Read Murder Games for Free Online Page B

sweetheart?” Jerry called out to his wife.
    Caroline made a shushing noise as she crept out of the library and entered the foyer, where Kyle and Jerry were talking. “I’m trying to escape,” she hissed, “don’t ruin it.”
    Kyle and Jerry exchanged amused glances. Dropping his voice to a stage whisper, Kyle asked, “Escape from whom?”
    Caroline glanced over her shoulder to the open library door. “ Her ,” she said with a shake of her head as she climbed the steps.
    Bewildered, Jerry leaned forward and looked through the door.
    Kyle tapped him on the shoulder. “I think she’s talking about Laura.”
    “Really? I don’t know why she would want to get away from her.”
    Kyle raised an eyebrow. “Have you spoken to Laura, yet?”
    Nodding, Jerry smiled. “The doctor and I had a good ole chat. I picked up a lot of clues.” He chuckled. “Eh, Laura’s a good egg. That’s fifties lingo, by the way.”
    “Thanks, I got it.”
    “She’s just having fun.” Jerry laughed. “To tell you the truth, so am I. I love this.” He waved his arm about the foyer. “I love this type of thing. I’m so glad we came here.”
    “Have you and your wife ever done this before?”
    “No, this is our first time.” Jerry grimaced. “Caroline’s not really into games. She thinks games are for children. Her idea of a good time is attending a boring conference, or baking on a beach somewhere.”
    “How did you convince her to come along?”
    “Bribery,” he said matter-of-factly. “I told her that if she would agree to do this, I’d stop trying to entertain her employees. Poor souls. All they do is sit in a cubical day in and day out. Sad.”
    “What does she do?”
    “She’s in human resources.”
    “And you?”
    “I’m a jack of all trades,” he said proudly. “Lately, I’ve been concentrating on extermination. My buddy, Fred Day, and I have just started our own company.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card in the shape of a roach. “Knight and Day Extermination. ‘Whenever you get the creepy crawlies you can rely on us to be available Knight and Day,’” he responded automatically as he handed the card to Kyle. “My real passion is mysteries, though. What about you?”
    “ I’m a private detective,” Kyle said with a slight shrug.
    Jerry’s eyes went wide. “A detective?” He grinned. “Well, that’s an unfair advantage if you ask me.”
    Kyle shook his head. “If it’s any consolation, I haven’t been a detective for very long.”
    “What are you doing here? I’d think you’d be out there investigating who killed that woman they found in the pond.”
    “ How do you know she was murdered? Like Grace said, the woman could have fallen and hit her head.”
    Jerry shrugged noncommittally. “Maybe.”
    Kyle tilted his head. “Why are you so convinced the lady was murdered?”
    “I spoke to one of the bellhops at the hotel. Nice kid. Name’s Billy. He’s saving up money to go to college. Anyway, he knows the guy who found the body. His buddy called him, and Billy ran down to the pond to check it out before the police arrived. He said there was no doubt about it. She was murdered. He’s convinced it was the work of a serial killer.”
    “What made him think that?”
    “ Just the way the body looked, I guess. All he could really tell about her is that she had red hair. Her face was…” with a look of distaste, he glanced up the stairs, “kind of makes me nervous being here like this. The more I think about it…” He shook his head before smiling grimly. “Of course, Billy’s young and probably a bit prone to sensationalism. After all, the body had been in the water. I’m sure it wasn’t a pretty sight.” He waved his hand. “Ah, your girlfriend’s probably right. The woman probably went out for a stroll, bumped her head, and fell through a crack in the ice. It was New Year’s Eve, after all. Everyone was doing a fair amount of partying.” He