It didn't surprise me that Daisy would be the seemingly compassionate one. Daisy seemed like that sort of person, and Faith seemed like the sort of person who desperately needed someone to go to bat for her. "I noticed that Daisy seems to protect Faith."
"Well, I should hope someone would. Everyone treats Faith like utter garbage."
There was a list of running themes during today's visit. Carl was a jerk, Faith was much maligned, and Vi was scary. Everyone loathed the entire family.
"Why do they hate Faith so badly?" Aodhagan asked again.
Eileen exhaled. "Who knows. Probably just because she's the only one of them who wouldn't tear someone's throat out with her teeth. But she should learn. If it weren't for Daisy, I don't know what she'd do."
"Have she and Daisy been friends a long time?" I asked curiously. Maybe they were old school chums like Jackson and Faith were.
Eileen shook her head and then glanced around to make sure we were alone. That meant what she would say next was probably juicy. "Daisy is super sweet. She doesn't even raise her voice. Except to Carl. I've seen her yell at him. I've seen her get in his face. I even saw her slap him once."
"So did we," I added dryly.
"Well, she's a dream to everyone else. An absolute peach. But Carl, she just hated Carl."
"I heard he was kind of a lecher." Aodhagan sat back in his seat. "Did you find that to be true personally?"
Eileen's mouth pressed. "I'm too old for that windbag." She sighed. "Sorry, I forget he's dead. Let's just say I wasn't his type. Even Vi wasn't his type anymore, if you get my meaning."
"Vi was too old for him?" I asked, slightly horrified on Vi's behalf, even though I wasn't her fan. She was probably already twenty years younger than her husband, but it evidently wasn't enough.
"I shouldn't say anything else. I always say the wrong thing."
"He has a badge," I said, indicating to Aodhagan with my head. "That's like a permit to gossip."
She laughed. "Okay, fine. Vi was like twenty years too old for him. He liked the girls young. Like…twenty-five was pushing it for him."
"Then why did he stay with her instead of trying to find a newer model?" I asked.
She glanced at Aodhagan, and he flashed the badge again with a small smile. "Vi had him by the balls. He made her sign this crazy prenup. She had like a million rules. I mean, she had money, but nothing like the kind he had. So when they got married, he gave her this massive prenup covering all the stuff she had to do and how much she'd be without if they got divorced. She would only sign if he said that she got tons if he divorced her for the purposes of cavorting with a younger woman. She stood to lose everything if she did almost anything to piss him off, but he stood to lose everything if he looked for a new wife."
Eileen had been a great source of information, but we couldn't take up her entire afternoon. We thanked her and headed up another floor to find a single massive room where the jumble of droning voices filled the air like discordant music. "It's some kind of call center," I whispered. Aodhagan had likely already figured that one out, but still.
We decided that that it was pointless to try to get information from the staff, as the only ones who were not moving were on the phones. All the other employees were in constant motion. No one here was going to want to take a minute to talk to us, and the one thing I knew from interviewing witnesses for books was that if someone didn't want to talk to you, the information you got just wouldn't be as good.
We headed to the sixth floor. A tiny sign like the others told me this was Logistics and Distribution. In other words, the people who organized the tremendous amount of shipping that had to go into a business as big as Crowe. They didn't ship things from this building, but someone had to manage all of it from some other location. There were likely trucks, planes, trains, mail, all sorts of grinding gears to organize. I couldn't imagine what Logistics might have to tell us, but they were the closest to the seventh floor and the golden Mecca, so it was worth checking. It was quiet inside, but we could hear the buzz of voices and followed it until we could see a large staff meeting occurring behind large windows. The rest of the place was empty. We wouldn't gain anything by interrupting them. They'd just be annoyed and not forthcoming.
