Return of the Deadly Trio: An Alexander Steele Mystery

By Lawrence Johnson Sr.

A twist of fate forces Philly detective Alexander Steele to go head to head with the Russian Mob. Heavily outnumbered Steele calls in his ride or die friend Stan and the most ruthless man he knows his cousin deuce. The Deadly Trio reunite after a bloodbath in Harlem a few years ago.

Steele’s feud with the mob centers around a courier murdered in broad daylight outside of the 30th street station. The courier's briefcase is missing.

During this rollercoaster ride, Steele must contend with a kidnapping, shootouts, explosions and car chases while his friend clings to life on the operating table at Chestnut Hill hospital.

Will Steele be able to outwit mob boss Ivan? What was in the briefcase? Will Steele’s friend survive? All will be revealed in Return of the Deadly Trio an Alexander Steele Murder Mystery.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lawrence Johnson Sr.
• Release date: Sep 6, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370657025

Lawrence Johnson Sr.

is author of the controversial Mayan prophecy novel Escape 2 Earth 2012 and the sequel Return 2 Earth. His newest release Inside the Spiral Galaxy is a collection of short stories spun off from the Escape 2 Earth series. Two of the five stories in this collection are Murder on the Eros Star and Terror on Telderan, the prequel to Escape 2 Earth. Other works by Mr. Johnson include A Matter of Time and the paranormal adventure "Dimensions in Time," a short story of two lost brothers who travel through a time portal and find themselves in a struggle to survive. In addition Mr. Johnson's first mystery novel Blackout will be released in 2011.

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SMASHWORDS EDITION

Copyright © 2016 by Lawrence Johnson Sr.

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

Return of the Deadly Trio

An Alexander Steele Philly Murder Mystery

By Lawrence Johnson Sr.

SMASHWORDS EDITION

Copyright © 2016 by Lawrence Johnson Sr.

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

Contents

Return of the Deadly Trio 2

Chapter One

What Doesn't Kill You 5

Chapter Two

Someone to Watch over Me 8

Chapter Three

Deuces Wild 14

Chapter Four

Triad 19

Chapter Five

Don’t Shoot the Messenger 21

Chapter Six

The Big Bang 24

Chapter Seven

The Magic Box 27

Chapter Eight

The Enemy of my Enemy 33

Chapter Nine

Catch of the Day 37

Chapter One

What Doesn't Kill You

There is a price to pay for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sometimes that penalty can be harsh or even fatal. On this chilly, fall afternoon the timing couldn’t have been worse for the unsuspecting traveler returning home to Philadelphia. Soon deadly events would rapidly spiral out of control, drawing private investigator Alexander Steele into yet another mysterious, deadly encounter. This time will be different, this time it’s personal.

Just after four p.m., a dozen or so cabbies milled around the string of idling taxis on the west side of the 30th Street Train Station. Several cab drivers watched as a large black man struggled to get his two heavy, brown suitcases through the double doors. Once he reached the car, the cabbie manhandled the bags into the trunk of the first cab. The big man paused to look at the number on the side of the taxi. He turned to the driver and smiled.

#3153 hey that’s my lucky number. Something good's gonna happen to me today.

The man slide into the back seat, as he was about to close the door a tall, thin man distracted him. The man bolted through the train stations doors clutching a silver, metal case.

Hold that cab!

The stranger with the long dark hair and foreign accent had that unmistakable look of fear in his eyes. His voice trembled when he shouted. The desperate looking man managed to get the attention of the cab driver as well as the man in the back seat. The passenger seemed startled and mildly confused. There were plenty of cabs. He didn’t understand why the stranger was in such a hurry until he noticed two angry looking gunmen in hot pursuit.

Cabbies observing the commotion screamed out warnings to each other as they tossed newspapers in the air and ditched their coffees while quickly scurrying for cover. A loud hail of bullets rang out as the gunman fired at the man with the metal case. Now only a few steps away from the cab he groaned and lurched forward as the barrage of bullets hit their mark dead center in his back. It was clear that the shooters were no amateurs. The man in the cab recovered from his shocked as he saw the gunmen headed his way. His shock quickly turned to terror.

Go fool! he yelled out to the cabbie. Get us the hell outta here, hurry!

Squealing tires, the smell of burnt rubber from the tire tracks added to the commotion as the cabbie hit the gas. As the frightened man in the back seat reached for the handle to close the door something near his feet caught his eye, something shiny. He recognized it as the metal case the murdered man was carrying. More shots rang out followed by three loud thuds in the trunk. The shooters had turned their attention to the speeding cab. Two things became very clear. The men wanted that case and whatever was in it was worth killing for.

The big man in the back seat was horrified. Sweat poured off him like a drug dealer waiting to be patted down by cops during a July heat wave. He crouched down on the cab’s floor and covered his head.

Faster! Go faster. They must have stolen one of the cabs to follow us. Take the expressway man, hurry! That’s the only way you’re gonna lose em! The person shouted from the backseat.

Once the driver reached the Schuylkill and entered the flow of traffic the shooting stopped. Breathing heavily the passenger carefully peered above the seat to get a glimpse out the back window. Once he was satisfied that the gunman was no longer in pursuit he climbed back onto his seat. The trembling man’s blue shirt was drenched with sweat. Taking the highway was a clever move that saved his life…at least for now.

Philly cab drivers aren’t shaken easily but in this case, the driver was not only shaken up he was angry.

Hey mister, what the hell was that all about?

The man slowly shook his head. I was hoping you could tell me.

The cabbie told the passenger that he had to report the incident to his boss and the police. He glanced over his shoulder as the man made an attempt to open the briefcase only to discover that it was lock.

When the cab reached its destination, both men got out to