Jozsa Neptune King Investigates

1. Auflage 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4835-3460-2
Verlag: BookBaby
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 152 Seiten

In this the 7th book of the Neptune King series, Neptune and Rachel return from their honeymoon and it's business as usual. In The Case of the Ugly Client, Bernie Taylor enlists their help to find the love her life, clumsy well-meaning Homer Heep. After several attempts are made on Heep's life, one of which is the derailment of the train they're on at the cost of many lives, the detectives realize this isn't a simple missing person's case and look for deeper motives behind the attacks. In The Case of the Blackmailed Politician, Shark prevents Becky's father from killing himself. Forcing him to confide, he learns he is being blackmailed to the point of bankruptcy. With Neptune's help they set out to trap the blackmailers and get Earl Evans' money back. Intrigue at the Academy sees Neptune and Shark enlist in the police force at the behest of Commissioner Chadworth to ferret out corruption at the cadet level. When Becky's life is threatened, Shark realizes just how important she is to him and takes the plunge declaring his feelings for her.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Jozsa, Magda

Leseproben

2

THE CASE OF THE MISSING GOAT

On Monday morning, Neptune arrived for work alone.

“Where’s Rachel?” asked Shark.

“Oh, the painters are coming today and she wanted to be there when they arrived to make sure they got the colours right. She’ll be here a bit later.”

Shark nodded frowning slightly, but said nothing. “Just you and me then I guess.”

Neptune smiled. “Yes. There were a couple cases of potential in last week’s mail. I suppose we should contact one of them.”

“Uh huh. Which one?”

Neptune grinned. “How about the missing goat? I like cases out of the ordinary.”

Shark chuckled. “Yeah, why not. I wouldn’t mind something lighter. Least the goat ain’t gunna derail a train or murder anyone.”

Neptune hunted out the letter in question and telephoned its writer. After he hung up, he said, “Mr Snipe will be here in half an hour or so.”

“Good. Might as well sort through the rest of the mail and see if there are any other takers.”

Neptune nodded and they busied themselves until the first client of the day arrived.

Mr Snipe proved to be a small, thin, balding fellow with a straggly light brown moustache and thin goatee beard that matched his thinning scalp hair. He had dim blue eyes that peered about him short-sightedly. Evidently he needed glasses but wasn’t wearing any.

“Mr King?” he asked Shark, looking up at him.

“No. I’m Shark Johnson, come into the inner office, Mr Snipe.” He showed him into Neptune’s office and was about to follow when the phone rang. He answered it, then after hanging up switched the incoming line across to Neptune’s office seeing as how Rachel still hadn’t shown up.

“Now, Mr Snipe,” said Neptune when Shark came in and closed the door behind him. “I understand from your letter that your goat—Agnes, is missing.”

Snipe nodded sadly. “She means everything to me, Mr King. She’s not just a pet. She’s my companion; my closest friend. Why, a wife couldn’t be any closer or dearer to me than Agnes is.”

Behind his back Shark grinned. He noticed Neptune’s left eyebrow arch at Snipe’s declaration as he made an effort to keep a smile off his face.

“Tell us what happened,” said Neptune, noting Shark’s grin. He quickly averted his eyes; last thing he needed was to break down laughing. Mr Snipe was rather odd. Personally, he preferred Rachel to a goat for companionship.

“Thursday last week I came home from work and Agnes was gone. When I left her in the morning she was fine, as happy as usual. When I got home she was wasn’t there.”

“Where do you live?” asked Shark.

“Flat 19, 321 Terrace Lane,” replied Snipe.

“You live in a flat?” Surprised, Neptune stared at him. “And you’re allowed to keep goats?”

Snipe nodded. “She’s more than a goat.”

“Yep, she’s like a wife you said,” said Shark, throwing Neptune a wink “Can she cook?”

Neptune cleared his throat as an admonishment to Shark to behave himself.

Snipe glanced around at Shark, his expression mournful. “If you only knew Agnes, you would understand what I meant.”

“So you left your goat inside the flat when you went to work?” said Neptune, bringing Snipe’s attention back to him and giving Shark a warning glance.

Shark merely smiled innocently back at him.

“Yes.”

“Was there any sign of forced entry?

“No. The window was partly open, but she couldn’t fit out. I’m upstairs and there’s no fire escape at the window, either, so no one could have got in. I don’t know how she got out. She just vanished into thin air.” He sniffed, close to tears in his distress.

