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The Corpulent Corpse

by Craig Faustus Buck

About the Author: Author/screenwriter Craig Faustus Buck's debut noir novel, GO DOWN HARD, was published by Brash Books in 2015 and was First Runner Up for the Claymore Award. He won the Macavity Award and has been nominated twice for the Anthony Award for Best Short Story. He generally writes noir, but this story marks his first stab at cozy. He is President of Mystery Writers of America SoCal and a Director at Large of Sisters in Crime LA. For free stories and more info: CraigFaustusBuck.com

Excerpt

Dina Livingston, Esq. charged into the cramped office like a runaway truck.

“I know. I’m late,” she said, collapsing into Detective Maurice Tubert’s worn leather chair. Her long red hair settled across the right shoulder of her tailored suit. Armani, thought Tubert, the suit obviously being expensive and Armani being the only high-end designer name he knew.

“I had to wait for one last heir to sign the settlement agreement on the Dutton estate,” she said, “and she was an hour and twelve minutes late. The price of being seamstress to the stars. Angelina Jolie had an evening gown crisis, so Elaine Dutton had to detour for an emergency house call.”

“Dr. Livingston, I presume?”

Dina Livingston gave him a derisive smile. “Gosh, I never heard that one before.”

Tubert felt foolish and could tell from her wide-set blue eyes that she sensed it and found it amusing. She pulled an envelope from her purse and dropped it on the desk in front of him. “Here’s the letter I told you about on the phone.”

“It’s been a year since Fannell Dutton’s death,” said Tubert. “Why did this letter take so long to surface?”

“When Fannell died, it got ugly fast. His three kids never got along. And I don’t blame them. As executor of the estate I can attest that every last one of them is a pain in the assets. It takes a lot of ego to make a twelve-bedroom, sixteen-bath mansion feel claustrophobic.”

“The Dutton heirs all live in the same house?”

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