Julius Katz Mysterie Read online

  Julius had kept his right hand under his desk and out of view from the rest of the room. He used his index finger on that hand to point out to me who the killer was, although it wasn’t necessary. Given the way this person reacted to Julius’s news it was pretty obvious which one it was. Julius signed with his right hand what he wanted me to tell Tom Durkin, and I called Tom to relay the message. He sounded surprised to hear my voice, but didn’t say anything about it.

  Julius still had three minutes before Tom would be calling. He turned to Cramer and asked, “If Mr. Durkin hasn’t been successful yet in linking Henke’s murderer to Penny, I’m assuming you’ll still drop all charges against Archie Smith and charge this person with both murders.”

  Cramer nodded. His gaze, as well as everyone else’s in the room, was fixed on the real murderer. They’d have to be, with the way this person was perspiring and uncomfortably squirming. At precisely three-fifteen Tom called as I had directed him. Julius put him on speakerphone.

  “Mr. Durkin, is it true that you witnessed Rosalind Henke being shot?”

  “Yes, sir,” Tom lied.

  “Were you able to get a good look at her murderer?”

  “Yes, sir,” Tom lied again.

  “Can you identify this person?”

  Before Tom could lie for a third time, the socialite, Mark Hanson, bolted from his chair and tried to fight his way past the cops. He didn’t get very far before being tackled to the floor and having his hands cuffed behind his back.

  Later that evening Hanson confessed to the police. It turned out that Denise Penny had witnessed Hanson, while drunk, striking an elderly man with his car and driving away from the scene in a panic. She had recognized him from his many photos in the newspaper, and had gone to his last charity event to make contact with him, and not because she had any interest in helping the underprivileged. She was a ruthless, coldhearted woman who had completely fooled me, and as Julius guessed, Hanson killed her because she was attempting to blackmail him, the same reason he later killed Henke.

  I digested all this for twenty hours as I tried to readjust my neuron network so I could have made the same deductions that Julius had. Finally, I told Julius that he had only been bluffing. He put down his latest book, a crime-noir novel set in Vermont that seemed to absorb him, and he raised an eyebrow for me to continue.

  “You didn’t actually solve Denise Penny’s murder,” I said. “You were only bluffing them, expecting to be able to read their tells to figure out who the murderer was. If the murderer had been a good enough poker player, you would’ve struck out.”

  “Perhaps you’re correct, Archie, but I liked my chances,” Julius said with a thin smile. “Both murders had a rushed and panicky feel, and I doubted the murderer would be able to sit here and not give himself away. I also suspected Hanson from the beginning.”

  “Why?”

  “Blackmail seemed the likely motive for both murders, and Hanson was the only name on the list that was easily identifiable. I doubt Henke would’ve recognized any of the other people on the list, or would’ve suspected they were wealthy enough to be worth blackmailing. Also, Archie, Denise Penny appeared more opportunistic than altruistic. I was working under the assumption that she attended the event where she was photographed two weeks ago so that she could make contact with Hanson at a public place and let him know she had something damaging on him. Her plan must’ve been to wait until she had you agreeing to go to her apartment before arranging for Hanson to pay her her blackmail.”

  “I feel deeply insulted that she thought I’d be such a dupe as to witness her blackmailing Hanson and keep quiet about it,” I said.

  “I doubt that was the case,” Julius said with a sympathetic smile. “She probably only wanted Hanson to see you with her to convince him that you were in on the scheme, but I suspect that she would have sent you out of her apartment on a ruse of some sort so that payment could’ve been made outside of your view.”

  “It must’ve been a shock to her when I didn’t show up,” I said.

  “I suppose it was.”

  “I still can’t believe how badly she fooled me,” I said. “I keep trying to adjust my neuron network so that I could’ve spotted her treachery, but I can’t quite get there. I guess I’m just a sap who’s ripe for the conning.”

  Julius put down his book, his eyes thoughtful. “I don’t think that’s it, Archie,” he said. “I think it’s that you’ve reached a point now where you’re all too human. Blame it on that. No more dating, okay?”

  “Deal,” I agreed. Murders were tough enough, forget dating. This was a deal I was only too happy to make.

