Read Pickled (An Alex Harris Mystery) for Free Online Page A

the Holts. They lived in a nice house on a pleasant street in Pirates Cove and I found Lester outside using a good old-fashioned shovel to clear his walk.
    “Mr. Holt? I’m Alex Harris. Could I speak with you about Humphrey Bryson?”
    Lester stopped moving snow and leaned on his shovel. “Who are you again? The police?”
    “No, just a friend of Sophie Bryson. She’s asked me to look into her husband’s death. Were you at the banquet last night?” I didn’t recognize Lester but then a woman with crazy red hair came out onto the porch and I knew I saw her last night.
    “Phyllis, this here is—what was your name again?”
    “Alex Harris.”
    “Alex Harris. She wants to talk with us about Humphrey Bryson.” Lester gave his wife a smirk. “I guess we can give you a couple of minutes.”
    I followed the Holts back into the house. Lester took off his boots and then escorted me into the living room.
    “Tea or coffee?” Phyllis Holt asked.
    “Tea would be fine.”
    “So the jerk got himself killed.” Lester shook his bald head. “Bound to happen.” He smacked a piece of gum that had been in his mouth and then continued chewing. Loudly.
    Phyllis came in with the tea and took a seat. “So, what can we help you with?”
    “I heard you and Humphrey had an argument at one of the games and that you planned to run against him for the town council,” I said to Mr. Holt.
    “Man was a menace. I can’t understand how he got voted in to begin with, but he used his position to get his own way and to exact revenge whenever it pleased him. Had all the snow pushed up against our drive blocking us in. Next day it was gone. Not sure why, but you don’t do things like that.”
    Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Mrs. Holt fidget. I turned to her and she looked away.
    “We moved down here from Vermont about a year ago,” Lester continued in between gum smacks, “to be closer to our daughter, and I was on the council up there. I think I can do some good things for the town, but it was going to be a dirty fight, I can tell you.” Lester Holt stroked his goatee and then looked at his watch. “We’re having dinner out with our daughter and I need to take a shower. Did you have anything else?”
    Lester left and I was just about to get up when Phyllis Holt reached over and put a hand on my arm. “Lester had nothing to do with what happened to Humphrey,” she said. She ran a thin hand through hair that was thick enough to cover the heads of several people. “He has an awful temper and after that thing with the snow I thought he was going to kill the man. Then I got a phone call from Humphrey and he said if I met him, he would have the snow taken away.”
    “And you met him? Let me guess, at the beach?”
    Phyllis Holt’s pretty features looked startled. “How did you know that?”
    I sighed. “Because you’re not the only one.”
    She looked like she was going to cry. “We didn’t do anything, really. I mean the man, well, he couldn’t you know, and I wouldn’t have let him anyway. I thought he just wanted to talk but he wanted to, well, he was a pig. I don’t think Lester knows. I told him I was meeting a friend for a coffee and some shopping, but, well, Lester is intuitive and I’ve never been able to keep anything from him.”
    “Was that the only time Humphrey called you?”
    Phyllis gulped. “All I wanted to do was play pickleball. I don’t know how he found out, but I, well, I had a drinking problem about ten years ago. I got a DUI. After that I stopped and haven’t had a drink since. I go to meetings over in Bridgeport and I’m proud I’ve been able to stay sober all these years, but he threatened to tell the team and my daughter. I don’t want my troubles to get out. It’s in the past and what would Lester’s chances be to get on the town council if that came out? Plus, I want to start up a business tutoring kids after school. Just part time. I love kids. You think their parents would want