Read Online The Brink of Murder by Helen Nielsen - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Helen Nielsen
Ads: Link
bike about and rode back in the direction from which he had come. Simon followed Reardon out of the driveway. When he reached the street he could see the Cadillac half a block ahead. There was no sign of Kevin and his bike.
CHAPTER SIX
S IMON DROVE BACK to Marina Beach with the car radio tuned to the 24-hour news station. Reardon was right. Somebody had put a lid on the Amling story and so far it was holding tight. When he reached The Mansion Wanda was gone. She had called in from the recording studio in Hollywood to report that she had an all-night session on the agenda and would sleep it off at the Century Plaza. Chester was in his rooms cramming for the new teaching assignment, and Hannah, wearing a red-velvet dressing gown, was relaxed on the chaise longue in her sitting room reading
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex
by that prominent literary figure, Dr Reuben. She glanced up as Simon entered the room.
“I always knew somebody would write the story of my life one day,” she quipped. Then she read the expression on Simon’s face and let the book drop to the floor. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
He gave a detailed résumé of the day’s events and concluded with Captain Reardon’s disclosure of the Pacific Guaranty audit.
“I don’t believe it!” Hannah gasped. “It’s like hearing that Jack Armstrong robbed Fort Knox. How’s Carole taking it?”
“How can she take it? If it’s true that Barney took that money and has gone away with it she may never see him again.”
“Argentina,” Hannah reflected. “Isn’t that where people go to avoid extradition? He must be mentally ill.”
“I thought of that. But he wasn’t mentally ill when he drew up the papers putting his house in his sons’ names.”
Hannah hadn’t heard about that. She listened to Simon’s story while the cosmetic surgery of excitement took years from her face. “That doesn’t sound so good for Our Hero,” she said. “He was anticipating trouble. Have you told his wife?”
“Not yet. She has enough grief for the moment. I have a bit of grief coming up myself. Carole Amling asked me to help find her husband. If I do find him—or if any of the agencies looking for him find him—he’s going to need a lawyer to defend him and you know who that will be.”
“Was she really that important to you, Simon?”
Simon grinned. “I suppose she was—at the time. But there’s more to this than sentiment. The fact is that I’m obligated to protect the interests of Carole and her sons, and right now the whereabouts of Barney Amling constitutes their greatest interest. I’m just not satisfied that Barney—if he has taken the money—pulled this thing off all by himself. There’s always a motive to anything like this. Mental aberration is a cop-out. I’m going to have to dig.” Simon took the parking-lot ticket out of his pocket and handed it to Hannah. “I managed to get this out of the glove compartment of his car before the lawmen saw me.”
She studied it curiously. “Tell me more,” she said.
“It’s time—dated. That car was driven into the lot at 7.37 p.m. Friday, 10 November. According to what I learned from the garage-attendant at Pacific Guaranty, Barney left the building almost three hours earlier. But before he left, he called his son and told him he was making an emergency flight and wouldn’t be home for several days. Barney’s home is less than a thirty-minute drive from the airport. If he was anticipating a long absence there was nothing to stop him from driving home and saying goodbye to his family.”
“He was afraid of losing his nerve,” Hannah suggested.
“I thought of that. But I’m still curious about where he spent the two hours and fifty minutes between the time he left the office and the time he reached the airport. He didn’t have to leave the office at all, you see. If he didn’t want to see anyone he could have stayed right there until it was time to go to the plane. If
CHAPTER SIX
S IMON DROVE BACK to Marina Beach with the car radio tuned to the 24-hour news station. Reardon was right. Somebody had put a lid on the Amling story and so far it was holding tight. When he reached The Mansion Wanda was gone. She had called in from the recording studio in Hollywood to report that she had an all-night session on the agenda and would sleep it off at the Century Plaza. Chester was in his rooms cramming for the new teaching assignment, and Hannah, wearing a red-velvet dressing gown, was relaxed on the chaise longue in her sitting room reading
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex
by that prominent literary figure, Dr Reuben. She glanced up as Simon entered the room.
“I always knew somebody would write the story of my life one day,” she quipped. Then she read the expression on Simon’s face and let the book drop to the floor. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
He gave a detailed résumé of the day’s events and concluded with Captain Reardon’s disclosure of the Pacific Guaranty audit.
“I don’t believe it!” Hannah gasped. “It’s like hearing that Jack Armstrong robbed Fort Knox. How’s Carole taking it?”
“How can she take it? If it’s true that Barney took that money and has gone away with it she may never see him again.”
“Argentina,” Hannah reflected. “Isn’t that where people go to avoid extradition? He must be mentally ill.”
“I thought of that. But he wasn’t mentally ill when he drew up the papers putting his house in his sons’ names.”
Hannah hadn’t heard about that. She listened to Simon’s story while the cosmetic surgery of excitement took years from her face. “That doesn’t sound so good for Our Hero,” she said. “He was anticipating trouble. Have you told his wife?”
“Not yet. She has enough grief for the moment. I have a bit of grief coming up myself. Carole Amling asked me to help find her husband. If I do find him—or if any of the agencies looking for him find him—he’s going to need a lawyer to defend him and you know who that will be.”
“Was she really that important to you, Simon?”
Simon grinned. “I suppose she was—at the time. But there’s more to this than sentiment. The fact is that I’m obligated to protect the interests of Carole and her sons, and right now the whereabouts of Barney Amling constitutes their greatest interest. I’m just not satisfied that Barney—if he has taken the money—pulled this thing off all by himself. There’s always a motive to anything like this. Mental aberration is a cop-out. I’m going to have to dig.” Simon took the parking-lot ticket out of his pocket and handed it to Hannah. “I managed to get this out of the glove compartment of his car before the lawmen saw me.”
She studied it curiously. “Tell me more,” she said.
“It’s time—dated. That car was driven into the lot at 7.37 p.m. Friday, 10 November. According to what I learned from the garage-attendant at Pacific Guaranty, Barney left the building almost three hours earlier. But before he left, he called his son and told him he was making an emergency flight and wouldn’t be home for several days. Barney’s home is less than a thirty-minute drive from the airport. If he was anticipating a long absence there was nothing to stop him from driving home and saying goodbye to his family.”
“He was afraid of losing his nerve,” Hannah suggested.
“I thought of that. But I’m still curious about where he spent the two hours and fifty minutes between the time he left the office and the time he reached the airport. He didn’t have to leave the office at all, you see. If he didn’t want to see anyone he could have stayed right there until it was time to go to the plane. If
Similar Books
