Rafe Velez Mysteries Bundle #2 (4-6): The Plot to Murder Althea Stokes, The Men Who Were Hard of Listening, The Colombian Dope Smugglers: Rafe Velez Mysteries

The Plot to Murder Althea Stokes – Rafe Velez Mystery 4  1

The Men Who Were Hard of Listening—Rafe Velez Mystery 5  25

The Colombian Dope Smugglers—Rafe Velez Mystery 6  48

The Plot to Murder Althea Stokes – Rafe Velez Mystery 4

Chapter 1

Althea Stokes sat in her drawing room, sipping tea from a fine china cup. Her hand trembled a bit as she drank. The other hand lay in her lap, apparently nerveless.

A maid approached and asked, Tea all right? Not too hot?

It's fine, Anna. I just wish I could hold a bit of cake in the other.

Anna showed concern on her face. Didn't the doctor say it was just a small stroke? You'll be using that hand again in no time!

Mrs. Stokes smiled. You are a treasure. Come back in five minutes and buck me up again.

Anna departed, gracefully and modestly.

Setting down the teacup, Mrs. Stokes reached for a mobile phone near her. She had to raise up a bit from her chair to actually get ahold of it. She placed a call.

Minnie? This is your Aunt Althea. When are you coming to visit me? Aunt Althea listened to her niece, her face turning from a pleasant smile to a frown. My dear, your days are so full! Do try to pencil me in. I miss you.

Pursing her lips, she made a second call. Arthur. Althea Stokes here. Have you time for me today? I want to discuss some changes in the will. There was a pause, then Arthur replied. Good. I'll expect you at 2:30. Goodbye.

She finished her tea just as Anna returned. The maid tidied up and as she was removing the tea service, Mrs. Stokes said, I expect my lawyer at 2:30. Tell Evans to be on the lookout.

——-===(*)===——-

Rafe Velez and his lovely wife Jean were in the process of lugging his luggage over to Rafe's house. The couple had married before discussing which home they would keep, his or hers. This meant shuttling back and forth between the two, since each had its good points, for both of them.

How about we find a new one, that we both like? That way, we'll both feel equally done in and neither of us will have bragging rights to having the better home? Rafe thought this would be the best plan for the future.

There's pros and cons to that. For example, I have the perfect house but you have the dog trolley. You have your home office but I have the perfect house. I have...

She was cut off with a kiss. I see where this is going. Are you really attached to that house?

Not really. It's a constant reminder of how things were at the end with my ex. Plus, it's too big for us. We bought it with the thought of having children, but that became moot after I found out it would be next to impossible for me to conceive. That's when it began to fall apart for us as a couple. She looked at Rafe with a smile.

That won't happen with us! I'm not interested in full-time parenting. Amusing the neighborhood kids every once in a while is fine with me. Harpo is my child substitute.

Harpo, the stray dog Rafe had adopted, raised his head when his name was spoken. Wagging his tail, he wandered over for a scratch behind the ears. Rafe obliged.

He takes after your side of the family. The dog farted. See, I told you! Jean's eyes danced and she ruffled Rafe's hair.

Okay, smarty pants. Let's get this stuff over to the house. I have to check my email and see if there are any prospective clients panting for my services. Rafe waited until Jean was a few steps ahead of him, and upwind, then farted.

——-===(*)===——-

Charlotte Stokes, Althea's spinster daughter, shuffled papers on a desk across the room. There was no teacup on her desk. She had a sour expression as she leafed through the documents in front of her. Picking one out, she called to her mother.

Mother, I'm looking at the quote and schedule for the roof repair from Mathewson's. It's too high and is projected to take the longest. Shall we not consider some of the other quotes?

Althea sighed. Charlotte, you are truly a dutiful daughter, but time and money are not uppermost in my mind. Aggravation and poor workmanship are. I did not want those other quotes. Mathewson does excellent work, his crews are polite and respectful and I value our long-term relationship. He knows this house from years of previous experience. He charges what he is worth and that is fine with me.

Charlotte rolled her eyes, then went back to her pile of paperwork. Althea smiled, struggled to her feet with the help of a cane, left the drawing room and headed for the parlor.

Chapter 2

Minnie Biggs-Masters sat at a table with an umbrella, sipping a cool, icy drink and lolling in a chair. She was wearing sunglasses and a one-piece bathing suit. Her figure was trim and her skin tanned, with an evenness that bespoke artificial enhancement.

Her mobile phone rang. She checked the caller ID and accepted the call. Hello, Muffy. The fashion show at the club? Ah, what day is that? She consulted a day planner on her smart phone. No, I have a luncheon with Pacy that day. Really can't put it off. She listened for a moment. Seriously, my life is overbooked for the next decade. I even had to put off Aunt Althea. I've only seen her once since the stroke. Poor dear, thankfully it was mild. Minnie lolled back in her chair. Thanks for thinking of me. Goodbye.

She stood, draping a flimsy wrap around her shoulders, clutching her phone as if for dear life. As she walked across the patio to the French doors of an elegant home, the phone rang. She glanced at it briefly, made a face and let it go to voicemail.

——-===(*)===——-

Benjamin Binky Biggs scoffed with frustration. Dearest sister, I know you have that phone at hand. You're too busy to talk to your brother, eh? The man was portly, pasty and wore a seersucker suit with a Panama hat. He looked as if he had never been in the sun, on purpose, in his entire life.

Do call back soon. I need to talk to you about that investment matter Arthur Bannister is recommending. I declare, I think the reason that man became a lawyer was to get first crack at all the good deals and write wills for old ladies, like Aunt Althea. Call me soonest. He rang off, reaching for a last bite of the dessert on the table in front of him.

He was seated in the glass-lined, closed-in porch of a restaurant. Outside were tables near the sidewalk. Practically no one was inside the closed-in porch. None of the staff noticed the call, a clear violation of the No Cell Phones sign posted at the entrance.

He waved for his check, paid it with a signature, and rolled out into the afternoon, with a roly-poly gait. A guest at an outdoor table greeted him. Binky! Will you join us for the Walk for Breast Cancer next week?

No, my dear. I take no exercise. Do give me an address where I can send a check. That is the extent of my physical exertions. He tipped his hat and walked on, slowly. A faint sheen of perspiration appeared on his forehead, below his hat.

——-===(*)===——-

Arthur Bannister rang the bell of the Stokes mansion. It was a sprawling, Victorian beauty in white, with a tower poking towards the sky on one side. A man dressed in livery answered the door.

Hello, Evans. I'm expected. Evans, the butler, strode down the hallway to the parlor, opening the door for Counselor Bannister.

Arthur! So good to see you. Althea was smiling.

Don't get up, Althea, he said with mock gravity. Arthur was smiling, too.

Ugh, even standing has become a chore these days. Do sit down. She tapped the tip of her cane on the floor, near a chair beside her. Arthur sat, looking at her expectantly.

I take it you spoke to the accountant. How do the family finances stand?

Nearly a million more than last year. Your capital is safe, your holdings secure, your investments profitable. What's this about amending your will?

This silly stroke got me thinking of my mortality. No, no, don't tell me I'll live forever. I don't want to, for one thing. For another, the world has changed in ways I neither like nor understand. Can you possibly understand why a young woman would shake her bottom in a lewd fashion on national television? Twerking, I believe they called it.

I neither know, nor care. Now, what changes do you desire? He pulled a legal document from his breast pocket marked COPY and laid it on the table between them.

She flipped awkwardly through the pages, stopping now and then to peer at particular parts. "Here, for instance. I leave a modest sum for Evans, Anna and the other