Double Trouble (Dev Haskell - Private Investigator Book 10)

by Mike Faricy

  We walked behind the bomb disposal truck. There was a guy in the back of the thing monitoring a screen and talking into a headphone I guessed he was probably patched into the poor sucker up near my front porch.

  I glanced around and saw a news truck pull in down the block. A cameraman and a woman climbed out and quickly headed toward us.

  “Oh shit,” Aaron said looking down the street. Then he focused on me. “You left their office on good terms?”

  “Yeah, they offered me cookies. Marilynn, the mother, even let me take the elevator down on my own, said I didn’t need an escort. Hell, they cut a check right away and in fact, added on a hundred buck tip.”

  “You are so buying dinner next time.”

  Two of the bomb disposal crew jogged to the back of the truck then crammed in around the guy with the headphones, all three were completely focused on the monitor screen.

  “That means he’s starting to probe, they’ll try and get a reading as to what’s in there first before they even attempt to move the thing.”

  “Christ I should have grabbed my new flat screen out of the den,” I said absently.

  Aaron looked at me, but didn’t say anything.

  Another news van pulled up and two guys unloaded, they spoke to one of the cops at the end of the block then nodded back and forth and started walking toward us. The three bomb squad guys were suddenly in an animated conversation with one another until the guy with the head phones signaled for quiet.

  “What’s up?” I asked Aaron.

  He just shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.

  My phone rang a moment later, I was going to ignore it until I saw it was Heidi calling. “Yeah, Heidi.”

  “I’m watching a breaking news story please tell me that’s not your house.”

  “‘Fraid so.”

  “God, Dev, are you okay?”

  “We’re just waiting to see what the bomb squad guys come up with.”

  “Oh my God, I was just over there.”

  “What?”

  “I felt so bad after I blew you off the other night. By the way, I was meeting a girlfriend.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “When you called, the lecture, green futures.”

  “Green futures?”

  “Hello, anyone home? Yeah, anyway I was just over there and you didn’t answer the door so I just left a little treat on your porch. Look, I’m back in my car and heading over right now,” she said and I could hear the alarm on her car begin to beep as she stuck the key in the ignition.

  “No wait,” I said, but she’d already hung up.

  One of the bomb squad guys looked toward us and said, “Detective,” then motioned Aaron over. They seemed to confer about something, then all three of the bomb squad guys nodded in unison and everyone turned to look at me.

  “Get over here, you moron,” Aaron said.

  I hurried over. The bomb squad guys didn’t look too happy and Aaron was shaking his head. “Dev,” he said then sort of stepped off to the side so I’d be able to get a better view of the monitor screen.

  It was a hazy sort of black and white image. I expected to see sticks of dynamite and some sort of fuse mechanism so I wasn’t sure exactly what I was looking at. “Jesus, they hid the thing inside a cake?”

  “It is a cake, and that’s all it is, a God damn cake for Christ sake,” one of the bomb disposal guys growled. He had a shoulder patch on his uniform, blue background with silver thread that said Bomb Disposal then a wreath sort of thing around what looked like the kind of bomb you’d drop from a plane.

  I must have had a blanker than usual look on my face because another of the guys said, “It’s a cake, douche bag. God knows why, but someone was just being nice and dropped off a cake on your porch. Hope you enjoy it, probably going to be pretty expensive by the time they add up all the costs involved in getting everyone out here on a false alarm. Not to worry, they’ll be sure to send you the bill.”

  “Let’s get the hero undressed,” someone said and then they left to help the guy still up by my porch.

  “A cake? Someone is stupid enough to do something nice for you and you decide it would be a good idea to create a statewide incident?” Aaron asked.

  “Statewide?”

  “Did you miss the news crews? We’ll be sure to mention your name when we tell them it was an idiotic false alarm. What the hell were you thinking?”

  “I was thinking about the explosion at the hotel, three people dead, that’s what I was thinking.”

  “A cake, God help us,” Aaron said and walked off.

