Birdsongs Read Online Free PDF Page B

 “Why do you keep that place and why did you even buy it?” Vernon joked. “Meet me at The Deck in about half an hour.”
        “See you there,” Benny said as he pulled out of the drive and watched the red picket fence disappear in his rear view mirror.
      
 
        The Deck was an interesting establishment to say the least. The building was a dome that had a series of decks spiraling around the central atrium. There were differing size decks, each having a sole table, so parties no matter the size would be able to have their own semi-private space. For those wishing to dine in the company of others, the inside of the building was quite enchanting as the interior of the dome was decorated with a breathtaking mosaic. All of the glass doorways leading to the various private decks let in ample amounts of sunlight during the day and cleverly concealed lights aimed at the image in the mosaic reflected light that rained down on the patrons perfectly at night. As Benny walked in he could see Vernon through one of the glass doors. Everybody excluding his wife and kids referred to him as Vernon. His actual name was William Delapanapolous Junior. Benny always thought it was quite a strange name for a black man. Benny tried on multiple occasions to uncover the origins of his name unsuccessfully. Benny could understand Bill or Billy or Willy, but Vernon? Vernon was one of the nine black people in the town of Tilley. He had an athletic body, which was in the beginning stages of softening as he recently traded in his jogging and weightlifting hobbies for fishing and ball tossing with his twin six-year-old sons. His wife Connie was a stay at home mother. Vernon carried himself like a humble prince, complete with a natural strut that gave the illusion he was gliding.
        Benny and Vernon sat at their preferred spot just outside of the kitchen. An exhaust fan hung off the side of the building separating their deck from the next one and the hum of the motor concealed their conversations.
        “You look like shit,” Benny said as he sat down. “I stopped by the bar and ordered you an espresso and a coffee. You haven’t been to sleep have you?”
        “No, I haven’t and as tired as I am I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep for a while.” The drinks came. Vernon took a drink of the espresso, paused, and finished it like a shot of liquor. “This guy is good Benny. We’ve got nothing. No prints, hairs, fabrics, shoe or tire prints, or anything that would give us an inside track except the binoculars. Everything he used to hang the body can be bought at any store nationwide. The binoculars however are a specialty item. You can’t pick those up at Wal-Mart.”
        “I stopped by Ned’s earlier and he said they are pretty expensive little suckers mainly marketed to bird watchers. He said a pair runs about eight hundred bucks. This is our lead Vernon. Whoever did this wants to play a game and this is his first move. We had better prepare ourselves for more of this cryptic bullshit.”
        “Do you want to know who the dead guy was?” Vernon asked. “We identified the body.”
        “I don’t think it matters, do you?” Benny answered and asked.
        “Nope.”
     
     

Chapter 9
     
       The Bakers were a family of high social standing and wealth passed down through generations. The Bakers believed in hard work and prestigious degrees. The Bakers owned one of the largest and most profitable food service industries in North America. It included farms, factories, trucks by the hundreds, and employees by the thousands. Baker Foods supplied restaurants, schools, hospitals and more with food and food related products. The small company that began with a small farm and a man unsatisfied with his life grew. With this growth evolved the need for more than farmers, canners, and transporters.
        As years passed, the family expanded mightily as it became the norm for female members to bear six