Read Rejection: Publishing Murder Mystery (Lou Drake Mysteries) for Free Online Page A

felt the abrasive edge of the nylon collar around his own neck. A sick finality washed over him.
    Orland made muffled pleas for his life while the killer looped the yellow rope through the collar, but the busy hands ignored him and quickly finished the chore.
    The killer stood and made a careful check of the rig, then started to pull the rope taut. Orland’s head rolled back, the choke chain pinched the skin of his neck and the dog license pressed into his bulging throat. His butt shifted a few inches, leaving a wet smear on the floor.
    “Mu-fussss,” Orland managed through the gag. It was the last word he ever spoke.
    “Say goodbye, Rufus,” the killer said.
    He put all his strength into hauling Orland up and up, until the former literary agent’s own weight choked the last breath from his body.
    “Now, let’s take care of this one last thing,” the attacker said to the dog.
    He pulled out a retractable, yellow handled utility knife and turned the body so Orland was facing him. The cutting didn’t take long.

C HAPTER S IX

    DETECTIVE COLLINS FLIPPED another page of the notes he had made while interviewing Petre’s neighbors. It was a hell of a way to spend his afternoon off but he knew the brass and the press would soon be howling for progress on the case.
    He had quickly figured out the victim was not a writer. The guy was a literary agent, apparently spending his days reading emails from wannabe novelists and pitching an occasional book to the publishing houses. Collins found over a thousand email queries on Petre’s computer. It appeared the guy had not read any of them for a month. Collins had no idea if this was relevant, though, and the interview notes were still as useless as they had been the first four times he had gone through them. He sighed and turned another page.
    Collins’ cell drew him out of his introspection.
    “Yeah?”
    “Your day off just ended,” Andrade said. His voice sounded hard.
    “What’s up Cap?”
    “We have another murder and it’s just as weird as the last one.”
    Collins sighed. “What happened this time?”
    “Animal control found a dog smeared with blood running around University Square. Turns out the mutt was chipped. No answer on the phone so a patrol car went by and the door was ajar. They went in and found the victim hanging from a chin-up bar.”
    “Suicide maybe?”
    “Not unless the guy could tie his hands behind his back.”
    “Okay, gimme me the address”
    When Collins arrived at the scene a uniformed officer directed him upstairs to a one-bedroom flat. The body was still hanging in the bathroom doorway. The Coroner and a patrol officer stood nearby.
    “Let me know when it’s okay to cut him down,” the Coroner said.
    Collins nodded in agreement while pulling on a pair of latex gloves, his attention fully on the crime scene.
    Around the victim’s neck was a choke chain collar with a dog license attached. Collins could see the red, bone-shaped tag with ANSWERS TO RUFUS etched into it. A length of yellow nylon rope supported the corpse and was tied to the drainpipe beneath the bathroom sink.
    Collins judged the dead man to be about six feet tall. The naked body had apparently been hauled into place after the guy was incapacitated. Trails of blood had run down his body and dripped onto the tile floor. A large X was cut deep into the victim’s chest and the words ‘NO HEART’ appeared on the wall in blood beside the bathroom door. This time there were bloody shoeprints and the shoes were left in plain sight at the foot of the bed. Collins was careful to avoid stepping in any blood as he moved to get a closer look at bloody handprints on the wall, dried to rusty brown.
    “Damn,” he said to the Coroner. “How long you think he’s been here?”
    The Coroner gave the body a sideways look. “A day, maybe two.”
    “Shit.”
    “My sentiments exactly,” the Coroner said.
    Collins looked at the patrol officer. “Was it you that found him?”
    The