Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 128488 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 642(@200wpm)___ 514(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128488 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 642(@200wpm)___ 514(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
Louise Cook lived in a ground floor apartment in a somewhat ratty-looking building in East Reno. Evan lifted the knocker and gave it two swift taps. A dog started howling in another apartment across the way, and they both looked over their shoulders but then back to Louise’s door as they heard shuffling on the other side. The door was pulled open, and a woman in her sixties stood there in a blue velvet housecoat and slippers, wearing a bandanna on her head. There didn’t appear to be any hair beneath the head covering, and Noelle wondered if the woman was going through cancer treatment.
“Louise?” she asked, offering her hand.
The woman shook it as she nodded. “Noelle Meyer. You look like your dad through the eyes,” she said, turning her attention to Evan. He introduced himself, too, and she stood back so they could enter.
“Did you know my father well?” Noelle asked as they followed her to a set of couches a few feet away. She and Evan sat down on one, and Louise took the one across from them, pulling her housecoat down over her knees before reaching forward and shuffling a stack of mail into a pile and turning it over. She wasn’t quick enough, however, that Noelle didn’t notice the large red Past Due marks on what looked like medical bills.
“I only met him once or twice. Dow recommended him for a job back when I was married and we’d just bought a house. It ended up having some electrical issues, and your dad fixed them. It’s been a long time, but a flash of his face came back when I looked at you. Funny the things your brain files away without you even knowing. He was a nice man.”
“He was,” she said, her heart giving a small thump. She cleared her throat. “Actually, my dad is part of the reason we’re here.” She glanced at Evan quickly. “I don’t know if you read about what happened to me—”
“I did,” she said, and Noelle was grateful she’d cut in, saving her from describing any portion of what they’d been through. “I was really sorry to hear what happened to you. I can’t begin to imagine. They never caught the guy who done that, huh?”
Guy. More like guys. “No. But, um, we’ve recently found some new leads, and part of what we found involves your brother.”
A slew of wrinkles appeared on Louise’s forehead, and she tugged lightly at her bandanna. “Oh? What is it?”
“I know the police believed the motive in your brother’s murder was a straight robbery, but my father seemed to think differently. There are a few notes in a calendar he kept, and while they don’t give any more information than that, it’s clear he believed it was more than what met the eye.”
Louise’s frown deepened. “Oh . . . I see. The police didn’t ever find who it was that robbed him, but yes, they seemed to think it was just a ‘wrong place, wrong time’ situation. Dow’s bad luck.” She let out a sigh and tugged at her bandanna again. “Truth be told, Dow generally made his own bad luck. He was always so damn smart, growing up. Things just came to him, especially computers. Our dad flipped when he came home one day and my brother had taken his whole damn computer apart, chips here, circuit boards there, and I don’t even know if I’m using the right terms, but you get the picture. Anyway, Dow says, ‘Don’t worry, Dad. I just wanted to see how it worked. I’m putting it back together now.’ And damn if he didn’t do just that and powered it up like it was brand new.” She shook her head, her eyes unfocused. “Damnedest thing.” She sighed again. “Unfortunately, he preferred to tinker and code than do anything that brought in much money. He had a shop, and he fixed other people’s computers, but he could have done that in his sleep. If he’d have had an ounce of ambition, that man could have gotten a job with NASA or the CIA or . . . whatever.” She gave a short laugh. “He futzed around, and he drank a lot. And then he got himself killed in an alley by some meth head who wanted whatever petty cash he mighta had in his wallet.” She shook her head again. “I don’t know why your dad might have thought it was anything other than that. But if it was, I don’t have a clue as to why anyone would want to kill my brother.”
They were all silent for a moment as Louise tugged on her bandanna, Evan obviously going over what Louise had said. After a moment, he leaned forward. “Louise, Noelle seems to remember Dow telling a story about hacking into the electric company. It may have been a joke, but do you have any idea if he ever did that sort of thing?”