In Case of Death

By J.T. Lewis

Check out J.T. Lewis' newest Gabriel Celtic adventure, Murmansk!

Men are dying mysteriously all over the world, but as Gabriel Celtic soon discovers...The killer lives in his own back yard!

Having started a new journey in life with his new-found daughter, Gabriel Celtic soon learns that the life of a private investigator is not always what it’s cracked up to be.
Arriving home late one night from a long and tiring trip hunting a bounty, Gabriel is confronted by a mysterious message from an old friend. The mystery expands the next day when he discovers that two women from his past want to hire him. Having once been in love with both, he is at first hesitant when they ask him to find the murderer of both of their husbands!

At the same time, a mysterious man suddenly shows up in Gabriel’s life. Known only as Preacher, Gabriel first has to decide if Preacher's fantastic tale is believable, and then convince his daughter Abby to bring the mysterious man in on their new investigation.

Together, the three of them delve into the mysterious circumstances surrounding the murdered husbands, only to find that they were only two of many that have met a similar fate.
Tracking the murderer becomes cumbersome as he hides in plain sight, his name hidden behind the gibberish of a mysterious book. When they finally do start getting close...he brings their world crashing down around them!

Set in southeast Indiana, In Case of Death weaves a global story of action and suspense that will leave you begging for more!

Check out this latest chapter in J.T. Lewis' The Adventures of Gabriel Celtic series! And check out the preview for the fourth title, The Book of Gabriel, as well as a perview of J.T. Lewis' newest series...The Artifact Hunter!

Move over Lucas Davenport, Gabriel Celtic is joining you! If you love John Sandford's Prey Series, you'll enjoy In Case of Death. A gritty depiction of a murderous heart, and action packed from the very first chapter...Don't miss this compelling thriller!”
Miss Summerland- five star review

• Language: English
• Publisher: J.T. Lewis
• Release date: Dec 16, 2013
• ISBN: 9781311511003

J.T. Lewis

Mystery abounds in the books of Amazon Best Selling Author J.T. Lewis.Living in Southeast Indiana with his wife, J.T. has always loved a mystery. Striving to bring readers a story packed full of action, adventure, and suspense has led to his current selection of titles.His first full length novel, Murder! Too Close To Home, was the beginning of the acclaimed Adventures of Gabriel Celtic series, and was voted #1 on Goodreads Best Debut Mystery Series list. The thriller/adventure series continued with Gabriel's Revenge,followed closely by In Case of Death as well as The Book of Gabriel in 2014. The Adventures of Gabriel Celtic is as series about the life of Gabriel Celtic...an ordinary man caught up in extraordinary adventures!Another new series, The Nick Behr Mysteries, starts with the story Kidnap Inc., where we get to meet Nick Behr...as well as all of the people that have crowded into his head! Fighting against the craziness of his life while trying to solve the murders of the current case sometimes leads the story to veer off-kilter a little. This unexpected result has caused the story to be labeled, "One of the funnest mysteries I've read in quite some time!"Also added to J.T. Lewis' series list this year...The Artifact Hunter! Jesse Flanagan is just a guy who enjoys making a profit from the antiquities he buys and sells. When one of his discoveries suddenly puts him in the cross-hairs of assassins, he must change his whole life as he goes underground to try and reclaim his life!An electrician by trade, at night JT Lewis morphs into a fictional detective with a keyboard, a transition that suits his need for creating exciting stories for his ever-growing audience.Find and follow JT Lewis @:http://jt-lewis.blogspot.com/https://www.facebook.com/JTLewis.Authorhttps://twitter.com/JTLewis_Bookshttp://www.wattpad.com/user/JTLewisAuthorhttp://pinterest.com/jtlewisbooks/https://www.facebook.com/Murdr.Too.Close.To.Homehttps://www.facebook.com/gabriels.revengehttps://www.facebook.com/ThePepperAndLongstreetMysterySeries

Book preview

Prologue

March 5, 1999

Cairo, Egypt

The American reached into his pocket and dug out some piasters to pay for his purchase. Handing over the coins in exchange for the sack from the robed woman, he quickly popped one of the sweet dates into his mouth. Crumbling the bag closed once again, he slipped it into his oversized safari vest’s pocket as he continued walking through the bazaar.

