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THECOEDMURDERCLUB
OTHER BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR
FICTION
Gold Fever Part One / San Francisco 1851
Gold Fever Part Two / San Francisco 1851-1852
Gold Fever Part Three / The Path to Civil War 1853-1860
Dancing With The Ice Lady
Murder In The Campanile
NON-FICTION
The Pentagon Papers Trial
The Trial of Inez Garcia
The Trial of Dan White
THE COEDMURDERCLUB
by
Ken Salter
AN R. C. BEAN MURDER MYSTERY
REGENT PRESS
Berkeley, California
Copyright © 2018 by Ken Salter
[paperback]
ISBN 13: 978-1-58790-438-7
ISBN 10: 1-58790-438-1
[e-book]
ISBN 13: 978-1-58790-440-0
ISBN 10: 1-58790-440-3
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018938198
The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any reference to an actual place, any similarity to real people, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and not intended by the author.
Chapter heading drawings courtesy Martha McEvoy
First Edition
Manufactured in the U.S.A.
REGENT PRESS
Berkeley, California
Contents
CHAPTER 1
My secretary, Juanita, buzzed me on the intercom while I was trying to finish a report on a complicated skip trace investigation for an attorney client.
“R.C., your two o’clock appointment is here. You better come quick. They’re starting to fight with each other.”
“Damn, tell them I’ll be right there.” I sighed. I needed to finish writing the report so Juanita could type it this afternoon. I had about twenty hours of billable time in the case and I needed to get paid. Barney Schultz, my attorney client, needed the report to justify paying me. As Barney says, “No tickee, no laundry. No report, no pay.” It’s as simple as that. He’s a real tight-ass when it comes to paying for my investigation services out of retainer accounts. Even though I sublet office space from him, he won’t cut me any slack.
I removed the cassette from the dictating machine to give to Juanita. She could type what I’d done so far. I’d have to find time to finish it later. My two o’clock clients were new and I’d already
