Jeffrey Cohen - As Dog Is My Witness: Another Aaron Tucker Mystery (Aaron Tucker Mysteries)

O THER B OOKS BY J EFFREY C OHEN

F ICTION

• For Whom the Minivan Rolls : An Aaron TuckerMystery

• A Farewell to Legs: An Aaron TuckerMystery

N ON -F ICTION

• The Asperger Parent: How to Raise A Childwith Asperger Syndrome and Maintain Your Sense of Humor (AAPC)

• Guns A Blazing: Parents Of Children On TheAutism Spectrum And Schools (AAPC)

Copyright 2005 byJeffrey Cohen

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form orby electronic means, including information storage and retrievalsystems, without written permission from the publisher, except by areviewer, who may quote passages in a review.

All the characters in this book are fictitious, andany resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purelycoincidental.

Bancroft Press (Books that enlighten)

P.O. Box 65360, Baltimore, MD 21209

800-637-7377

410-764-1967 (fax)

www.bancroftpress.com

Cover and interior design: Tammy Sneath Grimes,Crescent Communications www.tsgcrescent.com 814.941.7447

Author photo: Eve Cohen

ISBN 978-1-61088-000-8

LCCN 2005931487

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Damn, it was cold!

If this was what December felt like, Michael Hustonwas not happily looking forward to February. Still, he thought,zipping up his coat just a little higher, there were worse thingsthan walking your dog, even on a freezing night like this one.

The dog, a Dalmatian named (appropriately enough)Dalma, was taking her sweet time doing what walks are for, soMichael steered her toward what was her favorite spot, in front ofthe house that belonged to Tom Molinari, North Brunswick, NewJerseys mayor. Through Thinsulate gloves, Michael fingered theplastic bag hed bought at Shop Rite for pooper-scooper use.

Michael hadnt wanted a dog, but now he found heliked the quiet time spent every evening with Dalmait not only ledto some inspired thinking, but heightened his senses. Noticing astrange sound coming from the green house on the corner, winter andsummer, he tried to determine what it might be (it turned out to bethe motor for a fish tank aerator). He enjoyed making up storiesabout the strangers who walked by with their own dogs, andwondering how close he might be to the truth. He even liked the actof cleaning up after Dalma because it made him feel like aresponsible citizen: theres some poop that wont be left on thestreet!

Tonight, however, he was in a hurry, and it wasntjust because of the cold. His wife, Karen, had made a point ofkissing him twice before he left with the dog tonight, and he knewwhat that meant. It would be good to get home quickly.

In seven years of marriage, Karen and Michael (andhe always gave her top billing) had established a very strongunspoken understandingthey knew each other so well they didntfinish each others sentences so much as each others thoughtsandtwo kisses placed on the lower lip clearly meant come backsoonIll be waiting for you.

Come on, dog!

Michael, anticipating a night most men only dreamabout, thought a lot about his marriagesomething most men rarelydo. The majority of married couples, he believed, were on autopilotafter the first year. They stayed married because it never occurredto them not to stay married, but they certainly didnt put the timeand thought into the relationship that couples like Karen &Michael (he also thought of them with an ampersand between theirnames, like a corporations logo) clearly did, and that was whatput them in the rarefied company of People Whose Marriages WereStill Love Affairs.

Dalma took her sweet time (she knew that once shewas done, it would be a quick sprint back to the house, and hercrate for the night), but eventually, the lure of Mayor Molinarislawn, with all its fond memories and aromas, was too much toresist, and she assumed the position.

Michael felt for the plastic bag in his pocket, andtook it out, inverting it so the Shop Rite logo would be on theoutside when he was done with his task. Most people didnt careabout such details, but he did. He wasnt sure why.

Having completed the clean-up, Michael steered thedog back in the direction of home. Because his marriage was thecentral point in his life, the thing around which everything elserevolved, the upcoming night of passion with a woman hed knownandslept withfor nine years was an all-consuming thought. He barelynoticed the patch of ice in front of Mr. Indiks house, but managedto avoid slipping on it at the last second. Come on, Dalma, wereonly two blocks away!

He was so lost in the reverie of anticipation thathe hardly noticed the man in the brown parka approaching him.Otherwise, Michael would have seen the big, hooded, fur-lined coatlike the one Elliot Gould wore in the movie M*A*S*H. In othercircumstances, he would have seen the hood obscuring the mansface.

And in all likelihood, Michael would have seen thestrange-looking antique pistol in the mans right hand. Not that itwould have done him much good.

Michaels last thought was: How can that guy go outon a night like tonight without gloves?

Part One Friends

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

Part Two Family

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

EPILOGUE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS