Bill Hopkins - Judge Rosswell Carew 01 - Courting Murder Read Online Free PDF Page B

She tasted sweet.
    Babe said, “The hammer strikes, the anvil remains.”
    “What the hell does that mean? You’re just full of witty sayings, aren’t you?”
    “But if we dug a grave here, no one would ever find it.”
    “Right. No one would find it. No one, that is, until one of these hillbillies goes coon hunting. The dog would lose it when he got near the body. I’m not getting my ass in a squeeze from some tie hacker’s mixed breed coonhound sniffing a corpse.”
    “I see,” Babe said. “I think I see.” She tilted her head back to stare at the sky, now full of clouds. “I’m not sure I see. If someone finds the body here, they’d suspect us but if they find it in the middle of every- thing, they won’t suspect us? I don’t get it.”
    “Trust me, it’ll work. Isn’t this a nice place? Such a nice place.”
    “A nice place for a murder. My Taser will make it even nicer.”
    “Stun him first. I like that.” The killer laughed. “But God damn it twice. We’ve talked about that. It’s not murder, it’s an execution.”
    “It’s the excitement. I forgot.”
    “I’m sorry you have to be outside in the dark. Perhaps I can make it up to you.” Without standing, the killer took off every stitch of clothes, not bothering to knock away the stuff of the forest floor, which now clung to bare skin. Then the killer removed Babe’s clothing. A hand, then the mouth went to Babe’s favorite place. And the killer did other things, glorious things, to Babe. And Babe returned the favors.
    They touched each other everywhere. Then the killer made it up to Babe. No maybe there.

    On the sunny, appointed day, the killer drove Eddie Joe Deckard into the country.
    When they reached the chosen spot, the killer said to Eddie Joe, “Let’s go for a walk.” The killer hiked away from the victim.
    “Where are we going?” Eddie Joe said. “I’ve got a lot to take care of. I don’t have much time.”
    “That’s for sure,” the killer said in a soft voice. With assurance, the killer said to Eddie Joe, “This won’t take long,” then led him around the bend to the spot where death would come to buy another soul. It was the nice place. A stream, trees, wildflowers, and a picnic table under a roof.
    A scenic lane, beneath the crest of a forested ridge and far from where anyone could see or hear them, fit the plan. Safe ground.
    The killer said to Eddie Joe, “I’ve got something to show you.” Then smiled.
    “Show me? I thought you said you wanted to talk.”
    “Show you, talk to you, whatever. Don’t be so literal.”
    Eddie Joe said, “Don’t be so mysterious.”
    The killer pointed. “Sit there.”
    “There?” Eddie Joe asked, also pointing. “What’s that Caddy doing in the middle of nowhere?”
    “Please take the driver’s seat. I’ll explain.”
    Eddie Joe sat, stroked, and praised. “Nice. Super nice. You’ve done good and I always believed you could do it.” He sat. The stroking and praising stopped. “This is yours, isn’t it?”
    “It’s not mine. It belongs to a friend.”
    “A friend? Then what do I want to see it for? Is this what we drove all the way out here to see? This car’s not even yours and we came all the way out here to see this—”
    “No, this isn’t what we came for. We didn’t come for me to talk or to show, we came for me to do.”
    On cue, Babe walked from behind a clump of cedar trees.
    “Hey,” Babe greeted Eddie Joe. “Good to see you again.”
    “Hey,” Eddie Joe said. He frowned, but started to leave the car. “Nice to see you again, too.”
    Babe, ignoring Eddie Joe’s outstretched hand, pushed him in the chest, forcing him into a sitting position behind the steering wheel once more. She was a strong woman who worked out every day, and he wasn’t a big man. Good thing.
    “Don’t bother, my friend,” said Babe, “because you’ll never stand for anything again.”
    “What’s going on here?” Eddie Joe studied the killer, who didn’t