The Last of the Good Guys

When three former cops commit suicide, private investigator Alec Santana knows it’s not a coincidence. 

An ex-cop inexplicably commits suicide in Miami, and his widow turns to her husband’s best friend, Alec Santana, for assistance. Soon after, two more ex-cops commit suicide. After talking to one of the widows, Santana discovers they all had a single event in common: they responded to a Christmas Eve fire almost fifteen years ago.

Threatening letters turn up, prompting Alec to dig deeper into events from the past. He knows he’s on the right track but things turn dangerous as someone tries to run him off the road. The police refuse to help, insisting there’s no connection between the suicides and recent accidents.
Alec hits one dead end after another in his search for suspects and he nearly gives up, until he uncovers a shocking secret… 

Published by L&L Dreamspell

 

First Chapter

South Florida

“Will you be okay?” Alec Santana said to Julie Brody after the last of the mourners had left. 

She had to think about it. “I don’t know because I don’t know what I’m supposed to feel. I mean, if only he had left a letter, a note, anything…” Her lips quivered. “There were never any secrets between us. That’s why none of this makes any sense.”

He reached for a half-empty bottle of wine, poured a little into a glass and handed it to her. “You look as though you could use it.” He poured himself a glass and sat beside her. “What about the police? Did they come up with anything?”

She sighed. “They had a body, a gun and the medical examiner’s opinion that Ben had shot himself. To them, it was just another suicide. End of case.”

“Well, suicide or not, Ben must have had a reason. Was he acting strangely or was he upset about something in particular?”

She started to shake her head. “As a matter of fact, there was something—right after he opened a letter he got nine or ten days ago. He said it was a bill he’d forgotten to pay and I really had no reason to disbelieve him. The next day he seemed just fine. But then a couple of days later, he woke in the middle of the night, trembling and breathing rapidly, as though he’d just broken free from a nightmare. He had always slept like a log, so I knew something was bothering him, but I never imagined it was anything serious.”

“Did he ever show you the letter?”

“No. And when I asked him about it a few days later, he acted like he didn’t know what I was talking about. I shrugged it off and basically put it out of my mind. The clues were there, but I didn’t put them together.” She reached to pick up a small photograph of Ben holding up a small shark he’d caught on the Gulf side of Marathon Key. She stared at it for a moment, and then reached to wipe a tear from the corner of her eye.

“I’m sorry, I’m upsetting you and you probably want to be alone.”

“No, no.” She put down the photograph. “Actually I’m glad you’re here because maybe…well, you being his friend, I thought you might have some ideas of your own. Sometimes friends say things to each other that they wouldn’t necessarily want to share with their wives.”

Alec took a sip of his wine. “I really can’t think of a single thing he said or did that would explain what was troubling him. The last time I saw him was about two weeks ago. We played a round of golf and he seemed his usual self. In fact, he kept talking about a Caribbean cruise that he’d been planning for the past few days.”

“A cruise? That’s odd; he never mentioned one.”

“I think he wanted to surprise you. Anyway, that’s all I can remember, which isn’t much help, I’m afraid.”

Julie drew a long deep breath. “I’ll tell you one thing. I’ll never have any peace until I know what really happened. Something drove him over the edge. One way or another I’ve got to find out what it was.”

“How are you going to do that? You said yourself that the police had closed the case, which means—”

Julie half-smiled. “Which means that someone who used to be a pretty good cop could easily pick up where they left off.”

Alec shook his head. “I’m an Insurance Claims adjuster for God’s sake. Besides, what’s it going to prove? And if or when you discover the truth, it won’t bring him back.”

“Look, Alec, I know you don’t understand and I really can’t blame you. But will you please think about it?”

“You know of course, that the truth may turn out to be something…well, something you’d be better off not knowing.”

“I’m prepared to accept it,” she said, pursing her lips.

“Well, if it means that much to you.” He rose. “But do me a favor. Why don’t you sleep on it, or better yet, give it a few days? If you still feel the same way…”

Julie forced a smile as she walked him to the door. “Thanks for being such a good friend, to both of us.” She kissed him on the cheek and closed the door.

* * * *

Alec tried not to act surprised when she called the next morning. “You’re really serious about this, aren’t you? I hoped you’d let it rest, at least until you’ve had a chance to put it into perspective.”

“Sounds like you’re having second thoughts. Not that I blame you.”

“Look, I know how much this must mean to you, but—”

“You don’t have to explain. It was unfair of me to even suggest it. It’s my problem and I’ll deal with it the best I can. Maybe I’ll hire a private investigator. You wouldn’t happen to know of one, would you?”

A long silence, and then a sigh. “I’ve got a lot of vacation leave built up and I was thinking that maybe now would be a good time to take some days off. Ben was my friend. I owe it to him to find out what made him do it.”

“Thank you,” she said softly. “You don’t know how much this means to me. Where will you begin?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe I’ll talk to the detective who handled the case. He could be holding back on something. It’s hard to explain but cops sometimes know more than they want to share with the public, especially a man’s wife.”

“I don’t understand. Why would they keep important details from me?”

“I’m not saying they are. I’m only saying that, well, let me give you an example. Suppose a guy is found dead, say from a heart attack, in some sleazy motel. And suppose someone reports seeing a cheap hooker leaving his room. In a case like this the cops may or may not tell the guy’s wife about the hooker. What would be the point? They’d write it up as just another heart attack victim, plain and simple. What I’m trying to say is that you never know what you’ll find until you start asking questions.”

She paused for a moment. “I want you to know that I really appreciate you taking the trouble to do this for me. I loved Ben so much and if I don’t…”

“I understand.” He nodded. “Just give me a few days, okay?”

“You’re a good friend, Alec. If there’s any way I can help, let me know. One last thing. I-I hope you won’t keep the truth from me, especially if it turns out to be something unpleasant. Promise you won’t hold anything back.”

He hesitated. “I promise. Good, bad or whatever, you’ll be the first to know.”