Summary:
His romantic weekend in ruins, shy twenty-something artist Perry Foster learns that things can always get worse when he returns home from San Francisco to find a dead body in his bathtub. A dead body in a very ugly sportscoat -- and matching socks.
The dead man is a stranger to Perry, but that's not much of a comfort; how did a strange dead man get in a locked flat at the isolated Alton Estate in the wilds of the "Northeast Kingdom" of Vermont? Perry turns to help from "tall, dark and hostile" former navy SEAL Nick Reno -- but is Reno all that he seems?
The Ghost Had an Early Check-Out #2
RATING:
The Ghost Had an Early Check-Out #2
Author Bio:
The Ghost Had an Early Check-Out #2
Summary:
To live and draw in L.A.
Now living in Los Angeles with former navy SEAL Nick Reno, artist Perry Foster comes to the rescue of elderly and eccentric Horace Daly, the legendary film star of such horror classics as Why Wonât You Die, My Darling?
Horace owns the famous, but now run-down, Hollywood hotel Angels Rest, rumored to be haunted. But as far as Perry can tell, the scariest thing about Angels Rest is the cast of crazy tenants--one of whom seems determined to bring down the final curtain on Horace--and anyone else who gets in the way.
The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks #1
Original Review June 2014:
I enjoyed the characters real well. Perry isn't the typical hero and yet with the help of fellow boarder, Nick Reno, that's exactly what he becomes. Not only do they solve an intriguing mystery together but they also find something in each other that they really weren't looking for and definitely weren't expecting.
Some people just find a way of burrowing their way into your hearts and Josh Lanyon has an amazing way of repeatedly bringing us characters that do just that, and this book is chock full of them.
The Ghost Had an Early Check-Out #2
I enjoyed the characters real well. Perry isn't the typical hero and yet with the help of fellow boarder, Nick Reno, that's exactly what he becomes. Not only do they solve an intriguing mystery together but they also find something in each other that they really weren't looking for and definitely weren't expecting.
Some people just find a way of burrowing their way into your hearts and Josh Lanyon has an amazing way of repeatedly bringing us characters that do just that, and this book is chock full of them.
The Ghost Had an Early Check-Out #2
Original Review January 2019:
When Perry Foster set out to do some renderings of the run-down Hollywood Hotel, Angels Rest, he never expected to come to a stranger's rescue but when he heard the screams he went to investigate. When he returns home to find his boyfriend back early from his own investigation he talks Nick into going with him back to Angels Rest where a small cast of eccentric tenants make for an interesting weekend. Will Perry and Nick discover who or what is after Horace, the legendary horror actor before the final curtain falls for the last time?
It has been about four years since I read The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks where Perry and Nick meet and I normally would have re-read book one before starting The Ghost had an Early Check-Out to "refresh my memory" but I didn't and you know what? I remember everything of the boys that I fell for ages ago. Now I don't want to say too much about the plot since this is a mystery and so many points can be important and telling but I will say I loved every eccentric and crazy moment of Early Check-Out.
The occupants of Angels Rest is definitely a cast of characters that made Perry and Nick's "case" intriguing. I wanted to laugh, scream, and even pull my hair out at times. You know what Perry ran into when he chased after Horace's screams and yet there is always that inkling of doubt to just what it all meant and who was really behind it. Its these moments where doubt and certainty war within the reader that make this mystery standout and kept me guessing.
So often in series, the second entry can be more about the couple finding their footing and keeping the relationship moving forward but with Early Check-Out that doesn't enter into it. Sure there are fleeting moments of internal "What have I got myself into?" for the pair but it really doesn't become a factor of the story and I very much appreciated that element. I hope there will be more of Perry and Nick in the future because they are a pair that is not getting old anytime soon.
The Ghost had an Early Check-Out is definitely a story with present day attitudes and yet its got just enough of a classic feel that I expected the likes of Humphrey Bogart or Dick Powell to turn up asking questions with their own brand of sarcastic wit. Definitely a delightful blend of mayhem and fun to make this a winning read.
It has been about four years since I read The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks where Perry and Nick meet and I normally would have re-read book one before starting The Ghost had an Early Check-Out to "refresh my memory" but I didn't and you know what? I remember everything of the boys that I fell for ages ago. Now I don't want to say too much about the plot since this is a mystery and so many points can be important and telling but I will say I loved every eccentric and crazy moment of Early Check-Out.
The occupants of Angels Rest is definitely a cast of characters that made Perry and Nick's "case" intriguing. I wanted to laugh, scream, and even pull my hair out at times. You know what Perry ran into when he chased after Horace's screams and yet there is always that inkling of doubt to just what it all meant and who was really behind it. Its these moments where doubt and certainty war within the reader that make this mystery standout and kept me guessing.
So often in series, the second entry can be more about the couple finding their footing and keeping the relationship moving forward but with Early Check-Out that doesn't enter into it. Sure there are fleeting moments of internal "What have I got myself into?" for the pair but it really doesn't become a factor of the story and I very much appreciated that element. I hope there will be more of Perry and Nick in the future because they are a pair that is not getting old anytime soon.
