MBDD excerpts 3.2 & 3.3

      As promised, excerpts from Murder by Dewey Decimal. By the way, I dropped the Bimmer nickname from the book about a third of the way through. No one used the nickname except for Sims, and after I thought about it for a while, it seemed cheesy. Also, I worried about trademark infringement problems with BMW. Of course, I thought the book would be a bestseller, and I'd have a lot of money for them to sue me for. Ah, the dreams of youth.
      Tomorrow evening, I will announce the winner of the April 2007 Giveaway. You still have time to enter. And now today's excerpts.

Excerpt 3.2 from Murder by Dewey Decimal
Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.

      "Lisa's a nice girl," Sims said, breaking the long silence in the patrol car as he drove back to Lisa's.
      "Yes, she is," Bernard said.
      "Man, I'd like to pound whoever did it."
      "Me, too," Bernard said wearily.
      "Hey, are you okay?" Sims asked, glancing at Bernard.
      "I guess so. Compared to her, I'm doing great. It's been quite a day. I feel like I've dropped off the face of the earth and ended up lost somewhere," Bernard said.
      "Yeah, well, a good night's sleep will help you out. And don't worry, we'll catch that guy. The chief is very good."
      Bernard stared out the window. If only he had arrived a few minutes early. Lisa's door was ajar when he drove up. He walked up the sidewalk and into a bad dream. When he saw the attacker, he yelled and then grabbed the guy. He didn't really know what he intended to do other than get the guy off Lisa, but the attacker pulled free and ran. Bernard dropped to his knees beside Lisa. For a horrible moment, he thought she was dead. He nearly fell apart as all the old, bad memories of his father's death came flooding in. And then she moaned. A moan was his salvation. He called an ambulance and the police. The second time today I've called the police about a crime, he thought. It'd better be the last. I don't think I can take much more.
      Sims pulled in Lisa's driveway. "Do you want me to come in with you?"
      "Is there any reason for you to?" Bernard asked.
      "Guess not."
      "Is there anything I could disturb?"
      Sims looked baffled.
      "I mean, like evidence," Bernard explained.
      "No, we already went over the place. He wasn't in there very long and he didn't leave anything behind."
      Bernard got out and walked up to the door as Sims drove away. He let himself in. It took him nearly thirty minutes to locate Obsidian. He finally found the black cat under Lisa's bed. It hissed, spat and struck at him and wouldn't come out. Leaving the animal to sulk, he refilled its water dish in the bathroom. Canned cat food filled one of the kitchen cabinets, and as soon as he started the electric can-opener, Obsidian appeared, purring and weaving between Bernard's legs. After feeding the cat, he emptied the litter box. He found a bag of kitty litter under the kitchen sink.
      Going into the living room, he sat down on the couch, pushing a couple of books and a pizza box aside. The room was filled with books that ranged from science-fiction to romances to grammar usage manuals and style books. He counted two bookshelves devoted exclusively to poetry. Her front window overflowed with plants. His own apartment was neat, and there had never been a plant he couldn't kill. I need to go home, he thought. Why am I still here? He couldn't think of an answer. He finally rose, carefully locked her door and drove home.
      He pulled off his clothes and fell into bed. And surprised himself by going to sleep quickly and having no dreams.