He loved this place.

He made sure that he always had one morning open on his monthly trips to Cairo to visit his Khan Al-Khalili. The deals he could make here seemed to satisfy his seldom used negotiating skills like nowhere back home. Every transaction was a new negotiation; here he was just another customer to haggle with.

He was very good at his job. Although a senior manager in his department, Petroleum Engineering no longer held his interest like it did when he was younger. Thirty years with basically the same job at the same company had left him yearning for retirement.

He considered this as he paid for yet another purchase, a hard-fought negotiation for a brightly colored stuffed parrot for his new granddaughter. He hadn’t even laid eyes on her yet, as she had been born while he was on the plane during the trip over.

"It won’t be long now," he thought to himself.

He had made the final arrangements before leaving on this trip. In six months he would be taking early retirement. He was looking forward to it with excitement. His wife and he would travel the world, enjoying time together as he tried to make up for the years apart that his job had demanded of him.

And now that the grandkids were starting to appear, they would have time for extended visits to their boys and their families. His mouth spread slowly at the thought. He was certain that his wife was looking forward to that part of retirement more than the travel.

A sudden prick in his back brought his mind back to the present.

"What the hell is that?" he thought as he reached behind himself, feeling a short piece of hard plastic sticking out of his vest.

Confused, he pulled his hand back and was shocked to see it covered in blood. As he stared at his blood covered fingers, he noticed his vision closing in, blackness forming around the edges of his sight as it worked its way quickly toward the center.

Shit! was all he could mutter before collapsing onto the dusty path next to one of the booths. As he stared out of sightless eyes, he could feel the life draining out of him as it spilled onto the path.

With his last labored breath, he exhaled a single word, the final thought on this earth.

"May."

***

A small monkey sniffed the air and jumped from the counter to the back of the now-dead body. Chattering away, he pulled the bag of dates out of the man’s pocket and returned to his owner at the nearest booth.

Sitting comfortably in the familiar booth,, the little animal quickly bit into one of the sweet fruits. Holding up the half eaten piece like a trophy, the monkey let out another loud string of chatter as he jumped up and down with excitement.

The passing shoppers all smiled as they watched the antics of the little animal, stepping carefully around the pool of blood so as to not get any of it on their feet.

Stories of the funny monkey’s frolics would be the highlight of many of the bazaar’s patrons that night.

Chapter 1

September 14, 1999

The old man appeared to be around eighty.

His unkempt, curly gray hair stuck out wildly from under his ball cap as he stared ahead out of the yellow tinted glasses. His unshaven chin moved up and down almost comically as he seemed to be gumming his meal of soup and crackers.

A hand reached into view, the napkin in it wiping his chin. The middle-aged Asian woman sitting next to him let out a string of words that no one in the restaurant understood as she doted over the old man. She absentmindedly pushed an errant lock of graying dark hair behind her ear before pulling a colorful scarf down over her ear to cover it.

Sey wan me take care you, not wripe you, she spouted off in accented English, You trub-oh too much, I not rike sis

They is payin you, ain’t they? the man mumbled as he reached down with his spoon for another bite.

Another string of unintelligible words escaped the woman’s mouth as she held up her hands in defeat.

A loud round of laughter from a table three booths down suddenly drowned out her words. A large man with a shaved head punched one of his seatmates in the shoulder in fun at the joke. The second man stopped smiling as he started rubbing his shoulder with a grimace while the third man pointed with renewed hilarity.

The old man stopped gumming his food as he stared for a few moments at the large man, seeming to size him up. Satisfied, he continued eating his soup, finally scooping the last of the liquid into his mouth.