We headed back to the elevator and hit the top floor button. The heart of the business. The floor where the Crowe crew spent their time when they weren't destroying my house. It was ridiculously quiet when the elevator doors snicked open. Even the hallways were carpeted, though the other levels had all been hardwood. It was white shag. I assumed that Vi was responsible for that monstrosity, though she didn't seem like the warmth type. Unlike the other levels, the walls were decorated with large pictures of classic Cadillacs. I pointed to the closest one.
"I think we can guess why he was in your car."
Aodhagan nodded. "He probably couldn't resist."
The hallways divided into offices, each one with a gold sign beside the door. They were all there. Robert, Vi, and Carl Crowe were closest to us on the left side of the hall. Carl, Jackson, Daisy, Glen, James, and Leslie had offices on the right side of hall. Faith didn't have one. As far as I was aware, Vi didn't even actually work for Crowe Appliances. But she had an office, and Faith, who did work for her father, didn't.
A receptionist with exceedingly shiny and smooth black hair sat behind a kidney-shaped desk directly ahead of us, looking carefully uninterested in why we were there. The two security guards seated on either side of her, however, did seem quite curious. There wasn't anything we could do but talk to them. We couldn't duck into an office without them noticing.
Aodhagan approached and showed them the badge, introducing himself as the sheriff of Birdwell, the town where Carl had died. I joined him, doing my best to look friendly. It was a chore since I didn't know how to look friendly. My resting state was disdain. I probably looked mildly disconcerting instead, but they didn't immediately object.
"None of the family is in," the receptionist told us with a placid smile.
"Yes, we know. They're in Birdwell."
We all just stood there and stared at each other. I hoped they would offer something useful, and they clearly hoped we'd just go away. "Can you tell us who might have wanted Carl dead?" Aodhagan asked at last.
The receptionist's smile slipped. "I'm sure we don't know. The whole thing is just a tragedy."
One of the security guards caught my eye, and I could see he was trying to communicate something to me by waggling his eyebrows. Unfortunately, I didn't speak fluent eyebrow. "Can we talk with each of you in an office for just a moment?" I asked primly.
They all looked like they were preparing to object, and Aodhagan simply looked surprised. I didn't give them time. I pointed at Eyebrows. "You there, could you show us somewhere we could question you?"
He nodded. "Of course."
We followed him down the hall to a reception area. It wasn't exactly an office, but we were far enough away to avoid being overheard. "What's your name?" I asked him as soon as we were out of earshot.
"Keith."
"What's with the eyebrows, Keith?"
Aodhagan stared at me. I probably sounded either crazy or crazy judgmental.
Keith laughed slightly. "I didn't know what else to do."
Aodhagan finally caught on. "I see. What is it you have to share with us? Is it about Carl?"
Keith bit his bottom lip. "Kind of. It's mostly about the others. Look, I can't talk long. Trina and David will get suspicious, but there's not a person in this office who didn't want Carl dead. That whole family was out of their dang minds. I'm surprised that none of them were already murdered before Carl."
"Why do you say that?"
"Look, they were all good at doing the wrong things, but they were all bad at keeping their mouths shut. Carl was sleeping with everyone, and I do mean everyone, who works on this floor." Keith leaned forward. "Unless they sprang from his loins, I literally mean every. One. Of. Them."
"Even the men?" Aodha
gan asked for clarification, but I had a more pressing question.
"Even Leslie?"
Keith nodded. First to me and then to Aodhagan. "All of them."
"He was having an affair with his own daughter-in-law?" I asked.
Keith shrugged. "His daughter-in-law, his future son-in-law. Even Daisy, and Lord knows she wasn't into it."
I pushed aside my vague disgust that one man could be so unappealing and yet sleep with so many people. "Was Daisy interested in someone else?"
Keith barked out a laugh but then glanced around, lowering his voice. "Daisy isn't into Carl's type. If you catch my drift."
"I don't," I said, losing my patience with all the water cooler euphemisms we'd been getting. We needed information before the others got curious and came over.
"Daisy is a lesbian?" Aodhagan clarified, taking meaning where I hadn't.
"Right on the first guess. But Carl didn't care. He didn't care about anyone. Or anything but sex and appliances."