Excerpt 3.3
      Along with the coroner's report on Agatha, the chief had three surprises on his desk the next morning. The first was the coroner's report on Leonard which was a surprise because he hadn't expected Dimes to get it to him until later in the day. The second surprise was what the report said. He read it twice just to be sure he fully understood. The third surprise was the report from the Oklahoma City police concerning Bernard. The chief read it as Sims looked on.
      "Well, that's interesting," the chief said. "I thought I remembered a Worthington in the news."
      "The guy who did it was never caught," Sims said.
      "I did read the report," the chief said pointedly. His ulcer was bothering him, and he wasn't feeling friendly.
      "Do you think maybe Bernard killed Agatha?" Sims asked. "Suppose what happened to his dad made him crazy--"
      "You watch too much TV. I don't think Bernard could kill anyone, but I do think I'd like to talk to him. Call him and ask what time he gets to the library. We'll meet him then." The chief settled back in his chair. "I need a little time to try and make this all fit."
      The chief was still working on it as he and Sims walked up the library steps. Sims rattled the door and knocked on the glass. After a moment, Bernard let them in.
      "I wouldn't have answered your knock if I hadn't known you were coming," Bernard said, walking them to his office. "At least ten people have come by since I got here, trying to get in and look around. I never realized how ghoulish people are. Would you like some coffee?"
      "Yes," Sims said.
      "No," the chief said. "Doesn't help my ulcer."
      "It's over on the table behind the circulation desk," Bernard told Sims. "Help yourself. There should be creamer and sugar if you use them."
      The chief and Bernard sat down in Bernard's office. Sims, holding a steaming coffee cup, joined them.
      "What did you need, chief?" Bernard asked. He seemed nervous.
      "Well, I got some surprising news today," the chief began. "Did you know Leonard Brewer?" Bernard shook his head. "Maybe he came in the library a few times?"
      "I don't think so," Bernard said. "I know our regulars fairly well. I guess he could have before I came here, but I don't think he has in during the last six months."
      "Leonard probably didn't know how to read," Sims said, earning a sharp look from the chief.
      "Why do you ask?" Bernard asked.
      "Well, the coroner says the knife stuck in him was also the one that killed Agatha Ryton-Storer," the chief said.
      "The same knife?!" Bernard looked startled.
      "Yes. The coroner found traces of her blood and tissue on it. Apparently, the knife lodged in the bones in Brewer's chest, and the killer couldn't get it out. A lucky break for us, I guess. So right now I'm looking for a connection besides the one I think I've got."
      "Which is?" Bernard asked.
      "Last night, when Leonard and Lisa were driving to his place, they had a flat tire. Leonard got out to fix it. Lisa said some man helped Leonard change the tire. She thought Leonard's car was blocking the guy's drive. I think maybe it was blocking the drive into the library's parking lot."
      "And the guy killed Leonard and tried to kill Lisa because they saw him here!" Bernard stood up in his excitement. "But, wait, that doesn't make any sense."
      "Why not?" the chief asked, confident he knew what Bernard was going to say.
      "Why would a murderer help someone fix a flat tire?" Bernard sat down.
      "Maybe he wasn't intending to murder Agatha," Sims suggested.
      "That's what I think," the chief said, nodding at Sims. "For some reason, he was meeting Agatha here late at night. He wasn't intending to kill her. Perhaps they argued. He lost his temper and killed her without thinking. Then, because Leonard could place him here, he had to kill Leonard."
      "So Lisa knows who did--" Sims started to say.
      "No, she doesn't. Too drunk. She said she never got a look at him," the chief said. "She left her purse at Leonard's. When the murderer killed him, he found her address. Remember he probably knew what she looked like. Just because she was too drunk to notice him doesn't mean he didn't notice her."
      "We can use Lisa as bait," Sims said. "He doesn't know she didn't see him. He'll try to kill her again."
      The chief shook his head in disgust. "You do watch too much TV. We don't risk her life. In fact, I've already sent someone down to the hospital to watch over her. Now, he might try again, but we're not going to try to set him up." At least not yet, the chief added silently to himself.
      Bernard stood and began to pace. "So the real question is why was Agatha killed?"
      "At the moment that seems to be the big one," the chief said. He watched Bernard for a moment and then said, "But, perhaps you should sit down because I need to ask you about something."
      Bernard looked at the chief and sat down.
      The chief took a deep breath. "We've talked to the Oklahoma City police department about your father." Bernard became still. "I thought maybe you should tell us about it."
      "Why?" The question was flat and hard.
      "Because I think you should," the chief said, his voice just as emotionless.
      Bernard looked away. "He was a jeweler. He sometimes carried a lot of money. One night in August about ten years ago, he was walking home from the store. We didn't live very far, but he didn't make it. Someone robbed … and stabbed him several times. He was thrown into a ditch. A man heard his moans and called an ambulance. He died at the hospital." Bernard stopped.
      "And they never caught who did it," the chief said.
      "No, they didn't. He didn’t live long enough to give a description. And his throat had been cut."
      “The report said you were at the emergency room,” the chief said.
      Bernard didn’t say anything for a long time. Sims looked at the chief. The chief shook his head. He waited.
      Finally, Bernard said, “I was an EMT at the time. I was hanging around the ER with my partner, waiting for our next call when another ambulance brought him.” Bernard looked at the chief. “They rolled him right past me. He was so cut up and covered in blood that I didn’t recognize him. Not at first. But he looked at me. I realized who he was when I saw his eyes. He died in the ER. There was too much damage.”
      Sims let out his breath.
      "I'm sorry," the chief said.
      "It was years ago," Bernard said. "Why did you want to know?"
      "Well, there was a chance it had unbalanced you," the chief said. Sims shot him a look that the chief ignored. "I wanted to see how you reacted."
      "Did I pass the test?" Bernard snapped.
      "I think so," the chief said. "Now, we need to figure out why the murderer was meeting Agatha. Any ideas?"
      "No," Bernard said shortly.
      "Could she have been meeting a boyfriend?" At Bernard's incredulous look, the chief said, "It's possible."
      "If she had one, she never mentioned it," Bernard said. "And I can't see her having one. She had a low opinion of men."
      "I wonder if that included her brother-in-law," the chief said.
      "Who's that?"
      "Richard Storer. Lives in Oklahoma City and owns a bookstore," the chief said. "Ever meet him?"
      "No. She mentioned him a few times, but I thought he was her brother," Bernard said. “He never came here as far as I know. And she only mentioned him to complain about how bad he treated her, although she never explained what he did that was so terrible. I think Agatha had a sister, too."
      "She did, but her sister left Ryton years ago and I haven't been able to get a line on her," the chief said. "Tell me, can you think of any possible reason Agatha was killed?"
      "No, I can’t make sense of this," Bernard said. “But I don’t see how it could have anything to do with the library other than she was killed here.”
      "If you think of anything, let me know," the chief said. "I hope my questions didn't upset you. We'll be going now." The chief rose. "If you think of something, anything, be sure to call me."
      "Chief, how long will the library need to be closed?" Bernard asked.
      The chief paused. "Do you need in her office for anything?"
      "No."
      "Let me make sure we're finished upstairs, but I don't see why you couldn't open Friday as long as her office stays shut."
      "That will probably be exactly what everyone will want to see," Bernard said with a grimace.
      The chief nodded and walked out, followed by Sims.
      Once they were outside, Sims asked, "What do you think of him?"
      "I still don't think he did it, but the boy may have a few problems," the chief said. "Let's try to keep a close eye on him for the next few days."

End excerpts. Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.