Dead Man Talking

Table of Contents

 

 

 

PRAISE FOR THE PEPPER MARTIN MYSTERIES

Night of the Loving Dead

“Gravestones, ghosts, and ghoulish misdemeanors delight in Casey Daniels’s witty
Night of the Loving Dead
.”

—Madelyn Alt, national bestselling author of
Where There’s a Witch

 

“Sass and the supernatural cross paths in the entertaining fourth Penelope ‘Pepper’ Martin series mystery . . . Pepper proves once again that great style, quick wit, and a sharp eye can solve any mystery.”

 

“Pepper is brazen and beautiful and this mystery is perfectly paced, with plenty of surprise twists.”

 

“[A] well-plotted paranormal mystery that . . . shares some answers [to questions] that fans have had since we first met this entertaining character, and adds several surprising twists along the way.”

 

“Entertaining and amusing . . . will keep readers laughing.”

 

Tombs of Endearment

“A fun romp through the streets and landmarks of Cleveland . . . A tongue-in-cheek . . . look at life beyond the grave . . . well worth picking up.”

 

“[A] PI who is Stephanie Plum-meets-
Sex and the City
’s Carrie Bradshaw . . . It’s fun, it’s ‘chick,’ and appealing . . . A quick, effortless read with a dash of Bridget Jones-style romance. [Martin is] a hot redhead who always manages to look good . . . and suffers the emotional catastrophes that every woman can relate to.”

 

“With witty dialogue and an entertaining mystery, Ms. Daniels pens an irresistible tale of murder, greed, and a lesson in love. A well-paced story line that’s sure to have readers anticipating Pepper’s next ghostly client.”

 

“Sassy, spicy . . . Pepper Martin, wearing her Moschino Cheap & Chic pink polka dot sling backs, will march right into your imagination.”

—Shirley Damsgaard, author of
The Witch’s Grave

 

 

 

The Chick and the Dead

 

“Amusing with her breezy chick-lit style and sharp dialogue.”

 

“Ms. Daniels has a hit series on her hands.”

 

“Poor Pepper Martin! It looks like demanding ghosts are going to be a recurring problem for this funny and offbeat character. Outlandish situations [and] characters . . . drive this humorous plot as Pepper beefs up her sleuthing skills.”

 

“Ms. Daniels is definitely a hot new voice in paranormal mystery . . . intriguing . . . well-written . . . with a captivating story line and tantalizing characters.”

—
Darque Reviews

 

“[F]un, flirtatious, and feisty . . . [A] fast-paced read, filled with likeable characters.”

—
Suite101.com

 

 

Don of the Dead

“Fabulous! One of the funniest books I’ve read this year.”

—MaryJanice Davidson,
USA Today
bestselling author

 

“There’s not a ghost of a chance you’ll be able to put this book down. Write faster, Casey Daniels.”

—Emilie Richards,
USA Today
bestselling author

 

“One part Godfather, one part Bridget Jones, one part ghost story, driven by a spunky new sleuth . . . A delightful read!”

—
Roberta Isleib

“[A] humorous and highly entertaining expedition into mystery and the supernatural.”

—
Linda O. Johnston

 

“A spooky mystery, a spunky heroine and sparkling wit! Give us more!”

—Kerrelyn Sparks,
USA Today
bestselling author

 

“[F]unny and fast-paced; her sassy dialog . . . her bravado, and her slightly off-kilter view of life make Pepper an unforgettable character . . . The only drawback is waiting for book two!”
—Library Journal
(starred review)

 

“[A] tightly plotted story with a likeable amateur sleuth.”

 

“[A] fun cozy with a likeable heroine and a satisfying plot.”

—
Suite101.com

 

“Fans of ‘Buffy’ ought to enjoy this one . . . [O]riginal, funny, and shows plenty of scope for future books (all of which I aim to read) . . . [A] highly enjoyable debut.”

—
MyShelf.com

TOMBS OF ENDEARMENT
THE CHICK AND THE DEAD
DON OF THE DEAD
NIGHT OF THE LOVING DEAD
DEAD MAN TALKING

THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

 

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

 

DEAD MAN TALKING

 

A Berkley Prime Crime Book / published by arrangement with the author

 

PRINTING HISTORY

Berkley Prime Crime mass-market edition / October 2009

Copyright © 2009 by Connie Laux.

 

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

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375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

 

eISBN : 978-1-101-14521-0

 

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There really is a Monroe Street Cemetery in Cleveland, but thanks to the work of a dedicated group of volunteers, it is not nearly in as awful a shape as I portray it in
Dead Man Talking
. This book is dedicated to the members of the Monroe Street Cemetery Foundation, the Woodland Cemetery Foundation, the Ohio Cemetery Alliance, and to all the other hardworking people all over the country (and the world) who help preserve our past and the memories of the people who have gone before us by restoring and maintaining our cemeteries. Cemeteries are truly museums without walls. Visit one near you, and volunteer to help. What you do will be remembered and appreciated for generations to come.

1

T
he ghosts were waiting for me when I arrived at Monroe Street Cemetery that morning.

I figured they would be. They’d been hanging around my office at Garden View Cemetery ever since the day a couple weeks earlier when my boss, Ella Silverman, informed me that instead of leading tours through Garden View that summer, I would be spending my time working on a restoration project at Monroe Street.

Back at Garden View, I’d pretty much been able to ignore this pack of annoying spooks, and I knew why. They were buried here at Monroe Street, and far from where they were resting (but not at peace), they didn’t have nearly as much ghostly oomph. Here they were as lively as the dead are likely to get and way pushier than ghosts have any right to be.

Then again, I guess I couldn’t blame them. Thanks to their daily visits to my office, they’d had a chance to look around Garden View, and they were bound to be
pissed. After all, Monroe Street and Garden View are as different from each other as cemeteries can be.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not a cemetery geek. Not like Ella. But I do know that in the hierarchy of burying grounds, Garden View is at the tippy-top. Its three hundred acres are as swanky and pristine as Monroe Street is . . . well, far be it from me to judge, but it’s hard to escape the facts. This one-hundred-and-seventy-five-year-old, thirteen-acre patch just to the west of downtown Cleveland was nowhere near as elegant—or as well maintained—as Garden View. The city-owned Monroe Street had been neglected for years, and it showed. From where I stood, I could see the overgrown paths and shaggy lawn. Oh yeah, and the few hundred vandalized and toppled headstones thrown in just for good measure.

But of course, if Monroe Street were perfect, it wouldn’t need to be restored, I wouldn’t have been there in the first place, and the gang of irritating ghosts wouldn’t have been all over me like—

Well, like ghosts on the world’s one and only private investigator for the dead.

“My hat is missing.” A tall, thin guy, who probably hadn’t looked any better alive than he did dead, rubbed the top of his bald head. “They say you solve mysteries. They told me you could find it.”

“As if she’d waste her time on you!” A woman in a canary yellow gown and one of those big honkin’ picture hats elbowed him out of the way and stepped into my path. “I haven’t heard from my beau. Something terrible must have happened to him. Else he never would have abandoned me. You must find him. They say you have the Gift, and—”

“News flash!” I said this nice and loud so Mr. Hatless and Ms. I-Should-Have-Looked-in-a-Mirror-Before-I-Wore-Yellow-with-My-Waxy-Complexion
and all the rest of the ghosts crowding in on me were sure to hear. There were a couple dozen of them, and I glanced all around, meeting their eyes one after the other. “Missing hats and missing lovers . . . Come on, people, you know that’s not my thing. If you’ve got something important for me to investigate—”