I scratched my neck, mulling over that statement. Not that Daisy was same-sex oriented. I didn't find that shocking, but I was still ruminating on Carl's only interests being indiscriminate sex and appliances.
"How did he convince her, then?" Aodhagan asked.
Keith glanced down the hallway, and I heard the steps after he apparently did. "He knew he had leverage over her. I gotta go."
The receptionist, apparently Trina, eyed all of us suspiciously as Keith nodded at her and ran toward his position next to her desk. "I called security. I'm going to need you to leave unless you have a warrant."
Aodhagan cocked his head. "I didn't know we'd need one in a place where I assume everyone is just as eager as we are to find out why someone wanted Carl dead."
Trina's mouth tightened. "These offices are private spaces, full of sensitive information. You need to go."
Aodhagan nodded. "Sure. Thanks."
I didn't know what he was thanking her for, but I followed him out of the reception area and back to the elevator. She stood, arms crossed, watching us until the elevator doors slid closed.
I waited a long moment before turning to him. "Ewww."
He nodded sagely. "That's a lot of really unappealing-sounding sex. I wonder what leverage he had over Daisy. Or any of them. They can't all have been so lustful for power that they agreed to it."
I shook my head as the door slid open on the bottom floor. "I guess we could just ask them?"
Aodhagan laughed. "We could, but somehow I suspect we won't exactly get straight answers. Look, there's Moe."
When we got into the car, the aroma of Khao kluk kapit permeated the cab. My mouth immediately started to water, and I grabbed the box on top of the pile. "God bless you, young Moe."
He nodded. "Back to the airport?" he asked Aodhagan.
Aodhagan nodded, grabbing the next box. It was Nam prik noom. Another favorite. These weren't the typical Thai dishes, but they were some of my favorites. How had Moe known? I had no idea, but it was worth the extra hundred. It was even worth my eyes watering when the hot spices touched my torn tongue.
"Are you a psychic?" I asked through a full mouth.
"I'm so many things," he said sagely.
For the moment, I was willing to believe him.
The trip back to the airport still occurred recklessly, but at least I didn't get any bodily injuries. We closed up the boxes and tucked them back into the bags to carry to the plane. Moe got out and held the doors for us, like he was running a limousine here.
"Well, thanks for your help, Moe." Aodhagan shook his hand.
"No problem, my friend. You help everyone else, so you deserve a turn."
"How do you know he helps everyone else?" I took my turn at his hand.
"I'm a fantastic study in human nature and wise beyond my years. For instance, you're still learning things you ought to know by now."
I didn't have the liveliness to be bothered by that comment, especially since it was true. "You learned all this from talking to us for an hour?"
"Sure." He smiled wide. "People always reveal themselves in casual conversation. Even when they don't mean to." He headed toward the door of his SUV. "Good luck."
"Hey," Aodhagan called out.
Moe stopped. "Yeah?"
Aodhagan cocked his head. "Do you love Dallas?"
It was an odd question, and I had no idea why he was asking it.
Moe raised an eyebrow. He clearly didn't either. "Actually, I've only been here three weeks. This is my third job. I'm from Portland."
Aodhagan pulled out his wallet and grabbed a business card. "I'm looking for an assistant. It's a small, kind of boring place, but I'm not a bad boss and the pay doesn't suck. If you're interested, call me."
I was stunned. But maybe I shouldn't have been. Moe was one of the weirdest people I'd ever met. He probably did belong in Birdwell.
Moe looked up. "What the heck kind of name is this?"
Aodhagan laughed. "You can call me Mac. If you're interested, let me know."
"I will." He sounded as confused as I was.
We boarded the plane, and I carefully spread out the food. We had sixty-five minutes before we were slated to take off. I was eating me some Thai.
"I didn't know you were looking for an assistant," I said around my full mouth.
He shrugged. "I didn't either until earlier."