A nervous breath escaped the woman before she said, You okray? We gro now?

Nodding his head, the man reached over for his cane, and slowly pulled himself up from the table. The Asian woman quickly grabbed onto his left arm, but the old man looked at her and shook his head imperceptibly. Nodding, the woman went around the old man and grabbed his right arm while shifting something under her coat to her right side.

"You’re a pain in the ass sometimes," she whispered to the old man in clear English.

A small smile passed the stooped old man’s lips for a moment before he started forward in slow, halting steps.

Approaching the booth with the three loud men, the large one sitting on the outside of the booth finished another joke and the table again erupted in laughter. As the old man passed, the cane in his left hand came down hard on the giant’s foot.

A howl escaped the man’s lips as he quickly unfolded himself from the booth. Who in the hell do you think you are?

The stooped old man had backed up a step in apparent fear as he grabbed the bottom of the cane with his right hand. Seeing the opening he had been looking for, he lunged forward quickly, hooking the cane behind the ankle of the man and giving it a jerk.

A look of confusion passed across the giant’s face as he toppled over backwards and landed hard on his back. The old man quickly stood up to his full height and jumped forward, tucking his feet back as his knees harshly pounded into the other man’s chest.

Whipping out a gun in one hand, he stuck it under the man’s nose as his other hand flashed a badge in front of the prone man’s eyes.

My name is Gabriel Celtic, Mr. Ames. It would seem that Allen Vanguard has requested your return to southern Indiana.

The man’s startled seatmates started to get out of their seats to help their friend until they heard the click.

You might wanna stay there boys, Abby said with a wry smile while steadily holding her gun on them. Pushing back her scarf and revealing her long dark hair, she eyed them with a critical stare, sizing up their threat value before continuing.

This has nothing to do with you…yet!

Seeing something in her eyes, both men nodded meekly before glancing down at their plates, trying to ignore their friend’s plight.

Adam Ames, Gabriel said as he fitted the immobilized prisoner with handcuffs, You are under arrest for skipping out on your bail and missing your court appointment last month. You have the right to remain silent…

Chapter 2

September 14, 1999

Why is it again that we have become bounty hunters? I asked Abby as I rubbed a hotspot on the back of my neck.

The Interstate droned past under the SUV as we headed home from Gary, Indiana. We had finally tracked down the elusive Mr. Ames in the greasy diner earlier in the day. Although it was slightly gratifying to find and apprehend these missing felons, I didn’t enjoy these long drives at all.

Abby and I had started a private detective agency a year ago, and so far I was happy with the work… except for the money thing. Worrying about how much to charge, and sometimes even how to get the money out of your own customers when it was owed was a headache I had not counted on.

For the money, baby, Abby exclaimed with a smile, looking up from the paperwork she had been working on in her lap. "If we don’t have any other cases, we gotta do something, right? Besides… that was fun!"

I disliked this type of work. Not that it was beneath me, I just didn’t like hunting down and transporting people just because I needed money. Besides, the capture earlier could have easily gone in another direction, and I worried more than a little about Abby… my daughter.

Not knowing that I even had a daughter at the time, I had met Abby on a plane coming back from South America last year. Somehow finding out my location, she had made the trip to Peru just to meet me on the ride home.

I thought she was just a nice young woman helping out an old man.

She had kept the pertinent details of our relationship from me until later when we had gotten to know each other.

I have to admit however, that even before I knew she was my daughter, I had come to respect her insight and strength. After the initial shock of discovering I had fathered her while in Vietnam, it was an easy jump to acceptance of the facts. Not that I claim any special parenting abilities, mind you.

Smiling at Abby’s exuberance, I once again thanked whoever was charge for bringing her to me.

"I have a feeling that we will have a real case waiting for us when we get back."

Oh yeah, Abby replied as she looked back down at her papers. "Is this one of your intuitions speaking… one of your visions?"

No, I laughed, just a hunch.

