The Cold Case Geniuses

by David Krugler

About the Author: David Krugler has two stories in Mystery Magazine: "Two Sharks Walk into a Bar" (September 2022) and "Every Fire Wants to Kill" (August 2023). Another story, "Kit's Pad," appeared in the November/December 2023 issue of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. "Two Sharks Walk Into A Bar" is also included in The Mysterious Bookshop Presents the Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2023.

Excerpt

An hour before the launch of their new app, ColdCaseGenius, Matthew and Jeremy were supposed to be checking the code one last time. Instead, an intruder brandishing a handgun and wearing a rubber Richard Nixon mask had zip-tied them to their office chairs. He wore crisp blue jeans and a beige chore jacket, the kind hipsters thought farmers wore.

“We don’t have any money,” Jeremy sputtered.

“No kidding.” The intruder glanced around their office. His expression was inscrutable because of the mask, but Matthew imagined he wasn’t impressed. The space was small and shabby. Paint peeled from the ceiling corners, the desks had chipped tops, and the linoleum floor crackled with every step. A metal shelving unit they found in the alley was piled high with computer components—hard drives, keyboards, monitors—and Jeremy’s collection of obsolete hardware. Cords dangled everywhere, twisted and tangled. Techno-ivy, Matthew had dubbed that mess.

“Take whatever gear you want, man,” Jeremy pleaded.

A muffled chortle came out from Nixon’s enormous grin. Did President Nixon really have that big of a mouth? Matthew absurdly wondered. History had been his least favorite subject in school. Keeping the gun pointed at them, the intruder walked to the shelf and pried open the lid of a thirty-year-old Toshiba Satellite laptop.

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