  Heidi arrived just as the bomb disposal truck headed down the street. They confiscated the cake she left for me, it turned out to be chocolate and I figured they’d have the thing devoured in the next fifteen minutes. One of the news vans was still parked down the block giving what looked like a live broadcast, probably telling everyone in their listening area that I was a complete idiot.

  “My God, are you okay?” Heidi asked then gave me a big hug and a long, hard kiss.

  “Yeah, I guess I’ll live, but I’m more than a little stressed out.”

  “I know just the thing for that,” she said and flared her eyes as we walked inside and I locked the door.

  The End

  To be notified about my new releases and great deals on existing works of genius just click on the link to subscribe. I will not sell, trade or lend your name and/or address to anyone. http://eepurl.com/7aaxz

  Thanks for taking the time to read Double Trouble. If you enjoyed Dev’s adventure please tell 2-300 of your closest friends. Following is a list of all my works of genius, the Dev Haskell tales can be read in any order. I’m currently wrapping up another top secret project, but in the meantime check out the sample chapters of Yellow Ribbon, another Dev Haskell tale, the sample chapters follow this shameless self promotion of my titles.

  Baby Grand

  Chow For Now

  Slow, Slow, Quick, Quick

  Merlot

  Finders Keepers

  End of the Line

  Irish Dukes (Fight Card Series)

  written under the pseudonym Jack Tunney

  The following titles comprise the Dev Haskell series;

  Russian Roulette: Case 1

  Mr. Swirlee: Case 2

  Bite Me: Case 3

  Bombshell: Case 4

  Tutti Frutti: Case 5

  Last Shot: Case 6

  Ting-A-Ling: Case 7

  Crickett: Case 8

  Bulldog: Case 9

  Double Trouble: Case 10

  Yellow Ribbon: Case 11

  Dog Gone: Case 12

  (Due out in June of 2015)

  Twinkle Toes

  (a FREE Dev Haskell short story)

  Visit http://www.mikefaricy.com

  Email; mikefaricyauthor@gmail.com

  Twitter; @mikefaricybooks

  On Facebook; Mike Faricy Books and Dev Haskell.

  Here are a few sample chapters from Yellow Ribbon, the next Dev Haskell tale. Enjoy the read and many thanks, Mike Faricy.

  Yellow Ribbon

  Chapter One

  I arrived at their townhome late in the afternoon. The place was always spotless and at first we just talked and watched a little TV while we ate a simple dinner. Then, one thing seemed to lead to another and now, once I finished my beer, it was time for me to join them.

  They’d been in the bathroom waiting for me for the past twenty minutes. Two of them. Sisters. Beautiful. A blonde and a redhead, Emma and Ava. I kept getting them mixed up, who was who, but they didn’t seem to mind. In fact, they thought it was kind of funny. They’d both claim to be one or the other which didn’t help in solving any of my confusion.

  Occasionally one of them called out to me from the bathroom and told me to hurry up. I finally figured I’d left them alone long enough. I set my empty beer bottle on the living room carpet next to the couch where we’d been playing around earlier, took a deep breath and approached
the bathroom door.

  The door was half open and I could hear the two of them in there talking and giggling in the Jacuzzi. Light from the scented candles they’d insisted on flickered out the bathroom doorway.

  “What’s taking him so long?”

  “He’ll be here pretty soon.”

  “Let’s splash him.”

  Then they started laughing all over again and I tiptoed toward the door.

  “Are you two ready for me?” I asked as I pushed the door open.

  They shrieked then slid down beneath twelve inches of bubbles so that just their heads were exposed.

  “You promised you’d get in with us,” Emma screamed, or was it Ava?

  “Yeah, Dev come on, you said you would.”

  “All I know is, I promised your mom you’d have a bath and be in bed before she got home from her class. Come on, who’s gonna be first?” I said and grabbed a thick white towel from the rack.

  “Me, me.”

