Lethal Habit - Chapter Twelve
Chapter Twelve
Morris heard from the coroner that the cause of death was strychnine poisoning. He found out that the man was Philip Stivers who ran several strip clubs and had sizable real estate holdings. He figured he’d go to one of his clubs and see if he could get any information. So far, he had no suspects and only a vague description of a young white female. That narrowed it down to a couple of million people. Great. He almost thought it wasn’t worth his time but knew he had to at least make an effort. He was close to retirement and just wanted something that didn’t demand any heavy lifting.
Nadine so far hadn’t been able to locate Douglas. He seemed to be some kind of arms dealer who made it a point to not be easily located. She had something special planned just for him.
She’d save Erik for last. He was away for a few weeks, and she would deal with him when he got back. Oh, she could hardly wait. All these thoughts of murder made her hungry. She ordered some Chinese takeout and enjoyed an evening of binge watching a show that she liked.
The next day the book club was meeting to discuss ‘The Murders in The Rue Morgue’ a famous murder mystery by Edgar Allan Poe. She enjoyed the way C. Auguste Dupin, the self-appointed detective, solved the crime.
Regarding the recent events she was involved with, there was no one in London with Dupin’s skill and reasoning abilities to figure out who was responsible for the murders. She strongly doubted if they could see any connection between the deaths of these men. How could they? She felt these men got what they deserved and by her taking them out, the world would be a safer place for women. She didn’t need to use the slow wheel of justice of society. Her brand was better suited for the purpose.
She went to the book club meeting, and instead of talking about Poe, they were all discussing the two recent murders: the man falling twenty five stories to his death and the most recent poisoning. She got a strange delight in knowing she was the cause while these ladies gave forth their theories.
“It must have been some kind of revenge. Some man was double crossed, and he got even. I don’t know if these two deaths were connected but they could be” a young lady commented.
Nadine spoke. “It seems strange. I mean the murders are so different. It’s hard to see the connection, but it isn’t beyond the realm of possibility.”
“I wonder what those men did to deserve such a fate.”
“Must have been something. This looks like the work of a deliberate killer.”
Nadine smiled to herself. These ladies hadn’t the foggiest notion; they just enjoyed discussing theoretical things - it gave them a false sense of accomplishment and filled the hours in their vacant lives. Damn, she felt judgmental and quickly cast those thoughts aside and tried to join into the spirit of the thing, but her mind was preoccupied with her next job.