Dies Irae Read online

  “Are you telling me you’ve never had a real truffle? That’s it then, I won’t take no for an answer.”

  “Okay, but they’d better taste as good as the chocolate kind.”

  Sarg shook his head in mock disgust and drove off.

  * * *

  Drayco stopped by one of the few stores in the entire D.C. area that sold Manhattan Specials before going home. Grabbing the lone cold espresso soda left in the refrigerator, he settled down in the den with some days-old Thai drunken noodles that hadn’t turned green yet. He’d just lifted a fork to his mouth when his cellphone rang.

  Must be Darcie. When she’d heard about his “near-death experience,” she’d said she was coming up for a visit. But he was surprised to hear Reed Upperman’s voice on the other end. “I guess a lot of people would still be in shock about Dr. Gilbow. Selfishly, my first thought was how this affected my dissertation. When I have time to think about the psychological underpinnings of that, I will. But not yet.”

  This boded well for Reed’s future as a forensic psychologist. “Are you going to be able to finish?”

  “I’ve been in a meeting most of the morning with another professor on my committee. She’s agreed to take over as my primary advisor. She thinks I can make do with the data I have if I add another subject.”

  Drayco smiled to himself, knowing what was coming.

  “I know this is a lot to ask, considering how busy you must be. And it only pays a token pittance, but you said you had a few days free. That is, if you’re still interested.”

  Drayco thought about his now-empty calendar. “How much time do you need?”

  “If we condense a semester’s worth of tests, two weeks.”

  “I think I can help out a future law enforcement colleague.”

  “Great! That takes a load off my mind. I do have one other question—did you tie Gilbow to those other two murders in the synesthesia projects?”

  Drayco explained how that was one area in which Adele was helpful, if cagey. When asked about the murders, she denied any knowledge. Although she was quick to verify her husband was a guest lecturer in both Boston and Philadelphia at times coinciding with the killings. Drayco was quite happy at this point to have other agents and detectives dot those particular i’s.

  Reed’s tone grew more somber. “I know I’m not to blame here. I mean, it was Dr. Gilbow’s idea I use synesthesia for my project. I still feel, well … ”

  Drayco didn’t have to envision the other man’s troubled expression to know what he was going through. “The Gilbows used you as a pawn on a chessboard filled with land mines.”

  Reed breathed out a long sigh. “Guess they used you, too. And a lot of other people.”

  A knock on the door made Drayco wrap up his conversation with Reed. Maybe Darcie? A part of him was secretly hoping it was Nelia. Instead, it was a courier with an envelope Drayco had to sign for.

  Drayco slit open the envelope and pulled out a check and card. The check was from Troy Jaffray with a note on the “for” line at the bottom that said “Helping me find peace.” Drayco’s eyes widened as he saw the amount. It would cover his living and office expenses for a year.

  He looked at the card which had a plain white background with a drawing of a blue lotus flower in the center. He flipped over the other side where Jaffray had written, “The narrow mind rejects; wisdom accepts.”

  Drayco put the check down on the table next to his answering machine. The machine’s display indicated two new messages came in while he was at Jaffray’s office. One was from Nelia saying she wanted to talk to him when she visited D.C. next week. The other was Brock, wondering if his son had made a decision on the security job.

  Drayco’s hand hovered over the phone handset, but he didn’t pick it up. And he took his cellphone out of his pocket and turned it off.

  He stood in the entry for a moment before heading to his piano. He placed the card with the blue lotus flower on the music rack in front of him and then launched into a transcription of “Hymn to the Moon” by Dvořák. In his mind, he heard the violet triangles of Cailan’s voice singing a duet with him as he played.

  Thank You for Reading!

  I hope you enjoyed Dies Irae, the third book in the Scott Drayco series. There will be more adventures ahead in the upcoming third installment, Elegy in Scarlet, in which Drayco’s long-AWOL mother returns—and is charged with murder.

  Now that you have finished this book, won’t you please consider writing a review on your favorite book retailer website? Reviews are the best way readers discover great new books, and I would truly appreciate it.

  I’d also love to hear your feedback via my website at bvlawson.com, where you can find Reading Guides for book clubs. And if you sign up for my newsletter, you’ll receive a FREE eBOOK!

  Thanks again for joining me and Scott Drayco in this adventure.

  With warm regards,

  BV Lawson

  Other Books by BV Lawson

  Scott Drayco Series:

  Played to Death, Scott Drayco Mystery #1

  Requiem for Innocence, Scott Drayco Mystery #2

  False Shadows, Eight Scott Drayco Short Stories

  Ill-Gotten Games, A Short Novella

  Short Story Collections

  Best Served Cold: Stories of Revenge and Betrayal

  Deadly Decisions: Five Short Tales of Crime and Suspense

  Death on Holiday: Four Short Tales of Mirth, Murder and Mayhem

  Acknowledgments

  Many thanks to the lovely folks on the Eastern Shore of Virginia who helped inspire some of the sights and scenes in this book. Both Cape Unity and Prince of Wales County are purely fictional and an amalgam of various towns and counties on the Delmarva Peninsula.

  Likewise, Parkhurst College is fictional and is not based on any existing institution. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Special thanks to Alison Dasho for her insightful editorial assistance and encouragement with an early version of this novel. Also, I can’t express my thanks enough to Charles, Lela, Sylvia, and Ben for their amazing editing expertise and assistance.

  Most of all, I give my undying gratitude—to infinity plus ten—to my amazing family for their encouragement, especially my astoundingly patient husband Charles, who is, as always, my Supporter-in-Chief.

  About BV Lawson

  Author, poet, and journalist BV Lawson’s award-winning stories, poems and articles have appeared in dozens of national and regional publications and anthologies. A four-time Derringer Award finalist and 2012 winner for her short fiction, BV was also honored by the American Independent Writers and Maryland Writers Association for her Scott Drayco series, with the debut novel, PLAYED TO DEATH, named Best Mystery in the 2015 Next Generation Indie Book Awards and a Shamus Award finalist. BV currently lives in Virginia with her husband and enjoys flying above the Chesapeake Bay in a little Cessna. Visit her website at bvlawson.com. No ticket required. Sign up for her newsletter and receive a FREE eBOOK!

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