Read Online Sunken Pyramid (Rogue Angel) by Alex Archer - Free Book Online
Authors: Alex Archer
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alibi?
Another burst of laughter. This time Peter threw back his head and his shoulders shook. Annja couldn’t tell if he was laughing hard or if he had started to cry.
“Peter...Edgar is dead. Dr. Papadopolous is dead. And your friend Mrs. Hapgood is in the hospital.”
“Coincidence,” he said, head still back. “All this in one weekend, coincidence.” He sucked in a big breath, held it, then released it in a whoosh. “My friend Annja Creed. My dear friend Annja Creed wants to connect dots when there’s nothing to connect. Coincidence. My dear friend Annja Creed wants to know about the Mayans and Edgar’s mysterious find. I’m here in a damnable jail cell, maybe facing murder charges, and she wants to know about the Mayans. What a dear, dear friend I have in Annja—”
“Peter!” Annja spit his name out furiously. “I’m here to help you! But I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s going on. I had to know what the argument was about. Why the police suspect you. I can’t help you—” and I can’t avenge Edgar, she thought “—if I don’t have enough information.”
“Fair enough. No, Elyse Hapgood has nothing to do with Mayans and she’d just met Edgar in the lobby yesterday. Coincidence. An unfortunate coincidence.” Peter looked at her. “Also unfortunate is me being here.” His eyes were red and puffy. He swallowed hard and nodded. “Sorry for barking at you, Annja. Bad mood. Jail does that to you. False accusations do that to you.”
And my aching head isn’t helping me, she thought. “Do you have an attorney?”
“I picked one out of the Yellow Pages. Nice advertisement. Nice picture. On the young side, probably good judging by her fees. She’ll be here in—” He looked at the clock on the wall. It was covered with a mesh cage. “About an hour.”
“Do you need me to call anyone for you?”
“I’d like to know if Elyse is okay.” He snickered, but it was a sad, nervous laugh. “Other than that, no. I think enough people already know all about this. A few hundred of them back at the hotel. And their wives and husbands and children and neighbors. Probably my neighbors by now, too. Soon they’ll all be passing my mug shot around. Ain’t the internet grand?”
“I’ll see if I can find out anything about Mrs. Hapgood for you.” She gave him a rueful smile and picked through the rest of her questions, deciding what to pose next. “Peter, I—”
But she didn’t have the opportunity. A door opened on Peter’s side of the room, accompanied by a loud, nasally buzz. A deputy walked in and motioned to him.
“Gotta go,” Peter told her, hanging up the receiver.
Annja hung up and stared at the phone.
Where next?
Back to the hotel...
“Miss Creed?”
She turned too abruptly and winced, adding to the ache in her head. “Detective Rizzo.”
“Manny’ll do.” He gave her a lopsided grin. “Your friend tell you much?”
Had he been listening? “Too much and not enough.” She shifted on the stool so she could look directly at him. He’d changed clothes since this morning, a different shirt, no jacket. “Can you recommend a car-rental place, Detective?”
“Going somewhere?”
Yes, she thought. But where? What was her next step? “I prefer it to calling another cab.”
“I can give you a lift. Save you the time and the money.”
“Back to my hotel?” She intended to poke around there for clues and answers.
“Actually, I was thinking Lakeside.” His face took on a serious mien.
“Lakeside? Where is—”
“Professor Schwartz was there, stayed for a couple of days before he ended up at the bottom of the stairwell. Hotel records said he’d been a guest of theirs on and off over the past year.”
Annja stood.
“A fellow by the name of Gregor Papadopoulos was there with him this last time and one time before,” Detective Rizzo continued. “Damned interesting, eh? So I think I’ll check it out. Not far from here. Care to join
Another burst of laughter. This time Peter threw back his head and his shoulders shook. Annja couldn’t tell if he was laughing hard or if he had started to cry.
“Peter...Edgar is dead. Dr. Papadopolous is dead. And your friend Mrs. Hapgood is in the hospital.”
“Coincidence,” he said, head still back. “All this in one weekend, coincidence.” He sucked in a big breath, held it, then released it in a whoosh. “My friend Annja Creed. My dear friend Annja Creed wants to connect dots when there’s nothing to connect. Coincidence. My dear friend Annja Creed wants to know about the Mayans and Edgar’s mysterious find. I’m here in a damnable jail cell, maybe facing murder charges, and she wants to know about the Mayans. What a dear, dear friend I have in Annja—”
“Peter!” Annja spit his name out furiously. “I’m here to help you! But I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s going on. I had to know what the argument was about. Why the police suspect you. I can’t help you—” and I can’t avenge Edgar, she thought “—if I don’t have enough information.”
“Fair enough. No, Elyse Hapgood has nothing to do with Mayans and she’d just met Edgar in the lobby yesterday. Coincidence. An unfortunate coincidence.” Peter looked at her. “Also unfortunate is me being here.” His eyes were red and puffy. He swallowed hard and nodded. “Sorry for barking at you, Annja. Bad mood. Jail does that to you. False accusations do that to you.”
And my aching head isn’t helping me, she thought. “Do you have an attorney?”
“I picked one out of the Yellow Pages. Nice advertisement. Nice picture. On the young side, probably good judging by her fees. She’ll be here in—” He looked at the clock on the wall. It was covered with a mesh cage. “About an hour.”
“Do you need me to call anyone for you?”
“I’d like to know if Elyse is okay.” He snickered, but it was a sad, nervous laugh. “Other than that, no. I think enough people already know all about this. A few hundred of them back at the hotel. And their wives and husbands and children and neighbors. Probably my neighbors by now, too. Soon they’ll all be passing my mug shot around. Ain’t the internet grand?”
“I’ll see if I can find out anything about Mrs. Hapgood for you.” She gave him a rueful smile and picked through the rest of her questions, deciding what to pose next. “Peter, I—”
But she didn’t have the opportunity. A door opened on Peter’s side of the room, accompanied by a loud, nasally buzz. A deputy walked in and motioned to him.
“Gotta go,” Peter told her, hanging up the receiver.
Annja hung up and stared at the phone.
Where next?
Back to the hotel...
“Miss Creed?”
She turned too abruptly and winced, adding to the ache in her head. “Detective Rizzo.”
“Manny’ll do.” He gave her a lopsided grin. “Your friend tell you much?”
Had he been listening? “Too much and not enough.” She shifted on the stool so she could look directly at him. He’d changed clothes since this morning, a different shirt, no jacket. “Can you recommend a car-rental place, Detective?”
“Going somewhere?”
Yes, she thought. But where? What was her next step? “I prefer it to calling another cab.”
“I can give you a lift. Save you the time and the money.”
“Back to my hotel?” She intended to poke around there for clues and answers.
“Actually, I was thinking Lakeside.” His face took on a serious mien.
“Lakeside? Where is—”
“Professor Schwartz was there, stayed for a couple of days before he ended up at the bottom of the stairwell. Hotel records said he’d been a guest of theirs on and off over the past year.”
Annja stood.
“A fellow by the name of Gregor Papadopoulos was there with him this last time and one time before,” Detective Rizzo continued. “Damned interesting, eh? So I think I’ll check it out. Not far from here. Care to join
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