  ###

  About the author:

  Dave Zeltserman won the 2010 Shamus Award for 'Julius Katz' and is the acclaimed author of the ‘man out of prison’ crime trilogy: Small Crimes, Pariah and Killer, where Small Crimes (2008) and Pariah (2009) were both picked by the Washington Post as best books of the year. His recent The Caretaker of Lorne Field received a starred review from Publisher's Weekly, calling it a 'superb mix of humor and horror', has been short listed by ALA for best horror novel of 2010, and is a finalist for a Black Quill Award for best dark genre book of the year. His upcoming book Outsourced (2011) has already been called 'a small gem of crime fiction' by Booklist and has been optioned by Impact Pictures and Constantin Film and is currently under development.

  Connect with Me Online:

  My website: http://www.davezeltserman.com

  My blog: http://smallcrimes-novel.blogspot.com

  Also available for download:

  Blood Crimes

  Bad Thoughts

  21 Tales

  Fast Lane

  Praise for OUTSOURCED

  "A dark, lightening-paced read" Financial Times

  "A small gem of crime fiction" Booklist

  "Outsourced is a dryly witty take on the heist caper genre... fast-paced action romp" London Times

  "Bodies mount up as the double dealing and revenge gather apace. The blurb on the book describes it as a "fast-paced, edge-of-your seat crime novel," and it really does live up to the hype. Add this to your holiday reading list for a piece of escapism." Morning Star

  "A finely paced, witty and stylish take on the heist caper novel. More than most authors churning out mysteries, Zeltserman is fully steeped in the conventions of crime fiction. He remains absolutely his own hard man." The Australian

  "Dave Zeltserman's OUTSOURCED is a speedy, gritty, hardboiled bank robbery tale that bops and weaves along as a group of out-of-work computer programmers decide to get their hands dirty and find they like it a lot. As with Zeltserman's previous novels SMALL CRIMES, PARIAH, and KILLER, his greatest storytelling skill is in the small true, emotional details that every reader will understand. He will definitely keep you flipping pages as fast you can, and once you finish one book you'll be racing on to the next." Tom Piccirilli, author of Shadow Season and The Cold Spot

  Praise for THE CARETAKER OF LORNE FIELD

  "delicious horror-ish novel" Newsday

  "Superb mix of humor and horror" Publishers Weekly, starred review

  "superbly crafted horror story" Booklist

  "Harrowing. Zeltserman colors it black with the best of them." Kirkus Reviews

  "a very darkly funny dark fantasy" Locus Magazine

  "THE CARETAKER OF LORNE FIELD succeeds as a horror novel, a psychological thriller and a haunting parable, even in some ways that Zeltserman may not have intended. There are dark levels to this work, some of which are immediately evident and others of which reveal themselves only upon later reflection. I don’t know if the book will come to be regarded as a classic, either now or at some point in the future, but it deserves to be." BookReporter

  Praise for 21 TALES

  “inventively depraved” New York Magazine

  “Dave Zeltserman is one of the crime genre's most accomplished, radical, and innovative talents. His command of style and personal dark vision of the world are framed in the
short form to reach out and shake the reader by the throat. I only wish that 21 Tales had been 51 Tales or 101 Tales. We need more of his edgy stories to rattle the field.” Tom Piccirilli, author of Shadow Season

  “Zeltserman’s twisty-tailed gems drag you deep into pulpland, bitch slap you dizzy, and leave you begging for more.” Roger Smith, author of Wake Up Dead

  “Deadpan and more ruthless than ever, Zeltserman pulls off one clever shocker after another in classic pulp style. Not for the faint-hearted!” Vicki Hendricks, author of Miami Purity

  “In a relatively short period of time Dave Zeltserman has established himself as the most relevant author of dark crime fiction working today. As usual, Dave doesn't pull any punches, and his 21 TALES is inventive, nasty, pulpy fun.” Paul Tremblay, author of The Little Sleep

  “Dave Zeltserman's stories demonstrate that he's as masterful with the short story as he is with the novel--the same stunning level of craft and the same lacerating vision. This is an important collection.” Ed Gorman, author of The Poker Club

  “Dave Zeltserman’s 21 Stories has enough twists and turns and plot reversals to give O’Henry whiplash. Readers should expect the unexpected. Zeltserman delivers some dark and disturbing fun in these stories.” Lynn Kostoff, author of Late Rain