The Spider Bites

By Medora Sale

When detective Rick Montoya returns to the city to try to clear his name after being accused of taking a bribe, he discovers someone is living in his apartment. Before he can find out who it is, the apartment house goes up in flames. Rick watches covertly as the police remove two bodies. Was the firebombing meant for him? Who exactly was killed in the fire? And why? What was his landlady Cheryl doing at home in the middle of the afternoon? And why is her daughter Susanna acting strangely? Then his estranged wife arrives at the scene of the fire. The questions mount up, along with the suspects.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
• Release date: Apr 1, 2010
• ISBN: 9781554695393

Medora Sale

Medora Sale is the author of the acclaimed John Sanders/Harriet Jeffries mystery series, set in contemporary Toronto, and under the name Caroline Roe, of The Isaac Chronicles, a series of historical mysteries. Born in Windsor, Ontario, Sale’s interest in criminal justice was roused by her father, a lawyer and engineer involved in weaponry and criminal justice, who served as an official in the court system. Sale is a graduate of the Centre for Mediaeval Studies at the University of Toronto, is a past president of Sisters in Crime and Crime Writers of Canada, and won the Arthur Ellis Award for best first novel for Murder on the Run, the first title in the John Sanders/Harriet Jeffries mystery series.

Book preview

THE

SPIDER

BITES

MEDORA SALE

Copyright © 2010 Medora Sale

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Sale, Medora

The spider bites / written by Medora Sale.

(Rapid reads)

ISBN 978-1-55469-282-8

I. Title. II. Series: Rapid reads

PS8587.A35387S65 2010    C813’.54    C2009-907250-5

First published in the United States, 2010

Library of Congress Control Number: 2009942218

Summary: Detective Rick Montoya must find out who firebombed his apartment before he can clear his name of a bribery charge.

Orca Book Publishers gratefully acknowledges the support for its publishing programs provided by the following agencies: the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund and the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Province of British Columbia through the BC Arts Council and the Book Publishing Tax Credit.

Design by Teresa Bubela

Cover photography by Getty

ORCA BOOK PUBLISHERS

PO BOX 5626, Stn. B

Victoria, BC Canada

V8R 6S4

ORCA BOOK PUBLISHERS

PO BOX 468

Custer, WA USA

98240-0468

www.orcabook.com

Printed and bound in Canada.

13 12 11 10 • 4 3 2 1

For Harry,

as always

CONTENTS

Chapter One: The Spider Comes Home

Chapter Two: Fire

Chapter Three: Susanna

Chapter Four: The Man in the Basement

Chapter Five: Alone

Chapter Six: Looking Back

Chapter Seven: The Crime Scene

Chapter Eight: Angela

Chapter Nine: Greg

Chapter Ten: Attack

Chapter Eleven: New Directions

Chapter Twelve: The Apartment

Chapter Thirteen: Spinning the Web

Chapter Fourteen: Collateral Damage

Chapter Fifteen: Tony

Chapter Sixteen: The Web

Chapter Seventeen: The Fourth Day

Chapter Eighteen: Death Insurance

Chapter Nineteen: The Price of a Life

Chapter Twenty: The Mistake

Chapter Twenty-One: Angela: Once More

CHAPTER ONE

THE SPIDER COMES HOME

My name is Rick Montoya. Some people call me the Spider. But you don’t have to. If you don’t like spiders, you can call me Rick. I answer to both names.

It all started at sunset one day near the end of October. We had just come to the end of the late apple harvest. I had no reason to stay at the farm any longer. My boss, Scott, handed me a stack of fifty-dollar bills.

Your pay, five months’ worth. I deducted room rent and put the rest away. Just like you asked. Count it, he said. He tapped his finger on the pile of money. "Go on.

Count it."

Scott’s a nice guy. But not very friendly, if you know what I mean. I counted the money and divided it into four piles. I stuffed them into the pockets of my jeans. There was room for them all. With space for more. When I got home I was going to have to buy a new pair of jeans. These were much too big. I had already punched two more holes in my belt and it was still loose. I was a lot thinner than I had been when I started this job.

I’m going into town if you want a ride, Scott said. I can take you as far as the turnoff to the produce terminal.

I grabbed my backpack and climbed into the truck. It was time to get back to the city.

* * *

We didn’t talk much on the trip in. I’ve known Scott all my life and he never did talk much, even as a kid. My father worked for his father. I grew up in a little house on the farm. When I was old enough, I worked for his father in the summers. So we knew each other. We didn’t need words, most of the time.

Where are you going? he asked suddenly.

Home, I said.

Where’s that? asked Scott. Angela’s? Or your old apartment?

