The Cheap Smell of Murder - A Mike Lawson Mystery

They were on their way out when Mike Lawson stopped cold. He put his arm out to block Ernie Lam from going any further.   'Why is the electricity on?' Mike wondered.   'I don’t know,' Ernie shrugged.   'The phone is disconnected. The water is off. There’s a month’s worth of dirty dishes in the sink. The place hasn’t seen a vacuum cleaner since who-knows-when? And there’s enough mail in the box to fill a post office. Does it look like they’re coming back to you?'   'No,' Ernie had to admit. 'It doesn’t.'   'Then why?' Mike asked again.   'How should I know? Anyway, what’s the big deal? You’re not paying the bill. Why do you care?'   Mike turned around and headed for the kitchen.   'Where are you going?' Ernie asked, dogging his heels.   Mike had strong reservations as he stepped back into the kitchen and stood in front of the refrigerator. He hadn’t noticed before but the shelves from inside had been placed on either side of the refrigerator.   'What’s goin’ on?' Ernie asked.   'Do you have a weak stomach?'   'Naw. Cast iron. Why do you ask?'   'You may not want to see this.'   'See what?'   Like a grand showman, Mike opened the door and held out his hand. On display, inside of the refrigerator, the lady of the house, in the flesh.   'Ernie Lam, meet Regina Randell.'   In her day, Regina Randell had been a remarkably handsome woman. Now, stuffed in the refrigerator, she looked like something out of the horror comics. Her pale flesh was stretched across her skull like plastic wrap. Her lips, if you could call them that, were invisible and her opened eyes looked like marbles swimming in smoke.The bodies are stacking up. Children are dying all over the city. And Mike Lawson and Annie O’Grady are right in the middle of the action.Right where they belong.