[To Die For 01] - A View to Die For (2012) Read Free

lying, honest.” She had me on the defensive already; she must be feeling her old self again.
    “Well, the judge postponed the hearing until she could get a lawyer. When do you think you will be in Truman?”
    “I’ll use my phone to find her a lawyer as soon as I get to Hays. I should be there within an hour.”
    “You can do that from your phone? How is that possible, Jacob?”
    “The web, Mom,” I answered. “I can surf the web and then call the lawyer from Hays. I should have enough left on my credit card to pay his retainer, but I may need help with the bail.”
    “Seems like a big waste, if you ask me. What’s wrong with a good old fashioned phone booth and phone book? It’s no wonder your credit card is at its limit. I bet you pay a fortune for that stupid smart phone.”
    My phone cut out before I could comment on my mother’s oxymoron. She may have been right about the new technology if not for the fact that phone booths had gone the way of television antennas, which was another one of her peeves.
    Less than an hour later, while eating a burger at the McDonald’s in Hays, I found a lawyer. Fred wasn’t too happy about staying in the van alone, but I wanted to use my laptop and the free wireless internet access to avoid using up my data download limit imposed on my cellphone plan. The lawyer agreed to help as soon as I could come up with his retainer. It was far more than what I had left on my credit card. I was beginning to wonder if Missouri had any decent public defenders.
    “Could you accept a deposit with my debit card, Mister Rosenblum?” I asked. “I can give you the balance in cash once I get to Truman.”
    His attitude seemed to change instantly. “No problem. Cash always works. I’ll have my secretary call you back in a few minutes to get your card number. I better get on over to the courthouse before George leaves for lunch,” he said.
    “George?” I asked.
    “The judge. He’s an old friend of mine. It’ll take some talking, but I should be able to get him to set bail. Lucky for your sister, you called the right lawyer.”
    Bail, if there was any, would be another hurdle I’d have to jump when I got to Truman. The lawyer’s fee would make my wallet look like the week’s biggest loser at Weight Watchers.
    Fred would have to wait for his lunch a bit longer. I decided to search the web while I waited for Rosenblum’s secretary to call me back. I was curious so see if Megan had made the news. The wire services didn’t even mention the small town murder, but my search did produce an article on a Springfield, Missouri television web page. I had chosen the keywords of Missouri, and murder. I found the link on the tenth page of my search results. Who would have thought Missouri would have so much homicide. The article was titled “Black Widow Strikes Again.” There was even a video clip of an exclusive report.
    “Sergeant Bennet, a deputy with the Fremont County Sheriff’s office, said he became suspicious when the victim’s autopsy showed he had died by carbon monoxide poisoning and not by the accident,” said the reporter. Then she had the cameraman cut to the sergeant.
    “That and the insurance company,” he added. “I did a little detective work and called Mrs. Carver’s insurance company. That’s when I had the coroner do an autopsy. The adjuster pointed out that Mrs. Carver’s two previous husbands had died in auto accidents after overdosing on medication, the last only two years ago, and she had collected a sizeable amount on those policies.”
    “How much is the current policy?” the reporter asked.
    “One million,” Bennet replied.
    “Almost double the amount she collected from her last husband,” the reporter said, and then cut to an interview shot earlier.
    “That bitch stole my husband, and now she’s gonna pay.” The woman being interviewed was still dressed in her bathrobe and standing outside an old mobile home. All she needed to complete my mental