The old apartment.

Why? What’s there for you?

I couldn’t think of an answer to that.

Look, if you’re not going back to Angela, we’ll just pick up your stuff. Then you can come back to the farm. I can always use you. It really helps to have someone in the crew who can speak Spanish. The workers seem to trust you.

Thanks, Scott. I might need a job. But that’ll be later.

What do you mean?

I’m in a tight spot right now. You already know I’m under suspension until they wrap up this investigation. My lawyer says there’s a good chance I’ll be cleared. But then, he’s paid to make me feel good, isn’t he?

I hope he knows what he’s doing, said Scott. And I think he meant it.

So do I, I said. Anyway, I’ve got something important to do first.

What’s that?

I have to find this guy, Freddie.

Who’s Freddie?

Just a guy.

He shook his head like he thought I was a little bit crazy, but he let it go.

Maybe I should have accepted his offer.

* * *

He dropped me off. I waved goodbye and started walking. It was three miles to the apartment, but that was nothing. Not after five months of hard physical work.

The long walk gave me time to think. It looked like I was through as a cop. Suspended from the force. Under investigation for corruption. Even if I got off on that charge, the slime would

Reviews for The Spider Bites

[bailey9189 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I received this book as part of the LibraryThing giveaway program. I think that it is a nice little story that can be read in a couple of hours. The mystery itself wasn't very complicated but was somewhat of a surprise as to who did it. The story was well told, I think, and didn't spend time in endless descriptions of people, places, backgrounds etc. That helped to keep it to its short length. The series is geared to those who want to read but don't want to commit to a longer book. Also this series is good for those to whom reading is somewhat of a challenge. I can see these books being used for YAs who really don't like to read but need to for school and also this would be helpful for ESL or adult literacy programs. My only complaint was the price- I doubt that I would pay $9.95 for a book like this. I can get a regular new paperback for $6.99 at Borders.

[northernstar_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a short mystery written for the Rapid Reads series. I found that it was a quick, fun read, and the mystery kept me guessing. Despite the simplified vocabulary and grammar, I did not find the story lacking in any way. The main character was sympathetic and engaging. I would recommend it for any reader who wants a quick read, but especially for those who may struggle a bit with longer books. I will be recomending this book and the Rapid Reads series to friends who work at the college and our local literacy society.

[ceedeegee · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was my first "rapid read" and I really enjoyed the quick and smooth flow of the characters and plot. I would recommend it definitely!

[readanon · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The story was enjoyable, but there was too little of it for my taste - it was more like reading a short story than a regular book. It lived up to its description as a "Rapid Read" and is perfect for someone with a short attention span or with very limited time to devote to reading.

[smilee306 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

While I'm in the middle of too many books, when I received The Spider Bites yesterday I was intrigued by the concept of books that can be read in one sitting, so I had to give it a try last night. True to the ideal, I read the book in less than an hour, in one sitting. The characters were interesting even though we only get a glimpse of their personalities and motivations. At first I found the prose clunky, but that may have been partly the aim of the Rapid Reads, as they are also marketing to "those struggling with literacy challenges." as per their marketing flyer that came included with the book. I have received books from LibraryThing though where the prose was bad to the point of distraction; that was not the case here, it just didn't flow as well as I would have liked. Eventually I didn't worry about the prose anymore, just the story, but I would be interested to read Sale's award winning book to see if this is her personal writing style or if she went easy on the readers in this book. It was a good story, and pretty interesting, but I don't know that it would have kept me reading if I hadn't had the goal of reading it in one sitting. The print is quite large, like a YA novel, and the chapters were very short, so it was very easy and palatable to read in one sitting. I just feel like I may not be the type of reader to benefit from this short format. What bothered me the most is that it seemed like we got to the solving of the mystery much too quickly. All of a sudden, there it was, without much warning that we were at the end. I do think that the concept is great, and that you wouldn't necessarily want to add any length to the work, but I would have been happy to have a couple of extra chapters between chapters 16 and 17. It was very refreshing to be able to sit down and read a book in a sitting, but I suppose that I'm one who doesn't mind luxuriating and maybe having a few too many novels in queue, as long as the tradeoff is great detail and story.This was an interesting little mystery, and I think many people would enjoy it. For readers like myself, I might say this would be the perfect book to read at Barnes and Noble when you're trying to kill an hour - you would get through and be satisfied in the completion. It's not one that I will need to read again, but I am still thinking about the characters, and I've now been encouraged to pick up another novel by Medora Sale. I would also be interested to see the other novels in the series, to see how other authors deal with the apparently imposed 128 page limit (although The Spider Bites is 131!) I hope others enjoy this!