Mike Reuther - Return to Dead City Read Online Free PDF

of what I didn’t already know about the murder. Time of death was listed at 10 p.m. Cause of death was attributed to massive internal bleeding due to a knife wound. There was a statement from the district attorney’s office about how all resources would be used to investigate the case. And the article quoted at least one resident of the Spinelli Hotel who said he was “horrified” about the murder. “The town’s more dangerous since that element from Philly started living in our community,” said Raymond Sauers, 57, who lived in Room 701.
    I found two interesting facts in the article. First of all, Lance had been recalled by the New York Mets shortly after the game on Saturday. That explained why his bags had been packed. He was set to join the big league team in New York. The second piece of information tagged at the very end of the story listed Ron Miller of Centre Town as the only surviving relative of Lance’s. That stopped me. Another guy from the First Ward? The thing was, I had no recollection of anyone named Ron Miller.
    Back in the drug store, I found three Ron Millers listed in the phone book. I dialed the first number of a Ron Miller who lived on Rural Avenue. After two rings, a recording came on the line informing me the number had been disconnected. I struck gold on the next listing which gave a Grand Boulevard address. A man’s voice, sounding somewhat business-like but with a trace of timidity, came on the line. He admitted he was in fact Ron Miller , and I got right to the point.
    “Are you Lance’s brother?” I asked.
    There was a pause. “Yes.” And then, “is this about his murder?”
    I told him it was and that I was a private dick.
    “Just a moment please,” he said.
    He put down the phone , and I heard the muffled sounds of his voice and that of a woman.
    “Has someone hired you to take on this case Mr….”
    “Crager. Cozzy Crager.”
    “Yes. Mr. Crager. I don’t want to get into the particulars of this thing right now as I’m sure you understand. My brother’s murder comes as a great shock to me.”
    I assured him that I did and decided on a different approach.
    “I’m an old First Ward guy Mr. Miller. But I don’t seem to remember you.”
    “I’m afraid I didn’t grow up in that neighborhood Mr. Crager. You see. Lance and I are half-brothers. Now if you’ll excuse me I’m afraid we’ll have to cut short this conversation.”
    In the background I could hear the woman’s voice again. She was telling him to hang up.
    “Just tell me this…”
    “I’m afraid I have nothing further to say,” he said. “Good day Mr. Crager.”
    I headed back to the apartment and spent a few hours losing myself in the newspaper while staring down a bottle of Scotch on the coffee table. Since returning to my native city, my drinking time had slowly inched into the daylight hours. With little detective work to occupy me in my first months back in Centre Town, it was a constant battle to keep the bottle at arm’s length while the sun was still up.
    I wanted to find out more about Lance but on a Sunday I knew finding people to talk to wouldn’t be easy. Other than Mick, I knew no other acquaintances of Lance’s, and with the Mets’ ball game out at the stadium called off because of the murder, I figured the ball park would be empty. A day at the kiddy park with Pat and the brats didn’t seem so bad now.
    I flicked on the television and got my usual distorted images. Since moving into my place, I’d kept my bills to a minimum. That included doing without cable TV. With a coat hanger serving as an antenna, I was able to get all of three stations on the set I’d reclaimed from the local thrift store. I watched the Philly game for a couple of innings until I was out of my mind from bouncing off the couch every few minutes to turn the coat hanger. Finally, I heaved a shoe at the set. Roger Clemens couldn’t have thrown a better pitch. A flurry of sparks exploded from the television. The