Good King Sauerkraut (27 page)

Marian straightened up and looked King in the eye. “You just couldn't let it go, could you? You just had to get rid of this one last obstacle, didn't you? Whatever made you think you could get away with it? Maybe we can't nail you for the first two—but this time we've got you dead to rights, buddy! You have the right to remain silent—”

“In case you're interested,” King said tiredly, “I didn't kill Mimi. She electrocuted herself.”

“Oh? You're telling me this is a suicide?”

“Of course it's not a suicide! It was an accident. Look at the soldering iron cable.” He explained about the lights going out the night before.

“Uh-huh.” Utter disbelief. But she examined the cable; King could hear the vacuum cleaner noise die out as the cleaning crew packed up its things to leave. The detective said, “So it was all an unfortunate accident which you, once again, had nothing to do with.
Why were you moving her body?
”

King twitched. “I was going to hide it until I could figure out what to do. I knew you'd jump to conclusions, you'd think I did it. And you did!” King was starting to feel indignant. “You're so eager to catch a murderer, you can't
wait
to arrest me! Don't you understand?
There is no murderer
. There's been no
murder
.”

“No murder, just three convenient accidents.” The distaste on Marian Larch's face spoke volumes. “What was Mimi Hargrove doing with a soldering iron?”

King gestured toward the office with his head. “I'll show you.” They went inside, where King pointed toward the table. “She was building a robot.”

Marian slowly examined the tabletop without touching anything. “That's a toy, that car.”

“It can be adapted into a robot.”

“But you're the robot-builder here. What did you do, talk her into helping you and then rig it to electrocute her?”

“No!”

“She wouldn't have been working on a robot if it weren't for you. Or maybe she wasn't working on it at all. Why should I believe anything you tell me?”

She wouldn't have been working on a robot
, the words rang in his head,
if it weren't for you
. “This was Mimi's doing. You can see—”

“You know what I think?” Marian asked rhetorically. “I think you were building a robot to go after Mimi and she caught you at it. Then you electrocuted her somehow, and staged all this to make it look as if
she
were the one building the robot. You burned a place in the cable and put the soldering iron in her hand. Then you waited until her body had time to stiffen so we'd find her gripping the soldering iron. But you waited too long.”

“That's crazy!” King cried. “If I did all that, why would I want to hide the body?”

“I don't know—second thoughts, maybe? But I do know this is no simple accident, and that you're involved in what happened here.”

King was thinking what had happened there was at least half Mimi's fault. But:
She wouldn't have been working on a robot if it weren't for you
. “You really think I'm stupid enough to murder Mimi?”

Marian Larch hesitated. “It would be a stupid thing to do, true—since you knew you were already under suspicion. But if all three of these deaths
were
accidents, they were accidents you caused. You and I both know you're responsible.” Her body was starting to slump, as if she were depressed.

What the hell did she have to be depressed about?
“I know you think I'm a clumsy lout—and at one time I was. But I've changed, Marian. I'm a different person now.”

“So what? It doesn't alter the fact that
we caught you with the body, King
. Hands on the wall.”

“What?”

“Put your hands against the wall and spread your feet. You're under arrest.”

“Oh, for—haven't you been listening?”

“I'm not going to tell you again.”

Disgusted, King did as she ordered and Marian patted him down. “You think I'm carrying guns and knives? Or maybe a bomb?”

She felt something in his jacket pocket. She reached in and took out the remote control. “What's this do?” she asked—and pressed the button.

From another part of the apartment came an unexpected and loud “
YOW!
” The voice was male, startled, and indignant. The chandelier in the office went out.

Marian stepped to the doorway. “Ivan?” she called. “What's the matter?”

“Bad shock!” Ivan called back. He came into the hallway shaking his right hand. “I went into the media room to turn off a movie and the damned thing near electrocuted me!”

Marian looked at the remote control in her hand and her eyes grew wide. She turned her head slowly toward King. “And still it goes on! Are you crazy, man?” She stepped toward him. “What was this? A back-up plan? Or is this how you got Mimi? You could have killed my partner!” Ivan followed her into the office, astonished at her words.

“No!” King hastened to say. “He was in no danger. Look at him—he's not hurt!”

“No thanks to you. What went wrong? Didn't you wire it up right?”

Ivan took the remote control from Marian's hand. “This is what did it?”

“Yep, that's it. King—what else have you got rigged in this place? Now do we add assault on a police officer to the charges?”

Sweating, King blurted, “You pushed the button!”

She looked disgusted. “Then we'll make it reckless endangerment,” she snapped. “You ought to be locked away forever, someplace where you can't go on hurting people!”

“Did you read him his rights?” Ivan asked.

She thought back. “No.”

Ivan took care of it. “Hands behind your back,” he instructed King.

King stared at Marian while her partner handcuffed him. “This isn't fair!” he protested. “I never wanted to hurt anyone! I'm not a murderer! I didn't want anyone to die!”

Marian looked at him with distaste. “And because your intentions are pure, you shouldn't be held accountable for what you do? That's not the way it works, Sauerkraut.
You caused three deaths
.” She paused. “Maybe you can convince a jury they were accidents, but don't hold your breath. The charge is first-degree murder. This was planned. My advice is to start telling the truth.”

They were going to do it; they were actually going to put him in prison! King looked from one detective to the other, but found no sympathy in either face. They were going to make him pay—he'd spend the rest of his life paying. And for what? For a few clumsy mistakes.

“But I've
changed
,” he whined.

About the Author

Barbara Paul is the author of numerous short stories and novels in both the detective and science fiction genres. Born in Maysville, Kentucky, she went on to attend Bowling Green State University and the University of Pittsburgh, earning a PhD in theater history and criticism. She has been nominated for the Shamus Award for Best PI Short Story, and two of her novels,
In-Laws and Outlaws
and
Kill Fee
, have been adapted into television movies. After teaching at the University of Pittsburgh for a number of years, she retired to write full-time. Paul currently resides in Sacramento.

All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 1989 by Barbara Paul

Cover design by Jason Gabbert

ISBN: 978-1-5040-3248-3

This edition published in 2016 by
MysteriousPress.com
/Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.

180 Maiden Lane

New York, NY 10038

www.openroadmedia.com

THE MARIAN LARCH MYSTERIES

FROM
MYSTERIOUSPRESS.COM
AND OPEN ROAD MEDIA