The Equalizer Read Online Free PDF Page A

jaw dropped, color drained from her face. “Oh, my God,” she said. She leaned forward and suddenly pushed herself up from the table. “Excuse me,” she said as she disappeared through a doorway in the hallway on her right.
    Jack survey the room until his eyes came to rest on the baked goods. I could hear Eleanor vomit. The toilet flushed. After a full minute, she returned, her face still damp.
    “Sorry about that,” she said as sat in her chair. Her hands were trembling.
    “No problem,” Jack said.
    “So who . . . shot . . . ?”
    “At this point we don’t know. He was found in his boat still tied up to the dock at the public landing on Emmaline,” Jack said.
    “ Did he intend to go to work today?” I asked.
    “ Yes, and when he didn’t come home, I thought he might have gone straight in instead of stopping back at the house. He does that sometimes.”
    “A local resident found him this morning, but I wanted to notify you in person,” the sheriff said.
    She whispered, “Thank you for that, Jack. Did they take him to Nelson’s?”
    “ No, he’s on his way to Bemidji,” he said. “An autopsy is required. Would you like me to let them know your preference for funeral homes is Nelson’s?”
    “ Yes.”
    I could hear the TV and kids’ voices in the back of the house.
    The sheriff then asked, “How ’bout I call your dad?”
    She nodded. Jack pulled out his cell phone and walked into the dining room.
    Eleanor closed her eyes then placed a hand over her mouth. She moved it to her cheek and said, “This feels surreal. Forty-year-old healthy men shouldn’t die. Did he suffer?”
    “No, I’m sure it was instantaneous.”
    Eleanor gasped. “Do you think it was an accident?”
    “I doubt it. Another man was also killed—a parks worker.”
    “Oh, my God. Why?”
    “That’s what we have to figure out.”
    Jack returned to the kitchen. “Your dad said they’d be right over.”
    Eleanor nodded.
    “Would you’d like me to notify Ted’s mother?” Jack asked.
    “ Yes, maybe that would be best.”
    “ What time did your husband leave this morning?” I asked.
    “ I’m not sure exactly. He was gone by the time I got home at 7:45,” she said.
    “ Where were you so early?” I asked.
    “At the dairy,” she said.
    “ What time did you leave?”
    “After 6:30.”
    “ Did your husband go fishing often?” I asked.
    Jack said, “Humph. Every morning.”
    “Almost—never on Sundays,” Eleanor corrected, “but, yes, he’s a fishing fanatic. He goes out year round—pulls an ice house out on the lake as soon as the ice is thick enough.”
    “ Do you know if he always used the public landing on Emmaline?” I asked.
    Two nods.
    “And that was well known?” I asked.
    “Yes, I suppose it was,” Eleanor said.
    “Do you know of anyone your husband had a quarrel with?” I asked.
    She hesitated, looked at us deliberately before she said no, which made me believe she wasn’t telling us something.
    “Does Ted have an appointment book, briefcase, or address book here at home?” I asked.
    “His briefcase might be in his office upstairs. I’ll check.”
    Jack started rapping the table with his beefy fingers until he lapsed into a small coughing fit. A couple minutes later Eleanor handed Jack a soft black leather briefcase.
    “His appointments are all on the computer at the office,” she said.
    “Does he have many employees?” I asked.
    “Just Lisa Kelly, his secretary. I’ll call her,” she said.
    “I’ll need to talk to her. I’d appreciate the number and her address, if you have it handy,” I said.
    She wrote the information on a Post-it and handed it to me.
    “How long had she worked for Mr. Kohler?” I asked.
    “ About a year.”
    “ Did your husband ever mention problems with a client?” I asked.
    “ No, never.”
    “ Any issues with alcohol or drugs?”
    “ No.”
    “ How about finances?”
    “ No problems there,” she said.
    “ Any marital problems?