Read Online Shots in the Dark by Allyson K Abbott - Free Book Online

in common, some connection. Either that or the letter writer has access to such information. Couldn’t that be a clue?”
    â€œGood point,” Duncan said thoughtfully. “It’s something worth looking into. Any idea what the common factor might be?”
    â€œNot yet, but give me some time to ponder it. Have you guys found any evidence related to Gary’s murder that might be helpful?”
    â€œNot much. We know the type of gun used to kill him, but we haven’t been able to match the bullet to any specific weapon. The only prints we found in the car were Gary’s, and we haven’t come up with any other trace evidence. We looked around Gary’s apartment, but nothing turned up there, either. And we also talked to his parole officer, but he said he wasn’t aware of anything or anyone in Gary’s life that would have set him up for this. Gary did do time, so we have to look into his prison connections to see if anything develops there, but I doubt this had anything to do with Gary personally.”
    â€œIt was very personal,” I said, squeezing my eyes closed. “Gary died because of me, because he knew me, because he worked for me, because he saved my life.”
    Duncan sighed, and the sound of his breath over the phone made me see a turbulent mix of red, orange, and yellow colors. “Mack, this is not your fault. You’ve got to stop thinking that any of this is your fault.”
    â€œKind of hard to do when his death is clearly connected to this damned letter writer who’s been taunting me. Why else would the killer have stuffed one of my bar napkins in his mouth? That seems like a clear message to me.”
    â€œYou and I know what that napkin likely meant, but so far the rest of the investigative team is leaning toward its presence being coincidental.”
    â€œIf that’s true, then why were the detectives who were here asking my customers and employees if any of them had had an argument of any sort with Gary recently?”
    â€œIt’s a standard line of questioning we’d do in any case like this, Mack. And so far they’ve come up with nothing. No one at the bar is under suspicion. The team’s working theory at this point is that Gary probably had the napkin in his car, and the killer grabbed it and shoved it in his mouth to shut him up. But they haven’t ruled out the idea that the killer was in your bar at some point and had the napkin on him. So they’re looking into the possibility of a revenge killing, a payback from someone who might have been reprimanded, tossed out, or turned away when Gary was functioning in his bouncer role. You and I know that likely isn’t the case, but given the circumstances, I’m willing to let the rest of the team think that for now.”
    â€œI don’t suppose you’ve come up with anything new on Lewis’s case?”
    â€œUnfortunately, no. Whoever is doing this knows how to cover their tracks well.”
    â€œPerhaps that’s a clue as to who it is,” I suggested. “Maybe it’s someone who works with evidence or in police work.” I had to tread carefully on this topic because I had my own suspicions about Duncan’s partner, Jimmy. The man didn’t like me, didn’t like what I did, and had made it clear he thought I was a charlatan leading Duncan astray. Plus, the letter writer’s insistence that I wasn’t to have any help from Duncan jibed with Jimmy’s general opinion of me. But Duncan clearly trusted the guy, so rather than suggest Jimmy as a suspect, I was hoping to ease Duncan down the same path my own thoughts had followed.
    â€œIt doesn’t take anyone with any day-to-day knowledge of investigative techniques and forensics these days,” Duncan said. “All you need is someone who watches all the crime shows on TV. Much of the general public is as well educated, if not better educated, on this stuff as