  “No me, its my turn, you always get to be first, Emma.”

  “That’s because I’m the oldest.”

  That seemed to click something in my brain and I repeated, Emma, oldest, blonde, to myself a half-dozen times.

  “Okay, I’ve got two towels, both of you get out at the same time and then everyone can be first.”

  That brought on more shrieks and giggles as they climbed out over the edge of the Jacuzzi in the process spilling a couple gallons of water across the white hexagonal tiles of the bathroom floor.

  I threw a towel over five-year old Emma’s head then wrapped a towel around four year old Ava as she stood there shivering.

  “Come on, we’ll dry off in your bedroom and you can get into jammies.”

  “I get to pick the story,” Emma shouted as she dashed out of the bathroom.

  “No me, its my turn,” little Ava said and started to take off in hot pursuit. I caught her as she fell, missing the edge of the Jacuzzi with her forehead by just a fraction of an inch. She giggled like it was all just a big game and I lifted her up on my shoulder and we followed Emma into their bedroom.

  “You can both pick a book, but pajamas on first.”

  Who knew slipping a little flannel nightie on could take the better part of ten minutes? Once the nighties were on they each had to have a sip of water. I said no to another cookie, they picked out their books, said their prayer’s, gave kisses all around and finally snuggled under the covers.

  “Read mine first, read mine,” Emma said just as the doorbell rang.

  “No me, read mine first,” Ava said and then made a face at her sister as I left the bedroom to answer the door.

  There was a dark, curly haired fat guy standing at the door, his back was to me and he looked like he was scanning the street. I figured he must be a neighbor because he was just wearing shirt sleeves and it was fairly cool for October. As I opened the door he turned and a look of shocked surprise washed over his face when he saw me.

  “Oh, sorry, Dude, I was looking for Isabella, does she still live here?”

  “Yes, she does.”

  “Well then, who the hell are you?”

  “Carlos, Mommy said you aren’t supposed to be here. You were bad, Carlos, very bad,” Emma said from somewhere behind me.

  I turned to look at a very angry Emma just as Ava peeked out from behind her older sister with a wide-eyed stare. A second later I saw stars when he blindsided me on my right temple. Based on the way my face looked once I came to, he landed a few more punches before he was finished.

  The door was open, the girls were gone, I had one hell of a headache and Isabella was just pulling up outside.

  Chapter Two

  “I’d say you have a moderate concussion,” the paramedic said. I was sitting on the couch holding a gelled ice pack to the side of my throbbing head. He was in the process of taking a blood pressure cuff off my arm and putting it back into a black case while he spoke. “Your nose doesn’t seem to be broken, that swelling around the eye should go down in the next thirty-six hours. Maybe keep it iced off and on for the next day or two. How’s the breathing?”

  “You mean can I? Through my nose? Yeah, it’ll be okay, I guess. Just trying to clear my head is all.”

  There had to be a-half-dozen cops in the small townhouse. I could see Isabella at her dining room table. She was red-eyed, crying, and nodding to some guy seated across the table from her in a suit and tie. He was writing in a notebook and what looked like a cell phone sat on the table between the two of them.

  It was dark outside, but at least two more officers were out front, apparently walking back and forth across the front yard with flashlights. A number of red and blue lights were flashing from the top of squad cars out in the street and shining through the windows, none of which helped my pounding headache.

  “We won’t need to transport you, but if I were you I’d think about going down to the ER and getting checked out. Preferably tonight, but certainly tomorrow.”

  “Thanks,” I said nodding and having no intention of doing either.

  “I really think you should, sir.”

  “Appreciate the advice,” I said then groaned to my feet and took some unsteady steps toward the crowd in the dining room.

  A couple of the cops and the suit at the table looked over at me. My wobbly appearance got Isabella started in on another crying jag.

  “Better sit down, Mr. Haskell. Is there anything you can add to your previous statement?” the suit said. He looked to be about forty and gave the immediate impression he was not someone to be trifled with. He had introduced himself earlier, but I couldn’t remember his name.