I would often have dreams that gave me clues to a big case when I was working one. They had, however, been long absent since Abby and I had broken our last murder case. A monk in the Catholic Church had taken it upon himself to weed out the sinners of the various parishes he would be assigned.

The weeding out was of the permanent nature!

I was disturbed by a couple of dreams that I had experienced lately though. Nothing to do with the mysterious room I usually visited when I had a vision, but of an old girlfriend from high school. I hadn’t thought much about her in years before the dreams started coming, especially since I had met and married Betty.

My lovely Betty had been murdered over two years ago now, and I still missed her daily. But I had finally come somewhat to terms with her death last year, and even though I still missed her, I now knew that I could keep on living without her.

Abby had been very instrumental in bringing me to that point.

Hunches are good! Abby said while looking over her shoulder at the prisoner we had handcuffed in the back seat. I’ll take one of your hunches any day!

Looking into the rearview mirror I glanced at our prisoner…observing a new trickle of dried blood running from his forehead and onto his nose.

Having attached his handcuffs to a special steel ring we had installed in the back seat, he had worked for the first hour to get out of them. Failing that, he had decided it would be a good idea to beat his head against the steel mesh divider we had installed between the front and back seats.

He had finally calmed down after almost knocking himself out, drawing blood in the process.

I have to go to the bathroom, he said when he caught me looking back at him.

We will be home in an hour, I said as I again concentrated on the road ahead. You can hold it that long.

I’m gonna piss myself in like five minutes! he puffed out loudly. You better pull off!

Everything’s vinyl back there Adam…if you really can’t wait then go for it!

Looking up in the mirror again, I saw a confused look cross his face. Maybe he was a little surprised by my cavalier attitude, but anytime you could avoid releasing a secured prisoner, you were better off.

Seeming to give up on the idea, and apparently not that bad off after all, he finally leaned back in his seat. Time would tell if he tried something else before we got back to Allenville.

I hated bounty hunting.

Chapter 3

March 5, 1999

Cairo, Egypt

Lieutenant Botros pulled up to the bazaar in his faded blue Nasr automobile. Turning the key to shut off the motor, the car continued to rattle and sputter for several moments before finally dying. By the time it stopped however, the officer was several feet away as he walked toward his men.

Seeing the Lieutenant approach, a private whispered to him, another American. Lifting the yellow tape erected to keep others away from the crime scene, Botros nodded, feigning boredom as he proceeded toward the body sprawled on the ground.

Noticing the owner of the bazaar standing off to the side of the path, the policeman changed directions, making his way over to him instead of the body.

Good morning Omar, he yelled in his native language as he flashed his best fake smile. "Sorry to hear about yet another murder in your fine establishment." Stopping directly in front of the man, he looked down on him with humor in his eyes.

I’m afraid we will have to maintain the crime scene for several hours until we can get to the bottom of this. It is indeed unfortunate that your business will be hampered in such a way.

Placing his hand on the officer’s shoulder, Omar gently turned Botros so that they were facing away from the crowd.

Handing him an envelope, he uttered, 250 pounds as usual… for you and your fine men, Lieutenant.

Pocketing the envelope with a smile, the policeman assured him that he would handle the situation.

Turning to his men, he yelled, Just another accident men, call the funeral house and let’s get him ready to transport back to his home country!

Turning toward Omar once again, These Americans, such a careless people.

Returning to his car, he removed two hundred pounds and placed them into his pocket. He would split the rest with his men later.

As the car sputtered back to life, Botros smiled as he shifted it into gear.

It has indeed been a good day.

Chapter 4

September 14, 1999

I turned on the kitchen light as we piled into the house carrying our equipment. It had been a long couple of days, and we were both exhausted.

I’ll take care of the costumes if you get the weapons, Abby mumbled tiredly. I nodded and grabbed the guns to deposit into the safe. I figured that cleaning them could wait until the morning.

