Read Online Murder in the Air by Ellen Hart - Free Book Online

back in his chair. “Do you think I'm suave?”
    “I think you're a smart-ass.”
    “That's what I figured. What've you got?”
    “This.” He dumped a manila envelope on the desk. “It's a copy of the entire police file on the Kay Collins murder. It took me quite a while to dig it up.”
    “You have my undying devotion.”
    “Just keep your promise abut the Vikings tickets and we'll call it even. Oh, and if you've got any questions on the file, direct them to me.”
    “Will do.” Bram slipped the material out and paged through the top few documents.
    As Al munched on a cookie he continued, “The file included some of the newspaper clippings from the
St. Paul Daily News & Examiner
back in fifty-nine. They covered the story pretty straight. Well, as straight as any two-bit newspaper can ever do. I thought you might find it interesting.”
    “I do.” said Bram. His attention was completely captured by the information in front of him. This was just what he'd been looking for.
    “Hey, buddy, you gotta answer me a couple of questions before I go.” Al twisted his head around and cracked his neck.
    “Sure.” Bram flipped to another page.
    “No, asshole. Look at me when I'm talkin' to you.”
    He glanced up. “You have such a delicate verbal touch, Al. Has anyone ever told you that?”
    “Save the charm for your radio audience. First, I want to know what caused this interest in Justin Bloom.”
    And wasn't that the question of the hour? How could Bram have failed to miss the significance of the story line in the newest
Dallas Lane
mystery? The names might've beenchanged to protect the innocent—if there were any—but the fictionalized account was a dead ringer for the real one.
    The story concerned a young newspaper reporter wrongly accused of the murder of his girlfriend. While the kid rotted in jail, Dallas Lane was hired to prove his innocence. Not only could Bram see the similarity to the Justin Bloom case, but as soon as it aired on Sunday night, so would most of the listening audience, at least those who were old enough to remember.
    Bram assumed that Heda was setting up the story to retell the events surrounding the murder, but from a different point of view. This would be Justin's account. Bram didn't know what specific knowledge Heda had, but figured that she'd been in contact with her son after he'd left the country. Since he was now dead, clearing his name fell to her. The case had never gone to trial, so technically it was still an unsolved murder.
    “So give,” said Al, stuffing the last cookie into his mouth. He chewed for a few seconds and then said, “You got any coffee?”
    Bram pointed toa coffeemaker on a table in the corner. “I turned it off a few minutes ago, but it's still warm.”
    “Great.” He got up and poured himself a cup. “So, answer the question.”
    “Well,” said Bram, leaning back in his chair and clasping his hands behind his neck, “Heda Bloom, the mother of Justin Bloom, just bought the radio station.”
    “No kidding.” Al sipped his Colombian Supremo as he stood next to the window overlooking the parking lot. “So what?”
    “So, you should listen to our new radio mystery. It debuts this Sunday night at six-thirty.”
    “Is this a joke?”
    “No, I'm serious. I may be wrong, but I think it's going to be a new take on the Kay Collins murder.”
    Al screwed up his face in thought. “You mean, that's how you're advertising it?”
    “Of course not, lunkhead.”
    Al cracked another couple of knuckles. “Well, maybe I'll give it a listen. If I'm not too busy.”
    “You do that.”
    “You part of this program?”
    “I'm the announcer.”
    “You mean like Ed McMahon?”
    “No,” he said, deeply annoyed by the comparison. “Like Orson Welles.”
    Al pushed his hat back on his head with one finger. “This isn't going to be another W#r
of the Worlds
fiasco, is it? We don't want any of our good citizens frightened for their lives.”
    “You've got a twisted