I had to laugh at that one. "What was the deciding factor? The part where he rammed a curb, or the part where he psychically ordered my favorite Thai?"
"Actually, I think it was the 'Jimmy Crack Corn.' I've always loved that song."
It was another short flight back into Tallatahola, and we were home before six. With any luck, no one had even noticed we were gone. But especially not Connie B. or the Crowe crew. Aodhagan called Junior the minute we were in the door, asking him to gather all the video he could find of the Spring Fest and splice it together into a single data stick. Lucky bounded down the stairs and hissed at me before curling himself around Aodhagan's legs. Aodhagan absently scratched him behind the ears, listening to Junior's explanation about what the Crowes had been doing. When the conversation was over, he grabbed a couple of beers from the refrigerator—and it wasn't even Friday—and indicated with his head. I followed him into his private sanctum.
It contained all his personal things, his books, his massive music system, his instruments, and a pool table. The stuff that made the house feel lived in where the rest of place felt like it was a display house. We flopped into chairs and put up our feet. He had only one obscenely comfortable chair and one average one. I kept trying to steal the comfortable one, and eventually I would succeed and his chair would become mine. It was big enough we could both fit in it, but I definitely wasn't going to be asking for that privilege today.
"Junior says that the Crowe crew spent the entire day at the property. He went back in the afternoon, and they were still there. So no worries about them figuring out we were all up in their business today."
"What do you think about what that guard Keith said? Do you think he's right, that everyone not related to Carl was sleeping with him? That's…a lot."
Aodhagan shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. I got the definite gossip vibe from most people in that office, but gossip doesn't mean it isn't true. Just that it might not be. What I really want to know is if all the members of the family hold the same amount of stock. Because if they do, then Jackson might actually be on to something trying to get Faith's stock. Even if she doesn't give it to him, she's not going to live forever, as sick as she is. He could easily end up running that place."
"Do you think Carl hated him enough to stop them being together? Because otherwise, Jackson would have no reason to kill Carl. He could have just married Faith with a live Carl and gotten the same benefit."
Aodhagan shrugged, taking a big swig. "Who knows. Jackson had no apparent medical training. I mean, he and Leslie are the only ones, and we can't know if it's true unless we ask them. But assuming the staff in Dal
las is right, even if Jackson had the motive, he didn't have the means. Or he got freaking lucky."
I pointed at him. "What about Vi? That crazy prenup kept Carl with her, but it also kept her trapped. Killing him might have seemed like the only viable option if she wanted away from him. Especially if she didn't know that all of his money was going to a cat sanctuary after he died."
He nodded. "And Robert would certainly have a good motive for killing his father, if Carl was just banging his wife with impunity. But we need to find out what's in that will. If it's actually the cat sanctuary, we need to find out why and if the family was aware. That could tell us a lot. Because however mad he was and however much Vi might have wanted out, I doubt that they would have killed Carl if they knew about Little Beans Cat Sanctuary."
"How will we find out for sure, though? It's not like their lawyer is just going to tell us, even with the badge."
Aodhagan sighed. "I could ask Vi. If I ask nicely, I think she'll tell me."
I glanced at him, working hard to keep my expression steady. "How nicely?"
"Nice enough. But no nicer."
"You could get yourself in trouble with the cops if you get too cozy," I pointed out, because telling him my other feelings on the subject would hardly be helpful. To him or to myself. "It will just look like you have even more motive."
He shook his head. "Definitely not that nicely, and definitely in public. How do you feel about dinner at the Café?"
I groaned. "Like taking antacids in anticipation."
CHAPTER TEN
The Home Cooking Café was the only restaurant in Birdwell, and it was always busy, even though their food tasted like musty roadkill. It, along with the hair salon next door, was owned by Thelma Sue, she of the giant red beehive, teeny tiny clothes, and the never ending gossip. Maybe she knew something, though I wasn't sure what her source would have been. Thelma Sue was the last person people like the Crowe crew would be friends with. It couldn't hurt to ask while we waited for Vi, though.
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