and along came SPIDER ( A Martina Spalding Thriller ) (Spider Series Book 1) (19 page)

“Wow, that was generous
of him,” Gloria said, and she began to count it.

“Yes, it was,” Marti
agreed.  But then, what’s a human life worth in real money?

“So it’s Vegas then?” 
Gloria eyed her and returned the money to the envelope.

“We have until
Albuquerque to decide.  Why don’t we spend some time there, have our hair
colors changed, relax a little, then decide,” Marti suggested.  “You never
know, we may end up in Nome, Alaska, before it’s all said and done.”

“Alaska is nice, this
time of year.”

“Gloria!  Is there any
place you haven’t been?” Marti said, then kicked the speed up to seventy on a
level stretch of open highway.

CHAPTER
THIRTY-ONE

It was later in the day
when Lieutenant Dunbar received the call.  The rental truck his department had
acquired the previous day was discovered crashed in a canyon west of Oklahoma City. 
If there were any bodies in it at the time, they were totally incinerated in
the ensuing gasoline tank explosion.

Gathering a smile upon
hearing this news, Dunbar thanked the caller and cradled the receiver.  Never
for a second did he believe Martina Spalding, or even Gloria Gillen for that
matter, had been in that truck at the time.  It would be a cold day in hell
before anyone could ever convince him of that.  He knew very well what this
was, and gave Martina the credit for pulling it off expertly.  The bottom
line — they were alive — that part no longer concerned
him.  However, the call had reminded him of a promise he’d made Martina before
she left.  And he decided to take care of that little thing right now, while it
was still fresh on his mind.  Gathering his hat, he then scooped up a large
envelope from his desk and left the office.

Twenty minutes later,
he was approaching Gwyn Raizel, busy behind her desk at the Main Library. 
“Mrs. Raizel,” he spoke her name softly, not wanting to startle the frail old
woman.

She abruptly looked up
at the sound of the familiar voice.  In fact, she had just spoken to him a few
days ago, when he came by with questions regarding her granddaughter Susannah’s
murder.

“Lieutenant Dunbar,
isn’t it?  What brings you by, this time?  Is there something else I can help
you with?”

“It sure is, Gwyn,” he
said.  “And no, I just came by to deliver this.”  He handed over a large manila
envelope.  “It’s the pictures and things you loaned to Martina Spalding.  I put
her name there on the envelope to remind me what was in it.”

“You know, I don’t know
as I ever knew her last name.  Spalding, huh?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“She is such a lovely
young gal… reminds me so much of Susannah.  We had a lovely visit over at the
coffee shop the last time she came by.  I suppose she’ll be by again…”

“No, ma’am.  I don’t
think so…”

“Oh, my!  I hope
nothing has happened to her,” Gwyn said, covering her mouth.

“No, ma’am.  Nothing
real bad, anyway.  She left town is all.”

“Where to, do you
know?  I should send her a thank you letter, don’t you think?  I mean, I knew
the first time I met her she would be the one to bring me closure, as far as my
granddaughter was concerned.  I have a feeling she may even have played a
major
role in bringing about justice for Raym Koffee, too.  Am I right, Lieutenant?”

With the answer to that
on his tongue, Dunbar looked around to see who may be listening, all the while
feeling Gwyn’s eyes locked on him.  Finally, seeing all was clear, he said,
“Yes, ma’am. 
Major
!”

“I knew it,
Lieutenant,” Gwyn said excitedly.  “Now I know I have to reach her.  Do you
have a forwarding address?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Nothing?”

“No, ma’am…  Nothing.”

“But if you needed to
reach her you could, couldn’t you, Lieutenant?  I see a flicker of hope in your
eyes.”

“Well, she did say she
would call me sometime.  But I have no idea when that may happen.  And even if
she does, I doubt she will give up her location.”

“Is she in witness
protection?”

“No, ma’am.  But her
life may be in danger.”

“The Koffees again, huh,
Lieutenant?”

“I can’t answer that,
ma’am.”

“Okay, Lieutenant. 
Well, when she does call, will you tell her something from me?”

“I’d be glad to,
ma’am.”

“Just say this: God
rewards those who serve him best,” Gwyn said.  “And then say: Susannah thanks you,
too.”

“Now I’d best write
that down, ma’am, or I’ll surely forget it,” Dunbar said, and reached for his
pad and pencil.

“She’s at peace now,
you know?”

“Who, ma’am?”

“Susannah!” Gwyn said,
as if he ought to know what she was thinking.

And apparently Gwyn
Raizel was at peace, as well.  Even though not ill, she never returned to work
at the library again after that day.  And two weeks later she passed away,
peacefully, in her sleep.  The St. Louis newspapers, shortly thereafter,
reported Gwyn had bequeathed half her sizable fortune to an undisclosed person,
who had yet to be located.  This caused tongues to wag, and speculation to
flourish, as to who this fortunate person may be.  But Harry Dunbar knew.  And
he wasn’t about to tell.  Meanwhile, she had not, as yet, called.

But what one man knew,
that nobody else did, was that Gwyn had not left a good chunk of her fortune to
a named individual.  In fact, she had left with him no name to go by at
all — just a question and the answer to it, for him to qualify the
inheritor to receive the cash — and be entitled to designate its
delivery to anywhere in the world, tax free.  And that man was Gwyn Raizel’s
trusted lifelong friend and lawyer, the Honorable Judge Jeremy Beckworth.  She
was his only remaining client, and he was determined to see to it that her
final wish was handled precisely as she had directed.

There was no designated
time limit on claiming the inheritance, except for the possible demise of the
eighty-one-year-old judge, himself.  The reason for that being, he was the only
one who had the answer to the question.  And it was written in a place no one
would ever think to look.  That is, unless you knew what you were looking for,
as only the rightful inheritor would.

“Sprout,
my darling – Take new life and soar again.”

######

Be sure to read, And
Along Came Spider II, the second book in the Spider Series.

                                             Acknowledgement:

  A special thank you
is given by the author to Mia Manns.  Without her contributions to the writing
of this series it would not be special, as I believe the books within it have
(and will, as this series progresses) become, primarily due to her efforts.  Mia
has the expert ability to choose her words, where they appear, to harmonize
with the mood of the scene, within the story.  And what beautiful words she
writes.  For that, and Mia’s superior ability as an editor, I remain forever
grateful.

Other
books by J. R. Wright are as follows:

TWIG

LEGEND
of the DAWN

AFTER
the DAWN

BEFORE
SUNDOWN