.
orley Munson knew that the local detective had not come back to his home for a routine (or friendly) visit. ‘He must know something,’ he thought to himself as he stood and waved at the man in the rumpled suit. Policemen rarely seem to change their clothing or comb their hair or follow many of society’s hygienic trends, but they are dogged in their pursuit of the law (and the lawless) and Morley Munson knew that his own keen sense of fashion and cleanliness would in no way keep him safe from the gallows.Morley Munson stepped off the porch and met the local detective on his expansive (but unkempt) lawn. They shook hands and Morley Munson asked, “How can I help you today?” The local detective stared at him, smiled and then said, “I was looking for a missing man and now his wife is missing, too. Isn’t that peculiar?” After an endless moment Morley Munson replied, “I believe they went off to an island somewhere but that’s all I know, I’m sorry to say.” The local detective smiled at him and Morley Munson knew that he would like to murder this man, right here on his lawn, if he could get away with it but he knew he couldn’t (so he did not).Morley Munson briefly imagined the local detective’s death, however, and it was a grisly and bloody affair. There were knives and dogs (and acid) involved.
The local detective asked a few more questions and Morley Munson answered them all (without hesitation). Not one mistake. In return Morley Munson asked how his former secretary was doing and the local detective said, “She passed away. It was very sudden.” He returned to his car and drove away as Morley Munson walked up the stairs and into his home. Smiling.
Chapter 27 — The Porch.Chapter 29 — The Associate
