Lemons 03 Stroke of Genius Read Online Free Page A

case!”
    “Okay, that’s good I guess. Am I missing something…?” I ask.
    “Yep! It involves a dead body…”
    “Okay…?”
    “But, it’s not just any dead body.”
    “I’m listening…”
    “This dead body happened to become dead while…You ready?”
    “…yeah?”
    “Masturbating!”
    “Score!”
    ***
    Elise filled me in on the semi-vague details she had just received via her brief phone call. A dude named Vincent Maxwell has a friend, sorry, HAD a friend named Balthazar August, (seriously) who cashed in, shall we say, with a smile on his face. Here’s the best part, he died in Las Vegas! And not only did he die in Las Vegas, he died in the same hotel where some asshole just spent all my money. The coincidence was amazing and I started to get excited about the possibilities of where this case may take us.
    A maid at the hotel entered the room during her usual cleaning rounds to discover Mr. August dead in the closet, pants down with a belt wrapped around his neck, hanging from a hook. The maid calmly phoned hotel security to inform them that she found another dead body, her ninth this year.
    The LVPD we’re called to the scene and eventually came up with an accidental death ruling. But, Balthazar’s friend, with whom he was vacationing, thinks things didn’t add up. They were roommates together here in town and went to Vegas for a quick weekend getaway to celebrate the selling of their latest script. Get this, they write low-level, soft core booby movies for Cinemax! This case was going to be great!
    Anyway, the friend who called us, Vincent, isn’t happy with the ruling. He said he had known the deceased for years and he never showed any sign of being interested in choking himself while…choking himself. Even with the massive amount of alcohol involved during their Vegas weekend, he still couldn’t see it happening like that. He suspected foul play. He didn’t say why on the phone. He would explain when he arrived at the office late this afternoon.
    As for now, our previous clients were just arriving. They would be happy to see us.
    4.
    I checked my bank account again later that afternoon and lucky for me, all my money had been stolen! Hooray, now I could finally do something about it. Thanks crappy credit union!
    I wanted to get to the bank before they closed today but we were still waiting on Vincent to arrive. Looks like it would have to wait until tomorrow morning.
    Vincent showed up thirty minutes later. I asked Elise to join us in my office to hear this awesome story.
    I invited Vincent to take a seat. He obliged.
    “So, Mr. Maxwell…”
    “Just call me Vince,” he said.
    “Great. I have a friend named Maxwell.”
    “Good to know,” he said and he gave Elise a quick glance. What’s that all about?
    “Anyway, Vince,” I say “Tell us what happened and why you need our services.”
    “Well, we decided to go to Vegas last week. We had just finished some work and were in the mood to do some drinking and some gambling. We usually get over there about twice a year or so. We have fun.”
    “Of course,” I said.
    “So, anyway, we’re having a good time, playing some blackjack, drinking some really expensive free drinks, enjoying the scenery, if you know what I mean…” He added a little nod, making sure I knew what he meant, I guess. I didn’t.
    “Nope.”
    “Ya know, the ass, man.”
    “The Assman?”
    He turned to Elise again. “Is this guy for real?”
    “I get asked that a lot,” she answered. “Please continue, Mr. Maxwell.”
    He smirked then went on. “Anyway, Balls hit a bit of a losing streak and decided to head back up to the room to cool off for a minute and grab some more cash. He said he’d be back in a little bit and would text me if I wasn’t still at the table. He never came back. That was the last time I saw him alive.”
    “I’m sorry; Balls?” I ask.
    “Yeah, that’s just what I called him. Just a joke, since-‘
    “Okay,” Elise chimed in,