The Ghost had an Early Check-Out is definitely a story with present day attitudes and yet its got just enough of a classic feel that I expected the likes of Humphrey Bogart or Dick Powell to turn up asking questions with their own brand of sarcastic wit. Definitely a delightful blend of mayhem and fun to make this a winning read.
Overall Duology Review
Original Audiobook Review July 2023:
It's been 9 years since I originally read Yellow Socks and 4-1/2 since Early Check-Out, you'd think everything would be brand new after that long . . . it wasn't! Sometimes I wished my memory wasn't so good when it comes to reading and viewing as I miss that adrenaline rush you can only get from the first time but for me, knowing the work doesn't lessen the enjoyment, never has. Well this duology(though I do wish there were more than just the two) is just as entertaining in audio as it was in reading.
Not a lot I can say(or will sayđ) about the plots that wasn't already covered in my original reviews so I'll just make a few comments on narration. I tend to enjoy audios of series more when it's the same narrator but different voice performers happen for a variety of reasons and life happens, certainly not something that ruins a series for me though I know it bothers some so that's why I mention it.
Who did Perry & Nick better, Max Miller or Michael Pauley? Hard to say. Miller might have a slight edge but for me that is much more likely to be the case simply because he brought the characters to life first, similar to the way I prefer an the first actor in a series who gets recast later on, neither is necessarily better than the other just who we meet first. As for this duology there was only a few days between listens but Miller was still first and therefore slightly more fitting. Pauley does the pair wonderfully and personally I chalk the difference in nuances to Perry and Nick growing, individually and as a pair, we all change over time and I look at different narrations in that way as well, making Pauley also very well suited when bringing life to the zany mayhem that the men find themselves facing.
As it was with the original discovering of the men and their mysteries, the blend of chemistry, humor, mayhem, and romance is spot on and never boring. Certainly won't be years before I visit this pair again.
The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks #1
Perry, who had just spent the most painful and humiliating twenty-four hours of his life, and had driven over an hour from the airport in blinding rain to reach the relative peace and privacy of the chilly rooms he rented at the old Alston Estate, stood there gaping.
His headache vanished. He forgot about being exhausted and starving and soaked to the skin. He forgot about wishing he was dead, because here was someone dead, and it wasnât pretty.
His fingers still rested on the light switch. Perry turned the overhead lights off. In the darkness he heard rain rattling against the window; he heard his breathing which sounded fast and scared; and from the living room he heard the soft chime of the clock he had bought at the thrift store on Bethlehem Road. Nine slow, silvery chimes. Nine oâclock.
Perry switched the light back on.
The dead man was still in his bathtub.
âItâs not possible,â Perry whispered.
Apparently this didnât convince the corpse who continued to stare at him under half-closed eyelids.
The dead man was a stranger; Perry was pretty sure of that. It â he â was middle-aged and he needed a shave. His face was sort of greenish-red, the cheeks sunken in as though his features were slipping. His legs stuck out over the side of the tub like a mannequinâs. One shoe had a hole in the sole. His socks were yellow. Goldenrod, actually. They matched the ugly checked jacket.
The stranger was definitely dead. His chest wasnât moving at all, his mouth was ajar but no sounds came out. Perry didnât have to touch him to make sure he was dead, and nothing on earth would have made him touch the corpse anyway.
He could discern no signs of violence. There didnât seem to be any blood. Nor water. The tub was dry and empty â except for the dead man. It didnât look like he had been strangled. Maybe he had died of natural causes?
Maybe heâd had a heart attack?
But what was he doing having heart attacks in Perryâs locked apartment?
Perryâs glance lit on the mirror over the sink, and he started, for an instant not recognizing the pale-faced hollow-eyed reflection as his own. His hazel eyes looked huge and black in his frightened face, and his blonde hair seemed to be standing on end.
Backing out of the bathroom, Perry closed the door. He stood there trying to work it out through the fog of weariness and bewilderment. Then, eyes still pinned on the closed door, he took another step backwards and fell over his suitcase which was sitting in the center of the front room floor.
The fall jarred Perryâs thoughts into some kind of order. Scrambling up, he bolted for the apartment door. His fingers scrabbled to undo the deadbolt.
He yanked open the door, but it banged shut as though wrenched away by a ghostly hand. He realized the chain was still on. With shaking fingers he unfastened the chain and slammed out of the flat.
It seemed impossible that the hall should look just as it had when he walked upstairs five minutes earlier. Wall sconces cast creepy shadows down the mile of faded crimson carpet, which led to the winding staircase. Though the hall was empty, Perry felt that he was being watched.
He listened. Rain whispered against the windows, as though the house complained of the damp, the wood rot, the mustiness that permeated its aged bones. But it was the ominous silence on the other side of his own door that seemed to flood out everything else.
