Death Song by JoAnn Conner

About the Book

Someone is murdering employees at a specialty delivery service, and Detective Frank Riley has been assigned the case. Working with the new Medical Examiner is frustrating as well, and when he makes a mistake concerning her personal life, he finds his job in jeopardy. A complicated motive for one of the killings has him puzzled, but then, as he holds a suspect in a jail cell, another employee is killed! Can the veteran detective solve the case before there is another murder?

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Excerpt

 "I'll get back to you by this afternoon," she continued, her voice thick with sweetness.

She dropped the phone back into the cradle and turned to face him. Her face twisting into a snarl, and placing her hands on her hips, she opened her mouth. But no words came out. Realization faded across her face, and she stood, her mouth gaping open, as she finally processed what he had said in the locker room.          

“Wait. What do you mean I have an employee in the hospital and one in jail?” For the first time since Frank had met the woman, she was passive. “I don’t understand,” she said, shaking her head from side to side. He let the silence hang in the air for a few minutes as he studied her.

“Stephanie is in the hospital,” he said simply.

“She can’t be! I need her here!” Nina caught herself. “I mean…what happened? Is she alright?” she stared blandly at Frank.

“It appears she was poisoned,” he stated. Nina’s expression did not change. She’s a cold cookie, alright, thought Frank, as he watched her processing behind the mask.

“Poisoned.” It was a statement. Nina drew in a breath and held it for several seconds, before exhaling carefully. “Is Chad in jail?” she asked softly.

“No,” replied Frank, surprised at the question. “We have Ken in custody.” Nina sank into the chair beside the desk and stared at the floor. Frank stood silently.

“What is going on?” she asked, more subdued than he had ever seen her.

“Stephanie is in the hospital, with what they believe is arsenic poisoning. We are holding Ken for questioning.” The color had drained out of her face, making her heavy makeup look garish. He pulled another chair over closer and sat down, taking out his note pad. “Now, what can you tell me about the job Stephanie was sent to yesterday afternoon?” he queried. She swiveled the chair to face the desk and opened the planner. Her finger traced the writing on the date, then she turned and pulled out a file from the drawer in the side of the desk.

“Nothing unusual,” she said, plopping the file in front of him. Two guys named Clyde and Jerry booked a birthday song and dance for their boss. That’s what we have on them.”

Frank skimmed the file and realized there was nothing in it that he didn’t already know. He studied Nina, who was still shaking her head back and forth and blinking frequently, as if trying to focus.

“Have you had any issues with rodents?” Frank asked suddenly.

“Of course not!” Nina said, her head snapping up to glare at him. “We keep things clean around here! What the hell does that have to do with anything?” Frank just stared at her. She was either a really good actress or she did not make the connection.

“Ken’s locker?” He repeated the earlier request. She sighed, then rose and led the way back to the locker room. She opened her own locker and took out a key ring. She looked at Frank.

“We give them a lock and key, but they don’t know we have a master key,” she said with apparent satisfaction as she slipped the key in and opened the lock. She opened the door to the locker, looked inside, then stepped back.

Frank stepped in front of the locker and rummaged through the sparse belongings inside. He found deodorant, a razor, a white tee shirt and gym shorts, and a bottle of pills. He pulled the bottle out and read the label. It was a prescription for antibiotics, that Ken had apparently not taken for the fully prescribed time. He started to return it to the locker, then hesitated. He looked at Nina and held up the bottle.

“I’m taking this to the lab, just to be sure,” he said. She merely shrugged her shoulders. The phone rang again.

“Is there anything else, Detective?” she asked quietly. For once, she seemed almost beaten. “I really have to find out where Chad and Michelle are and get my business back in order.”

“I’ll be in touch,” he said. He slipped the bottle into a small plastic bag, the pocketed the pills and walked towards the front door. He glanced back at Nina as she picked up the phone and began to punch buttons. She looked haggard. And why did she ask if Chad was in jail?

About the Author

JoAnn Conner is a former English and history teacher who has published multiple books in the Western and murder mystery genres. She currently resides on the Central Coast of California.

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