1 A Small Case of Murder Read Online Free PDF Page B

“Because he was there when Lulu and your folks found that dead body. He’s the only one still alive to tell us what happened.”
    They told Joshua about J.J. checking the Internet for news articles about Lulu’s death. After discovering that the local paper’s web site had no articles dating back that far, he went to the library to check their newspaper archives.
    J.J. plunged on, “They didn’t have anything on file about the dead body, but there was a lot of stuff on Lulu.” He showed him a folder with copies of newspaper articles.  
    “She got a lot of press.” Joshua balanced the folder in his open palm like a human scale.
    “Unfortunately, she got it all after she’d died,” J.J. said. “In a nutshell, her death had been ruled an accidental overdose of heroin or a suicide. Her sister, Karen Jefferson, swore it was murder.”
    “Heroin?” Joshua raised an eyebrow.
    “Lulu liked to party,” Sarah said. “Booze, pot, and rock and roll.”
    “The newspaper editor agreed with Lulu’s sister about it being murder.” Murphy yanked an article out of the stack Joshua held in his hand. “You were right, Dad. Look at her publicity picture.”
    Joshua studied the clipping that included a picture of Lulu, an attractive woman with blond hair sitting cross-legged with
    a guitar perched across her lap. It was a left-handed guitar. His deduction when he saw her handwriting had been correct.
    “The heroin tracks were in her left arm,” Murphy pointed to the section in the article that reported details from the autopsy report, “which means she would have had to inject it with her right hand.”
    Joshua read on. “The sheriff theorized that she had a friend do the injection and after she OD’d the guy split.”
    Tracy argued, “Yeah, but if she had been serious about her career, she wouldn’t have put tracks in her arms. She would have had the injections where the tracks wouldn’t have shown, like between her toes or under her arms.”
    Even though he agreed, Joshua shrugged. The point about the tracks being in the left arm wasn’t grounds enough for an investigation. “There have been a lot of performers, back then and even today, who let their addictions override common sense. Janis Joplin, for one; Jimi Hendrix, for another.” He fingered through the collection of articles. “I guess this sister got nowhere?”
    J.J. reminded him that the sheriff was Chuck Delaney, the same one mentioned in Lulu’s letter. “He said no one had a reason to kill her.”
    It became clear to Joshua from the clippings that Lulu had been murdered before she had a chance to tell anyone about seeing the picture in Reverend Rawlings’ office.
    No one knew about the letter.
    “The whole case was dropped after Karen Jefferson got killed in a car accident,” J.J. said. “Her car went off the road eleven months after Lulu died. The newspaper editor died in a fire when his house burnt down six weeks after she got killed.”
    Joshua didn’t think it was possible for his heart to sink any lower into the pit of his stomach. “Doesn’t that tell you something?”
    “Yeah.” Murphy’s face was flushed with excitement. “Lulu was killed because she saw that guy’s picture in Reverend Rawlings’ office.”
    Sarah added, “And we need to bring him to justice.”
    “We?” Joshua objected, “There’s no ‘we’ here. I’m not saying I disagree with you. This evidence means that we’re dealing with a very dangerous man here. I don’t want you kids asking questions or stirring up trouble.” He made his point by dropping the folder onto the top of his desk and slapping the laptop shut.
    “Ah, come on, Dad,” J.J. said. “You’ve investigated conspiracies and brought down serial killers. This is nothing compared to that.” He held up his forefinger and thumb to symbolize a miniscule quantity. “For you, this is a small case of murder.”

Sleeping alone in the bed he used to share with his wife in what used to be