What was he waiting for? What did he expect to hear? Panic gripped him. He was desperate to get downstairs to lights and people, but he was afraid to make a noise, a sudden move, afraid that something unseen waited for him in the dim recesses of the long hall.
He had to force himself to take the first step. Then he barreled down the hallway, narrowly missing the half-dead aspidistras in their tall marble planters. Every moment he expected to feel a knife between his shoulder blades.
When he reached the head of the stairs, he had to hang tight to the banister; his knees were jelly. He took a second to catch his breath and then headed down the stairs. Fifteen steps; he took them two at a time.
Reaching the second floor, he hesitated. Ex-cop Rudy Stein lived on this floor. An ex-cop ought to know what to do.
Mr. Watson had also lived on this floor, but he had died a week ago in Burlington. His rooms were locked, all his belongings waiting for someone who would never return.
Maybe it was this memory, or maybe it was the notion of facing another dark, drafty hallway, that sent Perry half-falling, half-running down the rest of the grand staircase until, at last, he reached the ground floor, which served as the lobby of Mrs. MacQueenâs boarding house.
Someone was just coming in the front door, pushing it closed against the sheets of rain. Overhead the chandelier tinkled musically in the gust of the stormâs breath, throwing eerie blue and red shadows across the manâs figure.
He wore a hooded olive parka, and for a moment Perry didnât recognize him. In fact, he couldnât see any face at all in the cowl of the parka, and (his nerves shot to hell) he gasped, the soft sound carrying in the quiet hall.
Shoving the hood back the man stared at Perry. Now Perry recognized him. He was new to Mrs. MacQueenâs rooming house; an ex-marine or something. Tall, dark and hostile.
Perry opened his mouth to inform the newcomer about the dead man upstairs, but weirdly enough the words wouldnât come. Maybe he was in shock. He felt kind of funny; detached, rather light-headed. He hoped he wasnât going to pass out. That would be too humiliating.
âWhatâs with you?â the man said. He was frowning, but then he was always frowning, so there wasnât anything in that. He actually wasnât that tall, but he was muscular, solid. A human Rock of Gibraltar.
Finally Perryâs vocal chords worked, but the man couldnât seem to make out Perryâs choked words. He took a step closer. His eyes were blue, marine-blue, which seemed appropriate, Perry thought, still on that distant plane.
âWhatâs the problem, kid?â he asked brusquely.
Obviously there was a problem. Breathlessly Perry tried to explain it. He pointed upwards, his hand shaking like a Jesus freak who lacked conviction, and he tried to get some words out between the gasps.
And now the corpse upstairs was the second problem, because the first problem was, he couldnât breathe.
âJesus Christ!â said the ex-marine, watching his struggle.
Perry lowered himself to the carpeted bottom step of the grand staircase, and fished around for his inhaler.
Chapter One
There was a strange man in Perryâs bathtub. He was wearing a sports coat â a rather ugly sports coat. And he was dead.Perry, who had just spent the most painful and humiliating twenty-four hours of his life, and had driven over an hour from the airport in blinding rain to reach the relative peace and privacy of the chilly rooms he rented at the old Alston Estate, stood there gaping.
His headache vanished. He forgot about being exhausted and starving and soaked to the skin. He forgot about wishing he was dead, because here was someone dead, and it wasnât pretty.
His fingers still rested on the light switch. Perry turned the overhead lights off. In the darkness he heard rain rattling against the window; he heard his breathing which sounded fast and scared; and from the living room he heard the soft chime of the clock he had bought at the thrift store on Bethlehem Road. Nine slow, silvery chimes. Nine oâclock.
Perry switched the light back on.
The dead man was still in his bathtub.
âItâs not possible,â Perry whispered.
Apparently this didnât convince the corpse who continued to stare at him under half-closed eyelids.
The dead man was a stranger; Perry was pretty sure of that. It â he â was middle-aged and he needed a shave. His face was sort of greenish-red, the cheeks sunken in as though his features were slipping. His legs stuck out over the side of the tub like a mannequinâs. One shoe had a hole in the sole. His socks were yellow. Goldenrod, actually. They matched the ugly checked jacket.
The stranger was definitely dead. His chest wasnât moving at all, his mouth was ajar but no sounds came out. Perry didnât have to touch him to make sure he was dead, and nothing on earth would have made him touch the corpse anyway.
He could discern no signs of violence. There didnât seem to be any blood. Nor water. The tub was dry and empty â except for the dead man. It didnât look like he had been strangled. Maybe he had died of natural causes?
Maybe heâd had a heart attack?
But what was he doing having heart attacks in Perryâs locked apartment?
Perryâs glance lit on the mirror over the sink, and he started, for an instant not recognizing the pale-faced hollow-eyed reflection as his own. His hazel eyes looked huge and black in his frightened face, and his blonde hair seemed to be standing on end.