Abby took the clothes we used for our disguises and deposited them into the washing machine, everything except my ratty gray wig. She lovingly deposited this on the head of a plaster bust of Caesar in the hallway, patting it playfully with a smile before reentering the kitchen.

I’m beat! she exclaimed as she came over and gave me a peck on the cheek. I’m going to bed.

I reached around her shoulder with one arm and gave her a quick hug.

Ok kid, see ya in the morning.

I had invited Abby to live at the house with me after we had decided to start our business. She had happily accepted, setting herself up in the unused downstairs bedroom. Having been apart for most of her life, we both still relished any time that we could spend together.

Her sometime guest and boyfriend, Nathan Stafford, was not here tonight, as we had not known when we would return. When he was here however, he was a welcome addition to the family. The old house hadn’t known this much activity in years.

Heading into the office from where we ran the agency, I contemplated making a pot of coffee. Looking at the clock, I realized that it was almost 10:00, and decided against it.

Not that I ever had trouble sleeping after drinking coffee late, I just didn’t have the energy to make it.

Deciding quickly to just go to bed, I began to turn toward the stairs when the phone started screaming at me.

What the hell?

I couldn’t imagine who would be calling this late at night, and was not happy as I retraced my steps back to the desk.

Celtic, I almost yelled as I picked up the receiver.

There was silence for a long moment, and I was contemplating hanging up when I heard a soft voice say, Gabe?

I’m sorry to call so late, but I’ve been trying to get in touch with you all day.

I glanced down at the answering machine, noticing finally the fast blinking indicator. Since Abby usually took care of returning calls, I very seldom paid it any attention.

Anyway, the voice continued, I’ve been trying to contact you because I believe I may be in need of your services… if you have time that is.

There was something very familiar about the voice but I couldn’t place it. Normally I may have let the person continue to talk until I could figure it out, but I was majorly tired and had very little patience left for the day.

Who is this? I finally asked, a little too gruffly.

Oh, I’m sorry. A nervous giggle crossed the phone line. I guess I was just assuming you would know who it was. This is May… May Lassiter.

***

May Andres Lassiter was my best buddy from before I could remember. I had also longed for her to be my girlfriend for many years, but it just hadn’t been in the stars. She had married a fine man out of college, moved to Indianapolis, and had a couple of boys if I remembered right.

We had communicated less and less as the years progressed, with her Christmas cards being our only real contact anymore. I felt a little guilty over my lack of keeping up my end of the friendship.

May? This is a surprise…

I detected what I thought was a sniffle before she answered.

I know…I’m sorry Gabe… life just seems to get in the way of old friendships sometimes.

I’m not complaining May… we all do the best we can. So what’s up with you these days? I asked as I tried to remember any pertinent details from her last Christmas card.

I need to hire you Gabe… can we meet tomorrow?

I readily agreed to meet her and wrote down the address, a local address I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I determined that I would figure it out tomorrow as we said good night.

I was puzzled. I couldn’t fathom what she would possibly need my services for, but I was looking forward to seeing my old friend nonetheless.

As I made my way up the stairs to get ready for bed, I thought about my old pal and our times together.

We had been through a lot.

But an even stranger thought was nagging at me. Having thought of May less and less over the years, it was strange that she should call at this particular point in time.

As I lay down, I hoped that the dreams I had been having would not keep me awake most of the night as they had been lately…the dreams I had been having of May.

Chapter 5

September 15, 1999

The room was warm and comfortable as usual, and my heart skipped a beat at finally being here again. I made my way over to the chair and took my seat, taking up the mug filled with the most intoxicating coffee ever made.

Glancing over at the table while I drank, I saw that the board had been set up for a new game of chess. I concentrated on the game for a few moments and made a move.

I was certain that it was my grandfather who tested me in these games. Having died over 30 years before, he had nevertheless taught me the game in my youth. Challenging me with every match to beat him on my terms, he would never take it easy on me or just let me win.

There were no easy choices in chess… or in life.

