Read Online Deadly Justice by William Bernhardt - Free Book Online
Authors: William Bernhardt
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silly overcoat?”
“Can’t. It’s part of the image.” Mike gasped for air, then leaned against the wall for support. “Ben, my men have scoured this building. Every floor, the stairwell, the basement, every conceivable nook and cranny. They’ve found no corpse.”
“Then they need to start all over again.”
“They will. Nonetheless, it’s unlikely they overlooked something the size of a corpse. You can’t exactly tuck that away in a desk drawer.”
“I didn’t imagine this, Mike. Neither did Rob.”
“Okay. Then you tell me. Where could the body be?”
“I have no idea.”
“Who could have taken it?”
“I’m similarly clueless.”
“How could anyone move a heavy corpse off the twentieth floor in just a few minutes when the elevators are out of order?”
“Beats me.”
“You’re a hell of a lot of help, Ben. Who else was in the building when you found the body?”
Ben thought for a moment. “To my knowledge, only myself, Rob Fielder, Herb, and Candice.”
“The last two say they left immediately after your…encounter with them. What about your buddy Rob?”
“Rob has been with me all day long, and we only came upstairs about an hour ago. We were together until we found Howard, and we were only separated for about three or four minutes after we found his body. I called you, and Rob called security. At least, that’s what he told me.”
Mike nodded. “I checked. He did call the security desk downstairs. Left a message on their answering machine.”
“Anybody who works in this building could’ve stayed late. Just because I didn’t see them doesn’t mean they weren’t here. Have you got a list of all persons who signed out after eleven P.M.?”
“We’re working on it. I saw those overweight babysitters you call security guards though. Someone could’ve slipped by them without signing, particularly if it was someone the guards recognized.”
“I’ve seen them wave people through myself,” Ben said.
“Even assuming someone could’ve relocated the body in the few minutes you were gone, which is difficult to believe in and of itself, where could they have gone with it? Especially with the elevators out of whack. I don’t think they could’ve moved the stiff off this floor, much less out of the building.”
“Have you checked for other exits? Maybe some secret, executives-only passageways. Or maybe the windows?”
“I’ll ask people tomorrow about secret passageways, but it strikes me as rather unlikely. The windows are all, without exception, hermetically sealed. Any other suggestions?”
Ben pressed his fingers against his temples and tried to remember every second of the past hour. In his mind’s eye, he saw himself with Rob, walking toward his office, opening the door, seeing the body fall….
He snapped his fingers. “There was something in Hamel’s hand. It fell out when he hit the floor. I couldn’t tell what it was.”
“Whatever it was, it’s not there now. What did it look like?”
Ben tried to recall. “It was square and flat. Not large. About the size of the palm of his hand.”
“And you didn’t look at it more closely?”
“I was a bit stressed out at the time, Mike. I apologize for not performing the Sherlock Holmes routine to perfection.”
Mike grunted. “Well, if you think of something more, let me know.”
“Of course. What’s your plan of attack?”
Mike twisted his shoulders, sending ripples through his overcoat. “I’m not sure I have a plan, Ben.”
“Isn’t that what they teach in crime school?”
“Ben, you have no idea what my schedule is like right now….”
“You’re not going to let this drop!”
“Ben, I’m a homicide investigator. There’s no proof so far that there’s been a homicide! Or even a death!”
“You have my testimony.”
“I need more. To be specific, I need a body.”
“That’s just a technicality. You don’t absolutely have to have a body to initiate a murder
“Can’t. It’s part of the image.” Mike gasped for air, then leaned against the wall for support. “Ben, my men have scoured this building. Every floor, the stairwell, the basement, every conceivable nook and cranny. They’ve found no corpse.”
“Then they need to start all over again.”
“They will. Nonetheless, it’s unlikely they overlooked something the size of a corpse. You can’t exactly tuck that away in a desk drawer.”
“I didn’t imagine this, Mike. Neither did Rob.”
“Okay. Then you tell me. Where could the body be?”
“I have no idea.”
“Who could have taken it?”
“I’m similarly clueless.”
“How could anyone move a heavy corpse off the twentieth floor in just a few minutes when the elevators are out of order?”
“Beats me.”
“You’re a hell of a lot of help, Ben. Who else was in the building when you found the body?”
Ben thought for a moment. “To my knowledge, only myself, Rob Fielder, Herb, and Candice.”
“The last two say they left immediately after your…encounter with them. What about your buddy Rob?”
“Rob has been with me all day long, and we only came upstairs about an hour ago. We were together until we found Howard, and we were only separated for about three or four minutes after we found his body. I called you, and Rob called security. At least, that’s what he told me.”
Mike nodded. “I checked. He did call the security desk downstairs. Left a message on their answering machine.”
“Anybody who works in this building could’ve stayed late. Just because I didn’t see them doesn’t mean they weren’t here. Have you got a list of all persons who signed out after eleven P.M.?”
“We’re working on it. I saw those overweight babysitters you call security guards though. Someone could’ve slipped by them without signing, particularly if it was someone the guards recognized.”
“I’ve seen them wave people through myself,” Ben said.
“Even assuming someone could’ve relocated the body in the few minutes you were gone, which is difficult to believe in and of itself, where could they have gone with it? Especially with the elevators out of whack. I don’t think they could’ve moved the stiff off this floor, much less out of the building.”
“Have you checked for other exits? Maybe some secret, executives-only passageways. Or maybe the windows?”
“I’ll ask people tomorrow about secret passageways, but it strikes me as rather unlikely. The windows are all, without exception, hermetically sealed. Any other suggestions?”
Ben pressed his fingers against his temples and tried to remember every second of the past hour. In his mind’s eye, he saw himself with Rob, walking toward his office, opening the door, seeing the body fall….
He snapped his fingers. “There was something in Hamel’s hand. It fell out when he hit the floor. I couldn’t tell what it was.”
“Whatever it was, it’s not there now. What did it look like?”
Ben tried to recall. “It was square and flat. Not large. About the size of the palm of his hand.”
“And you didn’t look at it more closely?”
“I was a bit stressed out at the time, Mike. I apologize for not performing the Sherlock Holmes routine to perfection.”
Mike grunted. “Well, if you think of something more, let me know.”
“Of course. What’s your plan of attack?”
Mike twisted his shoulders, sending ripples through his overcoat. “I’m not sure I have a plan, Ben.”
“Isn’t that what they teach in crime school?”
“Ben, you have no idea what my schedule is like right now….”
“You’re not going to let this drop!”
“Ben, I’m a homicide investigator. There’s no proof so far that there’s been a homicide! Or even a death!”
“You have my testimony.”
“I need more. To be specific, I need a body.”
“That’s just a technicality. You don’t absolutely have to have a body to initiate a murder
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