Backing out of the bathroom, Perry closed the door. He stood there trying to work it out through the fog of weariness and bewilderment. Then, eyes still pinned on the closed door, he took another step backwards and fell over his suitcase which was sitting in the center of the front room floor.
The fall jarred Perryâs thoughts into some kind of order. Scrambling up, he bolted for the apartment door. His fingers scrabbled to undo the deadbolt.
He yanked open the door, but it banged shut as though wrenched away by a ghostly hand. He realized the chain was still on. With shaking fingers he unfastened the chain and slammed out of the flat.
It seemed impossible that the hall should look just as it had when he walked upstairs five minutes earlier. Wall sconces cast creepy shadows down the mile of faded crimson carpet, which led to the winding staircase. Though the hall was empty, Perry felt that he was being watched.
He listened. Rain whispered against the windows, as though the house complained of the damp, the wood rot, the mustiness that permeated its aged bones. But it was the ominous silence on the other side of his own door that seemed to flood out everything else.
What was he waiting for? What did he expect to hear? Panic gripped him. He was desperate to get downstairs to lights and people, but he was afraid to make a noise, a sudden move, afraid that something unseen waited for him in the dim recesses of the long hall.
He had to force himself to take the first step. Then he barreled down the hallway, narrowly missing the half-dead aspidistras in their tall marble planters. Every moment he expected to feel a knife between his shoulder blades.
When he reached the head of the stairs, he had to hang tight to the banister; his knees were jelly. He took a second to catch his breath and then headed down the stairs. Fifteen steps; he took them two at a time.
Reaching the second floor, he hesitated. Ex-cop Rudy Stein lived on this floor. An ex-cop ought to know what to do.
Mr. Watson had also lived on this floor, but he had died a week ago in Burlington. His rooms were locked, all his belongings waiting for someone who would never return.
Maybe it was this memory, or maybe it was the notion of facing another dark, drafty hallway, that sent Perry half-falling, half-running down the rest of the grand staircase until, at last, he reached the ground floor, which served as the lobby of Mrs. MacQueenâs boarding house.
Someone was just coming in the front door, pushing it closed against the sheets of rain. Overhead the chandelier tinkled musically in the gust of the stormâs breath, throwing eerie blue and red shadows across the manâs figure.
He wore a hooded olive parka, and for a moment Perry didnât recognize him. In fact, he couldnât see any face at all in the cowl of the parka, and (his nerves shot to hell) he gasped, the soft sound carrying in the quiet hall.
Shoving the hood back the man stared at Perry. Now Perry recognized him. He was new to Mrs. MacQueenâs rooming house; an ex-marine or something. Tall, dark and hostile.
Perry opened his mouth to inform the newcomer about the dead man upstairs, but weirdly enough the words wouldnât come. Maybe he was in shock. He felt kind of funny; detached, rather light-headed. He hoped he wasnât going to pass out. That would be too humiliating.
âWhatâs with you?â the man said. He was frowning, but then he was always frowning, so there wasnât anything in that. He actually wasnât that tall, but he was muscular, solid. A human Rock of Gibraltar.
Finally Perryâs vocal chords worked, but the man couldnât seem to make out Perryâs choked words. He took a step closer. His eyes were blue, marine-blue, which seemed appropriate, Perry thought, still on that distant plane.
âWhatâs the problem, kid?â he asked brusquely.
Obviously there was a problem. Breathlessly Perry tried to explain it. He pointed upwards, his hand shaking like a Jesus freak who lacked conviction, and he tried to get some words out between the gasps.
And now the corpse upstairs was the second problem, because the first problem was, he couldnât breathe.
âJesus Christ!â said the ex-marine, watching his struggle.
Perry lowered himself to the carpeted bottom step of the grand staircase, and fished around for his inhaler.
The Ghost Had an Early Check-Out #2
It was after eleven by the time Nick got home.
The apartment was dark and silent. It smelled of paint and linseed oil, which was how home smelled now. It would not smell like cooking because Perry did not bother to cook when Nick was not around for meals. It was a question as to whether he even bothered to eat.
Nick quietly set his bag down and turned on the living room light. God it was good to be back. He looked around approvingly. The room was comfortably furnished. His old blue sofa was positioned against one wall. Two small end tables theyâd picked up at a Goodwill store sat at either end. The tables were topped with matching alabaster lamps that Perry assured him were terrific finds. Maybe. Nick had doubts about the antiquated wiring, but Perry loved them, so heâd bought the lamps. Nickâs framed seascape hung on the opposite wall. A tall mahogany bookshelf, another Goodwill find, held Perryâs paperbacks and his vintage clock. They were using an old trunk for their coffee table. Most of the remaining available space was taken up with Perryâs canvasesâthose that were either on their way out to galleries and local shops or those on their way back.
Everything appeared neat and tidy and in its place. Everything but Perry.
