Murder Brewed At Home (Microbrewery Mysteries Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

come in."
                  I heard him turn the knob. It jiggled around without giving.
                  I opened the door. "Just as I thought," I said, "it's been tampered with."
                  "How so?"
                  "I'm not sure, but whatever mechanism is responsible for the dead latch locking in place has been removed or damaged. The latch moves so that the door can be closed, but the knob never turns. In effect, this doorknob is always in a locked position. This is why it was so easy to open with a library card. There didn’t have to be anyone in this room to lock it from the other side. It just needed to be closed."
                  He bent down and examined the knob. "I don’t see any evidence of tampering," he said. "But I do see some wear on the screw heads. That could be from installation of the knob."
                  "Or it could be from someone doing their best to cover up the fact that they brought Kyle Young's dead body up here to make it look like he died at home by his own hand. One way to find out. The knob on the bathroom door is the exact same model. Got a flat head screwdriver on you by any chance?"
                  He reached into his pocket and pulled out a Swiss army knife.
                  "You were a boy scout, weren't you?"
                  "Eagle scout."
                  "Endlessly fascinating, my friend."
                  I took the knife from him and found the screwdriver attachment. I undid the knob on the office and pulled it out. I then went to the bathroom door and unscrewed that one. Without the inside knob attached, it was easy to see into the workings of the exposed latch assembly. I snapped a picture of the bathroom door assembly with my phone and then compared it to the office knob. It was hard to tell the difference, but I eventually found it.
                  "See this?" I said, pointing to the office door latch assembly with my pinky. "There's a tiny component missing from the latch assembly here that prevents the lock from fully engaging, while the mechanism that holds the outside knob in the locked position seems to be permanently set that way. Not so with the bathroom door. See?" I showed him on the phone pic and then took him to the bathroom door to see it in person.
                  "Incredible," said Lester. "Man, you are amazing."
                  "Again with the man," I said. "That's an awful habit. You really need to break yourself of it."
                  He ignored me. "This is really starting to look like murder now. Tomorrow we have work to do."
                  "I agree," I said. "We need to find those folks in his running network."
                  "Not only that," said Lester, "but you're forgetting about one key part of this mystery: How and why that body fell. This proves nothing on its own. I admit, altogether, the evidence is starting to point to something foul. But there's one immutable fact: The four of you swore you heard a body hit the floor."
                  He was right, and I felt like cursing him for it.
                  A text came through on Lester's cell phone.
                  "Huh," he said.
                  "What?"
                  "A man has gone missing. Guy by the name of William Restocruz. His mom called it in. He was supposed to meet her for dinner. She can’t find him. I may have to get going if they find a body."
                  "You sure do know how to turn a phrase," I said. "A body. This is a human being."
                  "Madison, I can’t get involved emotionally. One thing you learn is you never say 'passed on.' The word is died. You start using emotional terms and you're through in this business."
                  He was right,