Neptune slid a box of tissues across his desk so they would be in reach of the little man should he need them.

“You ever take Agnes outside?” asked Shark, more interested in this man’s relationship with his goat rather than in its disappearance.

“Yes of course I did. Agnes and I went to the park every day for an hour or so of an evening, and we picnicked on the weekends. She loved that.”

“How big is your flat?” continued Shark, winning another frown from Neptune.

“It’s one bedroom. Fair sized.”

“So where did she sleep?”

“In my room of course.”

“On the floor?”

“No, on my bed.”

Neptune cleared his throat again to interrupt Shark’s questions. “So there was no sign of forced entry. Any evidence that Agnes chewed her way through a wall or a door? Goats do have voracious appetites.”

“No. She’s chewed on the cupboards, but the doors and walls are all sound.”

“Did you ask your neighbours if they saw her?”

“Yes, naturally I asked them. They never saw anything, and some were downright rude.”

“What about the landlord—did he approve of you having a goat in your one bedroom flat?”

“It’s a she—Miss Doris Cartland, and no she didn’t approve. She’s always trying to evict me, but can’t because I pay five pounds more a month to keep Agnes, and the actual owner of the building is fine with that. Miss Cartland just manages the place. She’s always looking down her nose at me. I don’t think she likes goats. I think she’s jealous of Agnes.”

Shark grinned again; this case was tickling his funny bone. “What makes yuh say that? Why do yuh think she’s jealous?”

“Because when she first took over the running of the place she tried to come on to me, but I wasn’t interested.”

“Because of Agnes?”

Snipe nodded. “Yes. No one compares to Agnes.”

Neptune put his hand in front of his mouth to conceal his smile. When in control he asked, “Could she have taken Agnes?”

“Well, I wouldn’t be surprised. She denies taking her.” Snipe shifted in his seat and looked pleadingly at Neptune. “Will you take my case?”

Neptune smiled openly now—it was safe to smile. “Certainly. It has several points of interest.” He took out a client contract and handed it to Snipe. “If you could read through this and sign it, we can begin work.”

The telephone rang. Neptune answered it while Snipe read through the contract. When he hung up Shark glanced at him curiously.

“Just someone wanting to know our rates,” explained Neptune.

Snipe borrowed a pen off the desk and signed the contract. “When can you start?”

“We’ll come out to your building sometime today,” said Neptune. “I’ll just get some extra details for our files.” He filled in the client card, and with that completed escorted Snipe out, reassuring him the whole time that they would look into it that day.

“What time did Rachel say she’d be here?” asked Shark, after answering the phone again—a wrong number.

Neptune glanced at his watch. “Uh, an hour ago. I’ll give her a ring.”

“Do that.”

Neptune glanced at Shark, detecting a trace of annoyance in his voice. The phone rang again—another query. These were the sort of calls that Rachel usually fielded. He rang Rachel after answering the query.

“Hallo, Neptune,” she greeted cheerfully.

“Rachel, what’s keeping you? You said you’d be at the office by ten-thirty?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, dearest. The painters were late coming, and then I couldn’t make them understand my colour scheme. The time just flew away from me. Is there something wrong at the office?”

“No, just that we have a case and the phone has been ringing incessantly. We can’t leave until you come.”

“I’ll be there in half an hour. I’ll get Finlay to drive me in. Is that all right?”

“Yes, dear.” Neptune looked up at Shark who was leaning against the doorway. “She’ll be here in half an hour. The painters were late coming.”

“Okay.”

Rachel turned up nearly an hour later. She breezed into the office, her face flushed. “Oh, Neptune, you wouldn’t believe the trouble I’ve had with those stupid painters. I’m telling them I want light gold for the dining room and they kept coming back with pale lemon!”

Neptune smiled tolerantly. “I’m sure you set them right, dear.”

“I certainly did.”

“Well now that Rach is here, we’d better go,” said Shark cutting into their pleasantries.

They made their way to Terrace Lane. Number 321 proved to be a rather dilapidated building that was in dire need of painting and cleaning.

Shark screwed his nose up when he looked at the building. “No wonder the owner doesn’t care if the tenants keep goats in their flats. There’s probably all sorts of livestock in there.”

Neptune smiled. “I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“Did Snipe strike yuh as a bit odd?”

“Well, perhaps a bit eccentric,” said Neptune, still...