A quick glance in the bedroom verified that he was not in. Nick swallowed his disappointment. It was unusual for Perry to go to bed before midnight, and he hadnât known Nick was heading back to LAâNick hadnât wanted to let him down in case things didnât wrap up on scheduleâhowever, a survey of the apartment made it clear that not only was Perry not there, he hadnât been home since breakfast.
His rinsed cereal bowl sat in the sink. A box of Froot Loops sat on the breakfast counter. Perry teased Nick being a neat freak, but he also did his best to accommodate those fifteen years of military regimen and order.
Nick stared at the red and white cereal bowl with a sinking feeling.
There were any number of benign explanations for why Perry wasnât home. He could be out with friends. He wasnât exactly a party animal, but he had made friends in art school and he did hang out with them occasionally. He wouldnât have left a note because he wasnât expecting to see Nick until tomorrow evening at the earliest.
He could have gone to a movie.
There were less benign possibilities too.
He could be stranded somewhere. That piece of junk car of his was always breaking down.
He could have had a severe asthma attack and landed in the hospital. Although, fortunately, he was so much better now that he was on those controller medications, an attack wasnât the concern it once would have been. LAâs smog wasnât great for him, but it had been months since heâd had a real flare-up.
Nick listened to the sound of traffic outside the apartment as he continued to uneasily study Perryâs cereal bowl. The streets were never silent here. At three oâclock in the morning, you could still hear the rush of the nearby freeway.
Well, it was a trade-off. Peace and quiet in exchange for a real job for him and a decent art school for Perry.
Unbidden, another thought slithered into his brain: he could have met someone.
What the hell? Where was that thought coming from? It wasnât the first time either. He rejected it instantly, impatiently. For Godâs sake. Perry wasnât home to greet him and his thoughts jumped there?
It wasnât like he was even the jealous type. He knew Perry loved him, and God knew he loved Perry. More than heâd ever imagined he could love anyone. He trusted Perry.
But there was that ten-year age gap and the fact that Perry had never been exposed to so many other gay men before the move to LA.
Bullshit. Working all these goddamned divorce cases was what even put the thought in his head.
That said, heâd have to be blind not to notice the way other guys responded to Perryâor the way Perry responded to finally getting some appreciative male attention. Meaning only that Perryâs blushing confusion at being flirted with was touching.
And the kid was alone a lot. It couldnât be helped. Nick was low man on the totem pole and most of the out-of-town and late-night gigs fell to him. Fair enough. He was grateful for the job and beyond grateful at the possibility that he might even be made a partner eventually. But it meant Perry was on his own in the big, bad city a lot of the time.
And so what? Whatever was keeping Perry out at this time of night, it was not some illicit affair. That the idea even crossed his mind was proof Nick was spending way too much time photographing cheating wives and double-dealing husbands.
Whatever. The job was what it was, and what it mostly was, was adulterous spouses and fraudulent insurance claims. He was lucky to have it. But. Not exactly why heâd become a navy SEAL.
But then he wasnât a SEAL anymore.
Nick was brooding over this, staring out the window over the kitchen sink at the smog-dimmed stars when he heard the smothered sound of Perryâs cough outside the apartment door. He stepped out of the kitchen as Perryâs key turned the lock.
Perry opened the door, clearly surprised to find the lights on. His thin, pointy face lit up as he spotted Nick. âHey, youâre home!â
Nick retorted, âOne detective per family is eââ but the rest of it was cut off as Perry launched himself. Nickâs arms automatically locked around him and his mouth came down hard on Perryâs eager one.
What was it about Perry? He was cute enough, sure. Medium height, lanky, and boyish-looking. His hair was blonde and spiky. His eyes were big and brown and as long lashed as a cartoon character. In this town where two out of every three guys looked like they were trying out for a role in a major motion picture, Perry was almost strikingly ordinary. Maybe that was it. The fact that Perry didnât look like everyone else. That he didnât act like everyone else.
It was funny though because Perry was almost the complete opposite of what Nick had always thought was his type. Not that he had really thought of himself as having a typeâbeyond wanting someone with a penis.
Even after nine months, that unstintingâŠwhat the hell would you call it? Sweetness sounded too sappy, but there was something so honest, so generous in Perryâs responses. It made Nickâs heart feel too big for his chest. Closed his throat so that he could rarely say the things he wanted to say, things that Perry deserved to hear.
I love you. It scares me how much I love you.
Instead, he said gruffly, âWhere the hell have you been at this hour?â
Perry didnât seem to hear the gruffness. His wide brown eyes smiled guilelessly up into Nickâs. âI was sketchingââ
He had to stop though, starting to wheeze. He threw an apologetic look at Nick and dug out his rescue inhaler. He took a couple of quick puffs while Nick watched, frowning.
This was not good. He didnât like the sudden alarming reappearance of coughing and wheezing. He put a hand on Perryâs shoulder. Under Nickâs tutelage, Perry had built up some muscle, but he had not really put on much weight. His shoulders were still bony, his collarbones sharp.
âYou okay?â
Perry put the inhaler awayâhe didnât like using it in front of Nick. As if he thought Nick looked down on him for it?
