From the Grave--A McKenzie Novel Read online

  I gave Nina time alone. A lot of it. The sun slowly arced across the sky and started setting behind us.

  “Okay,” Shelby said.

  I grabbed my coat and started out the door. I zipped up and put on gloves as I crossed the street. My shoes were smothered by the snow, yet I didn’t care.

  “Hey,” I said.

  “Hey.”

  Nina had been crying, though her tears were dry by the time I reached her.

  “Thank you for not rushing over the first chance you got to ask if I was all right,” she said. “To see if you could make it better.”

  “I figured you needed some alone time.”

  I owe you, Shelby.

  I pointed at an ancient oak tree.

  “Did I ever tell you about the time that I kissed Mary Beth Rogers right over there?” I asked.

  “You did. Whatever happened to her, anyway?”

  “I have no idea. I don’t really want to know. By not knowing, I can always remember her the way she was that night. The way I was.”

  “It’s a pleasant memory. Your first kiss. Why change it? The bad ones, though—the bad memories you need to do something about.”

  “Is that what Kayla told you?”

  “In her way.”

  “What did she say about your mother?”

  “I might tell you someday, but not now,” Nina said. “Is that okay?

  “Sure.”

  “It’s not a deep, dark secret. It’s just … I haven’t really got it figured out yet.”

  “I understand.”

  “You’ve always been kind to me in that way. Understanding, even when you didn’t.”

  “Actually, I would say it was the other way around,” I said. “You putting up with me all these years, with my investigations, with my constant intrusions into other people’s lives.”

  “You’ve done a lot of good, McKenzie. So many favors for so many people. Will you do one for me?”

  “Of course. Anything.”

  “Don’t say that until you’ve heard the favor,” Nina said.

  “Anything,” I repeated.

  “Will you marry me?”

  ALSO BY DAVID HOUSEWRIGHT

  Featuring Holland Taylor

  Penance

  Practice to Deceive

  Dearly Departed

  Darkness, Sing Me A Song

  First, Kill the Lawyers

  Featuring Rushmore McKenzie

  A Hard Ticket Home

  Tin City

  Pretty Girl Gone

  Dead Boyfriends

  Madman on a Drum

  Jelly’s Gold

  The Taking of Libbie, SD

  Highway 61

  Curse of the Jade Lily

  The Last Kind Word

  The Devil May Care

  Unidentified Woman #15

  Stealing the Countess

  What the Dead Leave Behind

  Like to Die

  Dead Man’s Mistress

  Other Novels

  The Devil and the Diva (with Renée Valois)

  Finders Keepers

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  DAVID HOUSEWRIGHT has won the Edgar Award and is the three-time winner of the Minnesota Book Award for his crime fiction. He is a past president of the Private Eye Writers of America. He lives in St. Paul, Minnesota. You can sign up for email updates here.

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  CONTENTS

  Title Page

  Copyright Notice

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Just So You Know

  Also by David Housewright

  About the Author

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  First published in the United States by Minotaur Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group

  FROM THE GRAVE. Copyright © 2020 by David Housewright. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Publishing Group, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.

  www.minotaurbooks.com

  Cover design by David Baldeosingh Rotstein

  Cover photograph © Jas Ong / Pixoto.com

  The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:

  Names: Housewright, David, 1955– author.

  Title: From the grave / David Housewright.

  Description: First edition. | New York : Minotaur Books, 2020. | Series: Twin cities P.I. Mac McKenzie novels ; 17|

  Identifiers: LCCN 2019051875 | ISBN 9781250212177 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781250212184 (ebook)

  Subjects: GSAFD: Mystery fiction.

  Classification: LCC PS3558.O8668 F76 2020 | DDC 813/.54—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019051875

  eISBN 9781250212184

  Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at [email protected].

  First Edition: May 2020