Read Online Murder in the Air by Marilyn Levinson - Free Book Online

me, the woman he shared everything with? I’ll never forgive him for that. Never!”
    Feeling a bit guilty, Lydia said, “Evelyn, Daniel told me he was worried that people he knew years ago might have been involved in a crime. He was very vague, but I suspect it had to do with the body the excavators unearthed in the root cellar. He said he didn’t want to upset you because you were busy with the party and the brunch.”
    “The party and the brunch weren’t important! They were only a way of honoring Daniel.” Evelyn shook her head. A sob escaped her lips. “I was a fool to make such a fuss about his eighty-fifth birthday. If I hadn’t been so occupied, I’d have made him tell me what was troubling him instead of letting him fob me off with platitudes. He’d still be here with me.”
    “We don’t know that,” Lydia said gently. “Did Daniel mention anything about the crime he believes was committed?”
    Evelyn shook his head. “He told me nothing. He spent hours at his computer. And he called Ron Morganstern.”
    Lydia’s heart took a flying leap. “I just found out from Ron that he and Daniel knew each other when they were kids.”
    “That’s right. Ron, Daniel, and Mick Diminio grew up right around here.”
    “Evelyn, Daniel grew upset about this old crime right after they found the remains of that boy.”
    Evelyn nodded slowly. “Of course! Daniel went to talk to you because you were there when the body was discovered, and you helped solve the Weills’ murders.”
    Lydia wasn’t crazy about the way Evelyn had phrased things, but at least her pinched expression was fading, a sign she was letting go of her guilt for not having protected Daniel.
    “I’m trying to remember Daniel’s exact words when he came to ask my advice. Something had happened that convinced him a murder had been committed many years ago. Proof, as far as he was concerned, but no evidence. His dilemma was if he should bring this to the attention of the police or let sleeping dogs lie.”
    “Of course we’ll tell the police!” Evelyn exclaimed. “It could be the reason that Daniel’s dead.”
    “I’ve already left a message with Lieutenant Molina,” Lydia said. “He should be calling me back soon.”
    “Good.” Evelyn stood. “In the meantime, I’d like you to go through Daniel’s computer files. Maybe they’ll tell us who was after him.”
    Lydia hesitated. “I don’t know.” She could well imagine Sol Molina’s wrath when he learned that she and Evelyn had checked out the files on Daniel’s computer.
    Evelyn misunderstood her hesitation. “I thought, having owned a business, you’d know the workings of a computer.”
    “I’ve worked on computers, of course, but I think we should wait until the police get here.”
    “Why? It’s not as though we’re trampling on a crime scene. I can’t count how many people have been through this house before and after they rushed Daniel to the hospital.” Evelyn’s lovely gray eyes, usually so mild, turned cold as steel. “I must know who killed my Daniel. If you won’t access the files, I’ll find someone who will.”
    She would, too. Lydia patted Evelyn’s shoulder. “In that case, I’ll access them and we can go through each and every one, if you like.”
    “Thank you, Lydia.”
    Having won her point, Evelyn babbled as she led Lydia into the den, where she sank into a chair while Lydia booted up the computer. “We got the computer last year. I use it to email my daughter and a few friends. Daniel used it to check his investments and to write his memoirs.”
    “Write his memoirs?” Lydia was surprised.
    “Why not? He was involved in some of the biggest corporate takeovers and mergers.”
    Lydia mused. “I wonder if the person following him had a grudge against him because of some business venture in the past.”
    “For Daniel’s sake, let’s find out.”
    Going through Daniel’s files was easy enough. Most of them were chapters of his autobiography,