He said, âIt was so dusty up there!â
âWhere? Whereâve you been?â Nick hoped he didnât sound as accusatory as he did to his own ears.
âI drove up to Angelâs Rest.â
âWhere?â
âThat old hotel in the hills. Remember at Dorianâs exhibition last Saturday? The 1920s hotel in those photos?â
âThe abandoned place on Laurel Canyon?â
Jesus fucking Christ. He remembered Perry had seemed fascinated by those photos. But hiking around those hills on his own? Anything could happen to him, from being bit by a rattlesnake to running into some crazed homeless person.
Nick didnât let any of that show on his face. That was one thing he had decided early on. He was not going to undermine Perryâs confidence or self-resilience with his own fears. Perry was not his child, he was his partner. Physically frail or not, he was a grown man.
âRight,â Perry said quickly, as though he sensed everything Nick was determined not to say. âOnly itâs not abandoned. Well, not completely.â
Now, studying him more closely in the lamplight, Nick noticed Perryâs t-shirt was smeared with dust and torn at the collar. Andâmore alarmingâhis knuckles were scraped and cut.
Perry said, âAnyway, Iâm sorry Iâm late. I didnât know youâd be home tonight. I bought pork chops for when you got home.â
âWere you in fight?â
Perryâs eyelashes flicked up guiltily. âKind of.â
âKind of?â
Nick felt as winded as if Perry had punched him. Trying to picture him in a fight wasâwell, yes, Nick had been showing him some moves, tried to prepare him a little in case he ever had to defend himselfâbut still, Perry in a fight?
âIâve got a lot to tell you,â Perry said. âShould I cook the pork chops?â
âIâll fix us something to eat. You talk.â
In the kitchen Nick grabbed two bottles of beer from the fridge, uncapped them, handing one to Perry and taking a long swallow from his own. He came up for air and exhaled. Heâd needed that.
âHow did the job go?â Perry asked, watching him.
âThe usual. It was okay. I want to hear about your week.â
Nick dug the package of pork chops out of the fridge while Perry told him about sketching Angelâs Rest over the past few daysâNick hanging onto his patience while Perry was momentarily distracted by his enthusiasm for crumbling architecture and light and shadowâbefore finally describing hearing someone yelling for help from the hotel grounds.
Nick clenched his jaw on his instinctive protest. Of course, Perry would respond. Of course, he would try to help. It was the right thing to do, and by God Nick was not going to try to tell him otherwiseâalthough the sight of Perry sitting there with his torn t-shirt, bruised knuckles, and shining eyes worried the hell out of him.
While he prepared the pork chops, he heard out the whole ridiculous but still alarming story of men in skeleton costumes with wooden swordsâ He was both proud and aghast that Perry had charged into the middle of that.
Perry chattered on, barely touching his own beer.
âHe said his name was Horace Daly. He used to be an actor. He lives at the hotel. Itâs not a hotel anymore though. Now itâs sort of like apartments. Kind of like the Alston Estate really. Onlyââ
âHorace Daly,â Nick interrupted. âThe actor. I remember him.â
âYeah? I didnât recognize his name, when he introduced himself, but I did sort of recognize his face.â
âI thought he was dead.â
âNo. Heâs pretty old, but he seems spry. Heâs retired now, of course. You should see that place, Nick. Heâs got a bunch of movie memorabilia everywhere. You walk down a corridor and suddenly you see a life-sized mummy standing in the shadows. Or a chopped off head sitting on a table. All these props from his films. Thereâs a gibbet in the old ballroom. The real thing they used in his movie, not replicas. At one time Horace thought maybe he could turn part of the hotel into a museum.â Perryâs eyes shone with enthusiasm, the artist in him no doubt getting off on the workmanship that went into creating realistic-looking skeletons and ghouls or whatever it was Daly kept in his closet.
Nick said, âRight. He was in all those old horror flicks. Night of the Blue Witch, Seven Brides for Seven Demons, Sex and the Single Ghoul.â
âMy parents wouldnât let me watch that stuff.â Perryâs expression was one of brooding regret.
Nick bit back a grin. âNo, well. So, Daly is still around and lives in an abandoned hotel in Laurel Canyon?â
âExactly. But thatâs the thing. Itâs not abandoned. He owns the property. He rents the suites out to regular tenants.â Perry amended, âWell, maybe regular isnât the word. I met a couple of them. But heâs got about seven people renting from him.â
âHuh,â said Nick, noncommittal.
Perryâs big brown eyesâwide with worry and concernâraised to his. âHorace thinks someoneâs trying to kill him.â
âTo kill him,â Nick repeated. âHe actually told you he thinks someone is trying to kill him?â
Perry nodded. âHe says itâs not the first time heâs been attacked, but no one ever believed him because heâs never had a witness before.â
Several comments leaped to mind. Nick nobly squashed them all.
