dirk’s learning the
jewelry business from his father. Listen, son, if you haven’t
guessed it, I want to hire you to look into the girl’s
murder.”
    “ Why not let the police handle it?
I’m sure they’ll be thorough.” Especially for a man with your
green, is what I thought.
    “ Maybe so. But I’d hate for them to
get thorough in a troublesome way. The police are being discreet
for now. But the murdered girl worked for a Lundeen company,
and I view young Dirk and his father as my own family.”
    “ And blood is thicker than
sweat—”
    “ Exactly. You’re tracking right with
me, son. If the police should dig up something ugly, the scandal
could hurt Engstrom Jewelry. And I believe I’d even rather see
Rod’s costly enterprise die its own pathetic death than go down in
some messy embarrassment. So, I want my own unofficial inquiry, and
some effort made to contain anything disturbing that may come to
light. It might be quite the task, but when it comes to discretion,
you’ve definitely won my confidence, son.”
    I met his look of shared meaning.
    “ I noticed you kept it out of the
papers,” I said.
    “ An easy matter, once you helped me
to spike her guns.”
    I shrugged. “Most people with larceny in their
souls have something to hide. It’s just a matter of
discovery.”
    He sighed. “I’ve mellowed with age, son. That
little tramp was lucky I only gave her walking papers.”
    Lundeen’s inamorata had hoped to score big. For
a B movie bit player, she was an A-1 actress. She threatened to
play the part of an ill-used plaintiff in a paternity suit. I
learned she had a record of just enough small-time forgery, petty
theft, and bunco activity to lack proficiency. The trouble was I
kind of liked her. It was not my finest hour.
    Mr. Lundeen’s hand disappeared inside the front
of his jacket and came out with a checkbook. “Will five hundred
dollars do as a retainer?”
    I almost choked on a bite of pie. “That should
cover it,” I said.
    “ I thought it might. And you keep it
as a bonus if everything goes well. What do you charge again,
Gunnar?”
    “ Thirty dollars a day.”
    “ Let’s make it forty-five, and I’m
assuming that your expenses are extra.”
    “ Right.”
    “ I’ve got some suggestions as to
where you can start your investigation.”
    “ I’m open.” Hell, for what he was
paying me I was downright pliable.
    “ Head on over to Fasciné
Expressions. Talk to Leonard Pearson. He heads the operation. I’ve
told him to expect you.”
    He handed me a check that he’d made out ahead
of time. I was a little irked at being presumed upon. But my
wounded pride healed as soon as the check was in my
wallet.
    As I wrote down the address, Mr. Lundeen
explained that Rod’s “costly dog” was a two-year-old boutique with
a parent company in New York. It was a local showcase for new
product lines but with provincial flavorings.
    “ Frankly, the place is more than a
bit excessive. I tried to tell Rod that we’re not ready for such
local sources of sophistication. The Eastern and European salons
aren’t likely to be forsaken by Seattle’s toplofty. They’re too
chary and pompous to take up with Rod’s enterprise. And all the
others trying to scale the peaks are too pusillanimous not to
follow their lead. No, the people of this city are still too wedded
to the conventional to become his regular clientele.”
    I didn’t disagree. Seattle wasn’t exactly a
trendsetter city. We were known for rain, Boeing, the movie star
Francis Farmer, and more rain—and not necessarily in