St. Patrick's Day Murder Read Online Free PDF

the certificate.
    “She says she got someone to do a pretty thorough search. They know who she is. His name’s been in all the papers. I don’t like the feel of this.”
    I didn’t, either. “What about his parents, Jack? I didn’t hear Jean mention them, and they didn’t seem to be at the funeral.”
    “They died years ago. At least that’s what he said. Now I’m starting to rethink everything he ever said about himself.”
    “Maybe that’s not a good idea. He was someone you knew and cared about. If he had some reason for lying about his age or his birthplace or his military service, it doesn’t change the person you knew.”
    “I can accept that, but Jean can’t. I haven’t even told her about the service. She was pretty shook up when she called about the birth certificate. I’m going to talk to the captain about it this afternoon. He has access to Scotty’s personnel records.”
    “You think he lied on his job application?”
    “I don’t know what to think. Listen, I’m way behind in my schoolwork. I’m going to pass on this weekend unless I get a lot done tonight and tomorrow. If I call Sunday, you think we could get together for a few hours?”
    “Gosh,” I said theatrically, “I’ll probably be booked solid by then. My phone never stops ringing.”
    “Yeah, here, too. The hallway’s lined with naked women waiting their turn.”
    I laughed. “Throw them a towel.”
    “I didn’t say they were wet. I implied they were eager. I’ll try for Sunday.”
    I finished my work and got it into the mail before the post office closed. On Saturday I put my house in order and did my shopping. Then I visited Gene and took him for lunch. Afterward, we went to a store that sold miniature cars, and I let him pick one out for his collection. I watched with pleasure and some awe as he made his decision, measuring the cars against one another by criteria I could not imagine. He started with seven and worked his way down to three, then finally two. He put them side by side, turned them over, ran them over the glass case and up his arm, his face intent the whole while. Sometimes when I watch him I wonder what kind of person he would have been if he had been born with normal intelligence. I’m almost positive he would have been smart, a thorough, careful worker, a kind and thoughtful human being.
    Finally he said, “This one.”
    I smiled. “Good choice, Gene.” I picked up the runner-up and handed both cars to the man behind the counter.
    “No,” Gene said. “Just this one.”
    “I think you deserve two today.”
    His smile was overwhelming. “Why?”
    I gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Because you always play by the rules and you’re the nicest person I know.”
    When we got back to Greenwillow, he had had enough of me. All he wanted was to play with his cars. I left him happy.
    Jack called before noon on Sunday. “Feel like driving in?”
    “Sure.”
    “We’ll have a little food and a little fun.”
    “Sounds good. Jack, I haven’t asked, but is there anything yet on Scotty’s killer?”
    “Nothing. It looks like a very professional job.”
    “That’s what the papers say.”
    “If the guy left a print in that stolen car, no one’s found it.”
    “Have they looked into old unsolved murders of cops?”
    “It’s the first thing they do. The Intelligence Division comes in right away on a case like this. Apparently they don’t see any connections, but they’ll be looking into copycats, crimes that are similar in some way.”
    “We’ll talk when I get there.”
    We didn’t talk when I got there. It was more than a week since we’d been together without the shadow of the murder over us. The shadow was still there, but we set it aside, our first kiss lighting fires.
    “It’s good to hold you,” Jack said, holding me in a way that was both comforting and arousing.
    I moved against his body and found his lips again.
    “Mind if we have the fun first?”
    “I’ll mind if we