Perry was still following his own thoughts. âHe thinks it might be a crazed fan or someone like that. Someone who saw his movies and kind of lost it.â
âSoâŠlike a movie critic?â Nick was teasing, but he didnât like this at all. Perry had seen the guys dressed up in skeleton costumes, so Horace wasnât making that part up, but the rest of it sounded pretty sketchy. Speaking as someone in the PI biz, homicides werenât really all that common. Not even in LA.
Perry made a face and laughed, but he continued to watch Nick in that serious, hopeful way as though he imagined Nick might have an instant solution to old Horaceâs problems.
âWhy would someone want to knock Horace off?â Nick asked. âI mean, assuming itâs not a crazed fan out to get him.â
âBut thatâs it. Heâs sure it is a crazed fan or a stalker. Someone confusing the movies with real life. He said for years heâs been getting weird, threatening letters.â Perry bit his lip thinking. âHeâs hiding something though.â
Nick studied him. The funny thing about Perry was, despite his lack of worldly experience, he had good instincts about people. Reluctantly, he asked, âWhy do you think so?â
Perry gave a little shake of his head. âI donât know. Heâs frightened. Thatâs real. He does believe someone is trying to kill him.â He said slowly, âWhat I think heâs lying about is not knowing why.â
âIt would be in the letters, wouldnât it?â
âI guess. Horace said he didnât keep the letters.â
Nick considered that piece of information. It might be the truth. It might be that Horace had the letters but didnât want anyone to see them. It might be that there never were any letters. He said, âI can tell you the usual reasons people kill. They want something someone else has. Usually money or sex.â
âWhat about revenge?â Perry asked.
âIâm not saying it doesnât happen. Just that itâs not nearly as common in real life as it is on TV.â
âI donât think either money or sex would apply in Horaceâs case.â
Probably not. Nick was having trouble believing in any scenario where an aging and long forgotten film star would have a murderous stalker.
âBut you think revenge would?â
âErâŠno. But by process of eliminationâŠâ
Nick sighed inwardly. Thanks to true crime TV, everybody thought they were a PI. Even his own boyfriend.
âHereâs the thing,â he said. âIf these yahoos wanted Horace dead, couldnât they have killed him today?â
âYes.â
âWooden swords sound more like movie props to me.â
Perryâs expression grew animated. âYes. Exactly. Thatâs it. Thatâs one reason why Horace thinks that this is the work of crazy stalker fans. He believes they tried to use wooden swords because thatâs what you do with vampires. You drive a wooden stake through their heart.â
Okaaay. Judging by the bright eyes and pink cheeks, it was pretty clear that Horace wasnât the only one who thought crazed fans wielding wooden swords made total sense.
âDid Horace report the attack to the police?â
âNo. I tried to get him to, but he said he reported the earlier attacks, and nobody believed him. The police thought he was making it up for attention.â
Nick grunted. The same thought had occurred to him.
âEven his tenants thought he was imagining things.â
âThat doesnât seem to be the case.â Nick had to allow that much. âYou saw these three yourself.â
âYes.â Perryâs mind was on other things. âIn the movie Why Wonât You Die, My Darling? Horace had to use a wooden sword to kill Angelina once she became a vampire. You see?â
âMmhm.â Only too well.
âSo, it does kind of make sense.â
Perry went back to watching him with that resolve-weakening mix of confidence and hope. Uneasily, Nick considered the hopefulness. What did Perry want? What were his expectations?
The pork chops were fried to perfection, their fragrant smell warming the small kitchen. Nick slid them from the frying pan onto two thick blue plates, then placed the plates on the table.
âOh, Iâm not hungry,â Perry said quickly. Nick guessed that he was thinkingâcorrectlyâthat two paper-thin pork chops was not a lot of dinner for him. These four beautiful little pork chops would have been a special welcome home dinner for himself. He had to watch for that kind of thing because Perry was prone to unnecessary self-sacrifice. No way was he going to bed hungry. Not on Nickâs watch.
âDid you have dinner?â
âNo, butââ
âEat your dinner.â
Perry grimaced, but then smiled as though Nick were offering him a special treat and not his fair share of their rations.
They ate in silence for a few minutes. Nick was tired. It had been a long ass drive from Modesto. His thoughts were still partly on his case. Perry had had a little adventure, but it was over and no harm done. Nick looked forward to a shower, a sleep, and eventually waking up with his favorite person on the entire planet. Rarely did they get an entire weekend to themselves.
Perry chewed a couple of neatly carved pieces of pork before saying slowly, âI wasnât expecting you home until Monday.â
âI wasnât sure Iâd be able to get away. Why? Did you make plans?â Nick smiled, a little amused. He took it for granted if Perry had made plans heâd change them to accommodate him. Not that he wouldnât fall in with Perryâs plans if Perry had his heart set on another art show or something.
Perry looked troubled. âI did, yeah.â
Nickâs brows rose. He was still tolerant.
âI told Horace Iâd stay up there this weekend.â
âYouâŠâ
âHe needs help, Nick.â
âIt sounds like it, all right.â Nick was grim.
