“Going somewhere, Mrs. Harrington?” The woman gave a small shriek of surprise as Harry Treville emerged from the shadows.
“L-Lieutenant, you scared me! What are you doing here this late at night?” After that one slip, her composure was immediately back in place.
A smirk crossed the icy features. “You’re still determined to prove I killed my husband, aren’t you? I would think that the last embarrassment you had would have cured you of that fantasy. I’m taking a trip to relax and get away from these past weeks of horror since Horace’s death.”
The dieseled Latino detective ran a hand lightly across the hood of the XJ sedan. His dark eyes bored into hers as the diamond studs in his ears caught the light of a streetlamp and twinkled balefully in the darkness.
The initial investigation had uncovered an airtight alibi, but Harry knew that Gwendolyn Harrington had been responsible for her wealthy husband’s death. Despite dead-ends and obstacles, the darkly-handsome homicide lieutenant was determined to bring the black widow down.
“I had an epiphany, Mrs. Harrington… Can you believe that? It happened when I was upgrading my Galaxy smartphone – or trying to... I just switched from an iPhone 4…” He continued to stroll around the car – slowly – as Gwendolyn eyed him with disdain. “I couldn’t get it to work. No matter what. Finally, my buddy gave me his iPhone 6. 'I’ll do yours and you’ll do mine.’ He said. “
He smiled as he saw a look of surprise, then fear flit across the perfect features. “You didn’t kill your husband, Gwen… and Mary Lasker didn’t kill hers either. You killed Jerry Lasker and Mary killed Horace.”
“That’s… that’s absu-“
“Mary confessed. It was only a matter of time before the fact that that particular mix of diesel particulate and pollen that was on both victims was identified. It was a masterfully executed plan, I must say. You did have me confused for a while. But not any more.”
In the blink of an eye, a blued-steel pistol was in Gwendoyn’s manicured hand. Her eyes took on a unwavering determination as she pointed it directly at his chest. Harry’s eyes widened in surprise. A grim smile twisted her perfect features.
“Well, my congratulations... I’m so glad you finally figured it out. Both of our husbands were goddamned sonsofbitches that were cheating on us and they got just what they deserved. And no one – particularly some wetback policeman – is going to stop ME from enjoying the fruits of my labors. I’ve killed once, and leaving another body in my wake is going to be a piece of cake.” Her finger tightened on the trigger. “Say your prayers, Lieutenan-“
Suddenly, her back bowed as if some invisible force had come up behind her and held her immobile; and just as suddenly, her head separated from her body and Harry was caught in the spray of blood as the corpse collapsed onto the ground.
* * *
Well readers, how does this grab you? I was hoping to finish this story by the end of the year, but doing a full-scale murder mystery with a bit of the arcane thrown in is a bit more difficult that I expected. Particularly when you need to juggle the order of discovering some particular pieces of evidence to make the entire plot flow smoothly.
But I didn't want to leave 2015 without giving you a hint of things to come in the upcoming year... Harry will be getting help from a few unexpected places to track down the perpetrators. I'd say that this story is perhaps my most complicated one yet, and I am determined not to go down the darker routes that the "Breeding" and "Thug Tales" story arcs of 2015 explored.
So, on behalf of all the handsome cops who have been scorched by temptation and emerged tempered and more dedicated than before, Bollywood action stars, Kryptonian villians, ginger-haired throttle jockeys, evil criminal masterminds, new singing sensations, and kilted hotties... a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a new and improved 2016!
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