Lubeski continues to bring his readers all the thrills and excitement that they have come to expect from his stories. The Chief of Homicide Detectives, Kurt Chowter, returns. This time he is on the hunt for a killer with guts to think he can hide behind a mask and a white robe; a killer named "Goliath" who runs an organization of killers and thieves; a killer who finds himself running and hiding from his many audacious and shocking crimes. Now it's up to Kurt Chowter and his detectives to track him down before he can strike again.

The Disciples of GOLIATH

By Raymond Lubeski

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2012 Raymond Lubeski
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4685-5987-3

Chapter One

Justin Case rubbed his finger around the top edge of a glass half filled with bourbon. He stared at the liquor bottles on the shelves of the back bar in the Prince Hotel. The smell of sour beer and cigarette smoke lingered in the air from the afternoon crowd that trickled out slowly about an hour before.

The bar was empty except for Justin and "Big Moe," the bartender. Big Moe leaned against the bar, wiping glasses with a clean white towel, making sure they were spotless. He put the last glass down in its place, threw the towel over his shoulder, and walked over to Justin. "Look pal," he said pointing to Justin's drink. "That crap ain't gonna bring Samantha back. You know I loved her too, like a sister, and you know, me and you ..., we're gonna find this scumbag. Believe me he'll get it worse from us compared to what he did to Sam."

Justin looked up and tried to smile, but just nodded with approval.

"Why don't I just dump the drink and you go home and be with your family. Get some rest. We'll talk tomorrow about how we're gonna handle this."

Justin smiled and nodded again. "Thanks Moe," he finally spoke. "You're right as always." He slid his glass across the bar, waved goodbye to his friend and went home.

Justin Case is the adopted brother of the murder victim, Samantha Case. He is a very large man. At six feet, eight inches, he weighs in at close to two hundred eighty pounds. His ice blue eyes are imbedded in a cue ball shaped bald head. Justin is one of three corporate lawyers that handle the affairs of the Case Supermarket chain. He also likes doing what he calls his first love, being a private investigator. Aside from being a lawyer he carries a P.I. license.

Big Moe Spielman, the bartender at the Prince Hotel, also falls into the category of very large men. He's six feet seven and weighs two hundred fifty pounds. His square face is dressed with a boxer's flat nose, brown eyes, and short cropped black hair. The right cheek on his face evinces a three inch scar that he received from a rowdy drunk who pulled a knife while Moe was politely removing him from the bar. Needless to say, the drunk didn't survive the night. Big Moe received two years probation for involuntary manslaughter. He claimed self defense but was found guilty of using excessive force. The judge didn't have an issue giving a light sentence to him. He also has his P.I. license and is Justin's partner.

Justin and Moe were childhood friends and both ended up playing on the defensive line at Penn State with their good friend Kurt Chowter, who just happens to be the chief of detectives with the Clover City police department. Justin and Moe played as freshmen, while Chowter, the senior, watched over them and tried hard to keep them in line. No pun intended

Chapter Two

It was just after 10 o'clock in the morning when Kurt Chowter pulled into the driveway at the Case mansion. He turned off the engine and lowered his visor to check his eyes. He didn't want to have that tired eye look at the meeting. He locked the car and walked slowly up to the front door. He took a deep breath and rang the bell. Roxwell, the butler, answered the door with a formal greeting. He walked the chief of detectives into the study where Samuel B. Case, Roberta, his wife of almost twenty years, and his adopted son Justin, were waiting.

Samuel was the first to extend his hand, "Kurt, my boy, it's so good to see you again," he said and motioned for him to sit down.

"You too sir, although I wish the circumstances were better. I'm so sorry to hear about Samantha."

"Yes ... yes I know," Samuel sadly answered.

Chowter walked over and kissed Roberta, "I'm so sorry Roberta," he muttered under his breath. She nodded thank you and wiped a tear from her eye with a tissue.

Justin waited his turn, and when it came time, the two large men hugged each other. Chowter patted him on the back and then found a chair.

"Would you like a drink Kurt?" Samuel asked. "We're all having bourbon."

"It's a little early for me, but I could certainly understand......." Roxwell didn't wait for Chowter to finish and handed him a glass of bourbon on the rocks. Chowter smiled and took it, and then raised it in a toast to Samantha.

The room suddenly became silent as they took a sip of their drinks and remembered Samantha their own way. Samuel rubbed his forehead with his fingers and looked at the floor. Then he raised his head and directed his words at Chowter.

"Kurt ... our Samantha was so young. She didn't have to die. Especially the way she was murdered. Nobody should die like that." He paused to sip his drink, "I read about how you solved the murders that maniac committed, what was it they called him?"

"The Painter," Justin helped out.

"Yes, that was it. I was wondering if you could put yourself on this case. I want this killer caught before he kills again."

Chowter nodded and answered, "I'm way ahead of you Samuel, already on it."

"Good, good," Samuel said happily. "Another thing, if any of your detectives want to do any moonlighting, I'll pay them. The city will not have to worry about any overtime. Can I do something like that?"

"Sure you can. You can hire them on their free time. I'll pass that on to the guys and let you know. I'm sure Justin and Big Moe are going to be doing some digging on this also." Chowter gave Justin a questionable look.

Justin answered back with an affirmative nod. "Moe and I will be doing some snooping around Kurt, but we'll be working directly with you. Any info we get, you'll have it immediately."

Samuel stood away from his chair. "Well, I don't want to take up any more of your time. I guess this little meeting of ours has come to an end unless somebody has something to add?" He scanned the faces of the others in the room. They all shook their heads. Samuel had a talent for getting right to the point, getting what he wanted, and ending his meetings quickly.

"Then let's toast to success," he said raising his glass again. The others acknowledged by raising their glasses and finishing their drinks.

Justin grabbed Chowter by the elbow and pulled him to the side of the room. "We're going to get him, Kurt," he said with assurance.

"Yes, I know we will. Working together should make it a lot easier to bring this animal down."

"I just hope you can catch him before Big Moe finds him, if you know what I mean," Justin said with a hint of humor. He'd try anything to try and break the cold, somber air.

"Yes, I know exactly what you mean," Chowter answered with a smile and shook Justin's hand. "Thanks again for the meeting. Stay in touch."

Justin nodded and Chowter left through the door that Roxwell held open for him.

Chapter Three

Chowter was in his office early the next morning. He got comfortable in his chair and reached for the remote to his small 13 inch TV. He turned it on. He knew it was important to check the main stream media every so often. The daily news summaries he always received by E-Mail could not communicate the impact of television's visuals. He lingered on CNN only to realize the Anchor man was pontificating about a sport's drug scandal. Why go on and on about something that nobody really cares about, he thought to himself. He switched to Fox News. A man in a wrinkled blue suit said that our economy was bad. Wow, who knew? Five minutes of commercials followed. He figured that more crap was to follow so he hit the off button and called...