Murder in the Air Read Online Free

in gold foil from his shirt pocket. Daniel’s other passion—Bertran’s Best—was probably the most expensive Belgian chocolate on the market.
    He extended his hand. Lydia smiled and shook her head. Daniel unwrapped both dark chocolates and popped them into his mouth.
    She was about to make a wisecrack about finding romantic love in one’s golden years, but refrained. Despite his joviality a minute ago, Daniel’s expression had turned somber. His shoulders slumped as though weighed down by unseen burdens.
    “Is something wrong, Daniel?”
    He shrugged. “Could be. If you don’t mind, I’d like to run something by you—get your input, so to speak.”
    His manner set off warning bells in her head. “Sure. Come inside and we’ll talk about it.”
    He refused her offer of coffee with a quick shake of his head. The gesture struck her as decisive rather than rude. It reminded her that, until a few years ago, Daniel had been a powerful corporate wheeler-dealer. He’d taken over several companies on the verge of bankruptcy, and breathed life into them via bold innovations. She managed not to trip over a hungry Reggie weaving in and out of her legs, and led Daniel into the living room.
    “Have a seat. I’ll be with you as soon as I feed the feline.”
    A minute later, she perched on the sofa opposite him and offered her full attention. “What is it, Daniel?”
    He studied her for a minute as though wondering how she might receive his words, then cleared his throat.
    “All my working life I’ve made important decisions, decisions affecting hundreds if not thousands of employees. But this is something else entirely.” He frowned. “Normally I’d discuss it with Evelyn, but she’s up to her ears in plans for my birthday festivities. Since my son, Arnold, and his crew are staying over, she insists on hosting a Sunday brunch at our place.”
    Seconds passed. Lydia pressed her lips together to keep from urging him to continue. Daniel would divulge what he had to say in his own good time. When she could bear it no longer and opened her mouth to encourage him, he asked, “What would you do if you learned that a crime you suspected of occurring many years ago actually had taken place? And that you knew who’d committed this crime, but had no way of proving it.”
    Lydia immediately thought of the dead body discovered ten days before. Surely Daniel wasn’t referring to that! It was too preposterous. The corpse had been found behind Twin Lakes.
    “I’m not sure what action I’d take,” she answered as calmly as she could manage. “It would depend on the severity of the crime. How certain I was of the person’s guilt.”
    “A friend of mine disappeared, Lydia. Now I’m sure he was murdered.”
    “Are you talking about the body the excavators unearthed? Was that your friend?”
    Instead of answering, he stared at her intently. “I’ve no proof, but now it all adds up. The question is, do I let sleeping dogs lie after all these years, or do I make the guilty pay for the crime?”
    The guilty. “Are you saying there’s more than one person responsible? I think you should tell the police.”
    “Tell them what exactly? They investigated years ago and came up with zilch.”
    “But these days the police have DNA and other tests they can use.”
    “It’s too late for tests,” he said, then added more softly, “And Evelyn invited them to my party.”
    Lydia stared at him. “You still talk to them?”
    Daniel stood and patted her hand to soften his dismissal. “My dear, I’m not sure of what I’m saying. You’ve been very kind, letting an old man ramble on.”
    “But Daniel,” she protested. “If this has something to do with the body they found, you need to tell the police what you know.”
    He kissed her cheek “I’ll take what you say under advisement. Meanwhile, I trust I can count on your discretion not to breathe a word of this to anyone, including your friend, Lieutenant Molina.”
    Dumbly she