The Key to Happiness: The Sam Colton Mysteries, #2

By Robert M. Kerns

An unknown key. A reunion with an old friend. An unexpected outcome.

As a private investigator, Sam is used to odd items in his pockets. A miniature fingerprint kit, small notebooks, even the occasional pistol round… just to name a few.

But never a key he doesn't recognize.

The easy answer is to toss the key in the trash and finish his laundry.

But Sam never takes the easy way out of anything…

Join our intrepid gumshoe as he sets off on his next adventure, where things are rarely what they seem.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Knightsfall Press
• Release date: Feb 3, 2022
• ISBN: 9781636460321

Book preview

1

If you’re anything like me, you find all manner of random weirdness in your pockets on laundry day. I have something of a knack for collecting some of the most unbelievable items, and often, I don’t remember acquiring them. I know what you’re thinking, and no… I’m not a closet kleptomaniac.

This particular laundry day was the Monday after a couple meatheads broke into my office one Saturday morning. I stood at the washer with one of my laundry bags emptied into a basket, and I meticulously went through the pockets. I hate digging loose change or thumb tacks or the occasional pistol round out of the washer after the spin cycle; it’s just annoying. Well… except for that one time the thumb tack—with its base jammed under the agitator—found the pistol round’s primer; that one was more hair-raising than annoying. Well… annoying, too, since I had to replace that washing machine.

But that’s another story, and seriously, folks… don’t try my crazy shit at home. I’m a professional survivor, not just a damn good detective. Don’t believe me? Police academy, check. Ten years as a police officer while married to a woman who became one of the state’s leading criminal defense attorneys, check. See what I mean? And I could keep going.

As I was saying, though… I stood at the washer, checking all my pockets, when I discovered a key in the right-front pocket of my favorite pants. It’s not uncommon to find keys in my pocket, unless the key isn’t mine and is one I don’t recognize.

It was brass, and shiny too… even without the assistance of my favorite detergent. The teeth felt sharp, maybe even freshly cut. Its style made me think of a house or apartment door key, or maybe a padlock key. I’ve encountered a couple padlock keys that looked too damn close to house keys in their size and stylings. No markings, beyond ‘seventy-two’ in numerals stamped into one side. No scratches or other indications of banging around in my pockets since before time.

Curiouser and curiouser…

The only noteworthy event that day was a woman bumping into me on the sidewalk outside my office building, earlier that day. I didn’t really remember her… maybe brown hair? Was she the origin of this unknown key? And if she was, did she lose it in my pocket by accident or on purpose?

The longer I stood at the washer, staring at the key, the more a familiar itch wormed its way into the back of my mind. I loathe puzzles. Hate the things with a passion. Because I’m one of those people who has to solve the puzzle. From an investigator’s perspective, that’s a wonderful trait to have. But when I’m trying to do laundry, it’s not so handy.

Damn… fine.

I shoved the key into the right pocket of the pants I wore and finished setting my laundry to wash. I love this washer. It connects to the house’s Wi-Fi and communicates its status to a cellphone app. It and the dryer are a matched set. I double-checked that my phone was still on the account and turned to my co-conspirator… er… that is, my charge and ward.

Well, Max… wanna go for a ride in the Goat with me?

The Doberman I’d raised from a pup and left with Kelly in a not-so-subtle attempt to help her stay safe—even after the divorce—stood from his sitting posture and barked once. Deal!

I retrieved his harness and