Arno Zimmer - Death Comes to the Torpedo Factory

Two days later, Woody Meacham crossed the U.S. border at Rouses Point, NY on the edge of Lake Champlain and entered Canada.

HANK WILLOUGHBY NEVER had another case which defined him like the Torpedo Factory murder. He neither sought nor did he receive a promotion but his colleagues in the department understood that the hard-nosed, dogged detective exemplified what it meant to be a good cop.

He wondered about Bellows’ death so soon after the return of the infamous photographs but knew that to suggest an investigation would be futile. Willoughby had his own code of justice and felt that the archivist got the fate that he deserved. He thought of Viola Finch in a cage not of her choosing and decided to let sleeping dogs lie.

Willoughby was motivated by Pudge to look deeper into his own history and he was surprised when he was able to trace it back to Lincolnshire in England. He discovered that there were barons and dukes galore in the family tree back to William the Conqueror and, while amused, he was not motivated to take up the family coat of arms.

You might say that Willoughby was a sentimental guy, someone who got soft in retirement but in truth he had always had a heart of gold and, like Pudge McFadden, felt for the lost souls like Viola Finch and, yes, even Leonard Scatcherd.

Pudge tried to get Willoughby to join him in his burgeoning saloon enterprise but the retired detective was content to putter in his garden and perfect his talent for growing rather large tomatoes. He was always available when a young detective came by to chat, usually with a perplexing question about a particular case that had him stumped.

But his true joy was to indulge his latest woodworking hobby – the construction of bird houses, all of them colorfully painted and with doors on all sides for easy egress.

Willoughby became quite good at his craft and family and friends were the beneficiaries of his handiwork. It was only his wife who understood and appreciated that he was paying homage, in his unique way, to a little bird that never got the chance to spread her wings and soar.

THE PARLOR CITY BOYS

RETURN TO PARLOR CITY

A MURDER IN PARLOR HARBOR

Copyright © 2018 Arno B. Zimmer

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The characters and events described herein are imaginary and are not intended to refer to any person, alive or dead. 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 the copyright owner, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

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Cover Art By Mark E. Phillips