The Passing of the Seasons

They found the old man's bullet-riddled body in twenty feet of water. Slashed throat, caved-in skull, cement overshoes. The works. So the first problem was cause of death. And the second was identification. Who the heck was he? The cops were baffled. That's why they called me.

I'm Sam Club, Discount Dick. Most of my clients like me because I'm cheap, but I think the cops are just looking for someone to stick with this.

They were lucky to find the old guy, actually. Fisherman hooked a tattered old swatch of cloth with illegible printing on it. Best I could tell, it said "10." Part of it, at least. When the angler peeked over the side of his boat, he saw something that looked fishy. Well, unfishy, actually. Then they dredged up the body.

But the really funny thing ... odd, that is ... is the other mystery. That would be the abandoned baby. Turned up on the same day as the old man's corpse. The kid had barely arrived. Newborn, by the look of it. Had to be rushed to Brack with multiple organ failure. They've got him on life support, tubes sticking out all over the place, IV bag, monitors, the works. Not expected to survive the week ... or the year, at the outside. What kind of a mother does that to her child, I ask.

Oh, but the really odd bit. The baby was wearing nothing but a sort of sash with the word (or number) "2011" on it. Same kind of cloth as they found near the old dude, too. Could his mother have taken him to a New Year's party and then abandoned him? Oh, did I mention that all this funny stuff took place on New Year's Day? What a way to start a new year, huh?

I keep thinking there's some connection between the cases. Probably staring me in the face. But hey, I'm just the Discount Dick.