Perry seemed to evaluate Nickâs mood. He brightened. âWhat if you stayed up there with me? That would be even better. You know what youâre doing.â
âWhat IâmâŠâ Nick swallowed the rest of it. He said very mildly, âWhy would you agree to that? Why would you agree to spend the weekend at a falling down hotel where people in costumes are running around swinging swords at innocent bystanders?â
âIâve told you. Horace is afraid,â Perry said. âNobody else believes him.â
Nick had no answer for that. Or rather, he had so many answers he didnât know where to start. He finally managed, âBut theyâll believe him now. Right? Heâs got corroborating testimony.â
Perry grinned. ââCorroborating testimony.â Youâre starting to sound like a PI.â
âYeah. But Iâm serious. I donât see how it would be of any help to Horace for you to stay over in that dump. What are you supposed to do?â
âI think heâs lonely and itâs a relief that someone believes him.â
âOkay, thatâs great. But, again, what are you supposed to do about whateverâs going on there?â Nick was struggling not to let his impatience show. Anyway, he was not impatient with Perry. He was impatient with Horace Daly for dragging Perry into his problems.
âLend moral support?â
âIsnât that nice,â Nick said grimly. âBut youâve had to use your inhaler tonight for the first time in how long? Thatâs not a healthy place for you. Clearly.â
Perry colored. His jaw took on that stubborn jut that Nick had become all too familiar with during the past nine months. âI canât not go places just because I have asthma.â
âOf course you can. Canât.â Nick drew a breath. âOf course you can avoid situations that make you sâthat arenât good for you. Thatâs just commonsense.â
âI already agreed to help.â
âWeâre going in circles here. Help him how? How does your being there help Daly?â
Perry said, and it sounded like he too was trying to control his impatience, âBut thatâs what Iâm saying, Nick. If you went with me, you could look into it for him. Youâre trained to do this.â
âLook into what?â
âLook into whoever is trying to kill Horace. And why.â
Perryâs stare was unwavering. Almost stern. Meeting it, Nickâs heart sank.
Clearly, he was not going to win this battle. Either he went with Perry or Perry went on his own, but go Perry would. The weekend Nick had in mind was already a write-off.
He struggled for a moment with his disappointment and irritation. Obviously, he could not leave Perry to deal with this bizarre situation on his own. Even if he could, well, there was something about the way Perry looked at himâlike he really believed there was nothing Nick couldnât handle, no problem he couldnât solveâNick didnât want Perry to ever stop looking at him like that.
Anyway, the main thing was that they had the weekend together, right?
âSounds like you have your mind already made up,â Nick said.
His tone was a little flat and some of the eagerness died out of Perryâs face. âYou donât want to go?â
âWant to go? No. If I do give up my weekend, what do I get out of it?â Nick asked.
Perry continued to eye him in that grave way. âHoraceâs undying gratitude?â he suggested finally.
âUhâŠâ
Perry grinned slowly with that funny mixture of sweetness and mischievousness that always set Nickâs heart thudding in his chest. âLet me show you.â
Bestselling author of over sixty titles of classic Male/Male fiction featuring twisty mystery, kickass adventure and unapologetic man-on-man romance, JOSH LANYON has been called "the Agatha Christie of gay mystery."
Her work has been translated into eleven languages. The FBI thriller Fair Game was the first male/male title to be published by Harlequin Mondadori, the largest romance publisher in Italy. Stranger on the Shore (Harper Collins Italia) was the first M/M title to be published in print. In 2016 Fatal Shadows placed #5 in Japan's annual Boy Love novel list (the first and only title by a foreign author to place on the list).
The Adrien English Series was awarded All Time Favorite Male Male Couple in the 2nd Annual contest held by the Goodreads M/M Group (which has over 22,000 members). Josh is an Eppie Award winner, a four-time Lambda Literary Award finalist for Gay Mystery, and the first ever recipient of the Goodreads Favorite M/M Author Lifetime Achievement award.
Josh is married and they live in Southern California.Her work has been translated into eleven languages. The FBI thriller Fair Game was the first male/male title to be published by Harlequin Mondadori, the largest romance publisher in Italy. Stranger on the Shore (Harper Collins Italia) was the first M/M title to be published in print. In 2016 Fatal Shadows placed #5 in Japan's annual Boy Love novel list (the first and only title by a foreign author to place on the list).
The Adrien English Series was awarded All Time Favorite Male Male Couple in the 2nd Annual contest held by the Goodreads M/M Group (which has over 22,000 members). Josh is an Eppie Award winner, a four-time Lambda Literary Award finalist for Gay Mystery, and the first ever recipient of the Goodreads Favorite M/M Author Lifetime Achievement award.
Josh Lanyon
EMAIL: josh.lanyon@sbcglobal.net
Max Miller(Narrator book #1)
The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks #1
The Ghost Had an Early Check-Out #2