  I began to shake my head and it immediately felt like it was going to explode. I waited a few seconds for the fireworks to stop inside then said, “I don’t think I can add anything else, it all happened so fast. Like I said, I thought it was a neighbor, you know, because he was just in shirt sleeves.”

  “Mister O’Kelly?”

  “Who?”

  “Carlos O’Kelly, the man who assaulted you.”

  “Oh, yeah. Sorry, I didn’t know his last name. Like I said, I figured he must have run over from next door.”

  “And you were babysitting the little girls?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Have you done that before?”

  “Yeah, once or twice in a pinch. I’ve known Isabella since we were in high school. Her husband and I were pals. I guess the sitter canceled for tonight.” I looked over at Isabella.

  “Like I said before, my sitter called and said she had the flu, which was the last thing we needed here. So, I called Dev on short notice and he ran over, it was just going to be for a few hours, it’s only a two hour class. We usually meet for about thirty minutes before class for a coffee and a quick review.”

  “Where’s your husband?”

  “Operation Enduring Freedom,” she scoffed.

  “He’s deployed?”

  “No, he’s dead.” Isabella said.

  “Afghanistan, Helmand province, 2011,” I said.

  There was a noticeable silence for a couple of beats before one of the uniforms behind me asked, “Do you have a jacket here, Mr. Haskell?”

  “My jacket? Yeah, it’s a brown leather bomber’s jacket. It’s hanging up in the front closet.”

  One of the cops stepped over and pulled the bifold door open on the closet in the entryway. The door was louvered and painted white. It gave a high pitched squeak as he pulled the door back and the sharp pain in my head seemed to immediately ratchet up with the sound.

  “No, there’s nothing like that in here.”

  “It should be on a hanger, next to a little pink ski jacket,” I think.

  “I see the ski jacket, but there’s no brown leather jacket in here.”

  I thought for half a second, swallowed to keep my stomach down, then said, “My car keys were in there. Can you check and see if my car is out front. A black Infiniti QX, two-thousand-five. It’s got silver wheel rims and th
e tail light on the passenger side is taped over with red tape. There’s a crack down the passenger side of the windshield, too. Oh, and a big crease on the passenger door.”

  He stuck his head out the front door then called back in, “Did you park it near by?”

  “Are you shitting me? It should be right out front at the curb,” I said slowly getting back up on my feet.

  I had to work to keep my stomach down. I walked to the front door and looked out. There was a police squad with red and blue lights flashing, it was parked exactly where I had left my car.

  “God damn it, I don’t suppose you guys had it towed, did you?” I asked the suit now standing right behind me.

  “No, we didn’t. You know your license number?”

  “Yeah, Minnesota,” I said then gave him what I thought was the number. “I’m sorry, I’m still a little foggy, the letters are right but the numbers, I’m not so sure, it’s either seven-four-nine or seven-nine-four.”

  “That’s okay, will have it in just a moment, you’re calling it in, Joey?” he said to the uniform standing next to him already on the radio attached to his shoulder.

  The guy nodded then looked at me. “Haskell, H-A-S-K-E-L-L, first name Devlin. Yeah, two-thousand-five Infiniti QX, black. Did you say a rear taillight was taped?”

  “Yeah on the passenger side, a crack from top to bottom on the passenger side of the windshield, and then that crease across the passenger side doors.”

  He nodded then turned and said something else into his radio, but I couldn’t pick up what it was.

  “Maybe come and sit back down at the table, Mr. Haskell. I’m sure you’re hurting, but we need to get as much information, as quickly as we can.”

  “I understand.”

  “You’re a pal of Lieutenant LaZelle’s aren’t you.”

  I was about to nod, but my head was throbbing so hard I didn’t dare. “Yeah, we go way back to when we were kids,” I said then gave a throaty groan as I sat down.

  I proceeded to answer questions for the better part of the next hour, but I don’t think I was much help.