New Year's Eve Kill by Hudson Taylor

 
     
     
     
    Prologue
     
     
     
     
    Wet ice. Ethel Cunningham hated watery snow. Especially, since she couldn’t wear high heels in the murky half frozen water. She had a hundred things to do today but for now she would battle the elements from outside so her Morkie, Ace, could go downstairs in their building’s courtyard to do his ‘business’.
       Ethel was about to wipe through the steam on her living room window but decided to draw a heart instead. Adding hunky Detective Vince Carpino’s name came to mind, but she quickly left the heart blank.
       Ace seemed to go limp every-time she dressed him for the outside weather. Her dog seemed to have a mind of his own. She put a pink beret over her wavy blonde curls and slid into a jean jumpsuit with purple studs that followed her bosom. Ethel was known for her outrageous dressing habits, and a rather bodacious backside that stands out from her small waist. If she was sitting down, people couldn’t help but notice her blonde hair, sparkling blue eyes and rosy complexion.
       Down the steel steps into the courtyard of their building they went. All the buildings facing each other in the private courtyard named Clover Court shined with sparkly Christmas decorations. The private yard was decked out in its usual—some would say—tacky glory. Big candy canes led to all the building entrances. A huge Noble Fir Christmas tree stood, decorated and a little lopsided, probably due to the melting ice. Still, the decorations were a sight to behold, and at night, many neighbors stood outside in the cold, with something warm in their hands, and all marveling at the lit colors shining. They all relished their luck to have such a pretty private yard in a savage city like New York.
       Even the biggest Grinch couldn’t help but smile when they saw the decorations. The showpiece of the yard was a huge lit Santa Claus and reindeers. The outside Santa had seen better days and through the years had faded so much that it looked like he had a black eye. Still, it was warming to the soul and magical to behold. The cynic would think it kitschy.
       Black ice hid under the mushy snow on the rickety stairs as she slowly walked down each step with much caution. Before Ethel could get her balance, she fell down the stairs and passed out.
     
    Bernice and Barney were getting ready for their Sunday afternoon martini. The mother and son had lived in Clover Court for years and had a bad reputation for talking about people rudely as if they couldn’t hear their salty comments.
       The barking of a dog outside made Bernice waddle to the window first, soon followed by her son. When she opened the window, she saw Ethel lying on the ground. Wet snow was melting from the warmth of her body. Ace barked at them and went back over to Ethel, wagging his tail. The dog barked again when they didn’t move fast enough.
       “Oh, Lord. She is probably dead drunk—the nerve, and on a Sunday!”
       “Mother, I don’t think she’s drunk, she’s bleeding.”
       “Leave it to Ethel Cunningham to ruin my weekend by getting herself hurt.”
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter One
     
     
     
     
    When Ethel woke up, she rubbed her head and felt a gauze bandage. She felt groggy, but tried to sit up. Giving up after fatigue took over, she laid back down. After squinting her eyes a couple of times, she was able to focus. To her surprise, she wasn’t in her apartment. She was in the hospital and it was so eerily quiet, she thought it could be a dream.
       Ethel took a moment to rack her memory and wonder what had happened. She soon remembered the melting snow and falling. Fear soon rose in her like water in a tea kettle when she thought about Ace. Is my dog ok? She was too tired to fight and fell back asleep with memories of being wheeled down a hallway that had blinking lights.
       Opening her eyes once again, she was met with a smiling nurse. “Hello there.