Having finally formed a strategy, I leaned back to watch the fire as I continued to sip on the hot black liquid.

The fireplace glowed as it filled the room with warmth and light, but soon the light started dimming as I realized that my now-heavy eyelids were closing. Knowing I could not stop the process, I let the cup settle into my lap as my eyes finished closing.

I was surrounded by darkness. I looked around, trying to get my bearings. Faintly at first, I heard the sound of children playing in the background. A warm breeze washed over me as I found myself sitting on my bed… my bed from a long time ago!

There you are!

Startled out of my reverie, I looked up to see May standing in the doorway. Beautiful May, my next door neighbor who I thought I was secretly in love with.

She looked to be about sixteen, which I thought was strange until I realized that I also seemed to be that age. The memory of the day came flooding back.

It was my grandfather’s funeral. I had been holed up all day in my room, reading his journal and effectively ignoring the throng of people milling about.

Hi! I sputtered as I sat up quickly, trying to act cool.

May came over and sat next to me on the bed like we did it every day. She then grabbed my hand and looked deeply into my eyes with concern on her face.

I’m really sorry about Gramps, I really miss him too. A tear pooled up in the corner of her eye as she said this. It won’t be the same around here without him.

Being like one of the family in my Granddad’s eyes, May had been included in many of our activities over the years. Granddad and May had developed a special relationship of their own, and it had always seemed natural to me. It was always comforting having May around.

Reaching up to May’s face, I gently wiped the tear away with my thumb. She smiled a sad smile, and reached over and gave me a hug.

We’ll get through this together, she whispered in my ear. I promise.

My heart pounded loudly in my chest as we hugged each other for a long time.

Finally pulling away, she said, Your mom said the meal is ready…we should go down.

I nodded as she stood and then pulled me up by the hand. Giving it a squeeze she pulled me toward the hallway…

***

May…

My eyes flung open as the word escaped my mouth. Looking over at the clock I was unsurprised to see that it was 5:30. My body had been waking up without fail at this time since I could remember.

I lay on my back and contemplated the dream that only moments before had seemed so real. My heart was still pounding in my chest, a leftover from the puppy love I had experienced for her then I was guessing.

It had seemed so real.

I flung off the sheets and got up off of the bed, angry at myself. It was ridiculous to be thinking of May that way; we both had thirty years of living separate lives.

Feeling a little creeped out, I made my way down to the kitchen and got the coffee going. I was thinking of May again, but this time in the present tense.

Why was she hiring me?

While the coffee was brewing, I remembered the strange address that May had given me.

Why did it seem so familiar?

I made my way to the office and picked up the note. Pulling open the bottom drawer of the desk, I took out a county map and spread it out over the desk. Finding the name in the index, I cross referenced it with the coordinates given.

They pointed me to a spot in the county that I had also not thought about in years. It also seemed to be inexplicably pointing me toward another woman of my past.

One that did not bring back fond memories.

Chapter 6

September 15, 1999

As I inched my way up the long, curved road, a feeling of foreboding crept up my spine. I had not expected to be confronted with this twist of fate, and I was unsure as to how to handle it.

Rounding the corner, the large house came into view… Randal Hill.

Reminding me of one of those huge old castles in England, the gigantic home must have sported at least 100 rooms.

Pulling the SUV into the circular drive, I stopped behind another car and parked. Making my way up to the front door, I found only a huge iron knocker, which I tapped loudly three times.

A well-dressed, older man with neatly-trimmed gray hair answered the door stiffly.

Telling him my name, he nodded imperceptibly and turned on his heel, walking away from me and leaving me standing in the foyer.

Assuming I was supposed to follow him, I slowly walked down a grand hallway behind him as I gawked like a tourist at the opulence surrounding me. Ancestral portraits of the owner’s family were hung every few feet, each one surrounded by a beautiful gilded frame. Small tables and chairs interspersed throughout the hallway gleamed with a highly polished brightness.

Looking forward, I noticed the old man standing