A Killer Column

by Casey Mayes

“Tell him how you did it,” Jenny said with a smile.

  “He doesn’t need to know everything,” I answered, hoping Zach would drop it.

  “I just assumed you asked Benjamin.”

  “I tried that first,” I admitted, “but he was gone; at least we thought he was.”

  Zach stroked his chin, and then said, “If I had to guess, I’d say that you impersonated Sylvia with the front desk clerk.”

  Jenny looked shocked by my husband’s guess. “She did! How could you possibly know that?”

  “You keep forgetting I used to do this for a living,” Zach said. “That means we can mark Sylvia off the list for the attempt on Kelsey, but not Derrick’s murder.”

  “We’re having a tough time eliminating suspects for that, aren’t we?” I asked.

  Zach shrugged. “I’m fairly certain that we can strike Lassiter’s name off all of our lists.”

  “How could we possibly do that? Did he say something?”

  Zach smiled as he finished the last bite of his pie.

  “Come on, that’s not fair. We told you everything we know,” I said. “Now it’s your turn.”

  Jenny raised an eyebrow as she looked at me. “Savannah, that’s not everything.”

  “Shhh,” I said. I wasn’t certain what she was talking about, but I didn’t want to spoil her play.

  Zach’s smile disappeared. “You two aren’t holding out on me, are you?”

  “That depends. Are you keeping anything from us?”

  He put his fork down and wiped his lips. “Fine, I’ll tell you. Lassiter has a pretty good alibi for the day of the murder. He didn’t want to tell me until I started putting a little pressure on him.”

  “How good could it be?” I asked.

  “If it checks out, it’s pretty solid. Lassiter claims that he was with his attorney discussing his settlement with Derrick when the man was murdered,” Zach said. “That’s what triggered the sale of the syndicate you all belong to, Savannah. Derrick was going to use the money he got from the proceeds to pay off Lassiter so he wouldn’t sue him over their land deal that went sour. It turned out he wasn’t as free and clear of it as he’d originally thought, and this was his way to make it go away for good.”

  “But he fired half his syndication group, including me.”

  “That was for show only, trust me. It was a way he could put the screws to all of you one last time, but he had no intention of firing anyone. He needed you all as part of the group to make the sale go through. Lassiter laughed in my face when I accused him of murder. His point was, why would he kill his golden goose before he got any eggs, and I tend to agree with him. I’m going to look into it and see if it’s true. Now, tell me what else you two learned today.”

  I looked as innocent as I could manage. “I have no idea what she’s talking about.”

  Jenny said, “Come on, we learned something else.”

  “I’m just as curious as Zach is,” I said.

  “I just assumed you saw it, too. When Brady came out the first time, there was something sticking to his foot.”

  “It was just a piece of paper,” I said, remembering the paper, but dismissing it as unimportant.

  “Was it? From where I stood, it looked as though it had been torn out of a telephone directory. That’s the same thing we found in Derrick’s suitcases. It can’t just be a coincidence, can it?”

  “No, but I’ve got to admit that I missed it,” I said.

  “Don’t feel bad. From where you were standing, you probably couldn’t see it as clearly as I could.”

  “But what does it mean?” Zach asked.

  “When we get back to Jenny’s, we’re going to have to take a closer look at those telephone books,” I said. “But right now, it’s time to go see Mindi and find out how she can suddenly afford to stay at the Brunswick Hotel.”

  Zach tried to signal for the bill, but Clayton was pointedly ignoring him. “Why won’t he come over here?” my husband asked.

  “I was afraid of that,” Jenny said. “He’s not going to take your money, either.”

  “They don’t charge you? For pie like this? Are you serious?” I’d rarely seen my husband so baffled and amazed at the same time.

  “Not a dime. If I try to leave so much as a tip, I get it back in the next day’s mail.”

  “Jenny, what exactly did you do for them?”

  She wouldn’t answer, but simply shrugged.

  “At least I can try to handle it myself,” Jenny said.

  She approached Clayton, who shook his head vigorously. I heard him say, “Don’t make me get Sherrie out here again. I don’t want to, but I will if you force me to.”

  “Thank you for the coffee and pie,” Jenny said. “Please be sure to thank Sherrie, too.”

  “Don’t stay away so long the next time, young lady.”

  “If I come back sooner, will you let me pay?”

  He shook his head solemnly. “You know that’s not happening. Good night, folks,” he called out to us.

  Zach and I both thanked him profusely, and as we were leaving, we saw another man approach Clayton. “Is the food free for everyone tonight? If it is, I want to add to my order.”

  “Harry, we both know you can afford whatever I charge, and if you want to keep having access to Sherrie’s food, you’ll pay it with a smile.”

  “I was just kidding,” Harry said as he slipped a twenty to Clayton.

  When we were outside, I said, “I feel bad depriving them of income.”

  “You heard me in there,” Jenny said. “They won’t take my money.”

  My husband asked, “I wonder if she makes Shoofly pie? My grandmother used to make it on special occasions, and I haven’t tasted any as good as hers in a long time.” He got a faraway look on his face as he added, “I bet Sherrie could do it if I asked her to.”

  “Come on, champ,” I said as I led him to our car. “You’ve had enough pie for one day.”

  “Is there even such a thing as too much?” he asked.

  As Jenny and I got in, I said, “Thank them again for us, would you?”

  “The next time I’m there, I promise to,” she replied.

  I looked back into the diner and saw Clayton and Sherrie there, side by side, waving and smiling at my friend. I couldn’t help wondering what service she’d rendered that was worth such special treatment, but then again, Jenny was like that. If she saw a friend in need, she’d move heaven and earth to help them, and I was the biggest example of that behavior in the world at the moment.

  It was one of her most endearing traits, and I was thankful again for the college roommate lottery that had thrown us together in the first place. It was time to head over to the Brunswick and see what Mindi Mills was up to.

  “HOW ARE WE GOING TO FIND MINDI’S ROOM?” JENNY asked me as we walked into the Brunswick Hotel’s lobby.

  “I’m going to call her on the house phone,” I said.

  Zach asked, “How are you going to get her to come down here?”

  “I’m going to say we found Derrick’s shoes, the ones she seemed to be so attached to.”

  “But we gave those back to Cary,” Jenny said.

  “Yes, but I’m guessing that Mindi doesn’t know that.”

  I picked up one of the courtesy phones in the lobby and dialed zero.

  “Yes?” a pretentious voice answered.

  “Mindi Mills, please.”

  “One moment,” he said. At least she hadn’t blocked her calls. The phone rang ten times, and then went to voice mail. I decided not to leave one, and hung up.

  “She’s not there.”

  “Could she be in the restaurant or the bar?” Zach asked.

  “It’s worth a look.”

  We walked to the restaurant, which was crowded with very well-dressed diners. I didn’t spot Mindi, though, or Cary, either.

  “If she’s not at the bar, I say we talk to Cary again, since we’re already here,” Zach said. “That is, if I’m allowed to tag along
this time.”

  “What can it hurt?” I asked.

  “Wow, I can really feel the love in the room.”

  As we walked into the bar, it took my eyes a second to adjust to the low light level. I almost gave up when Zach touched my arm. “Well, I never imagined we’d see that.”

  “What?” I asked.

  “Look over in the corner.”

  I followed his gesture, and saw that Mindi was having a drink, but that wasn’t what had stunned my husband. It had to be her drinking companion.

  It was Cary Duncan, and from the look of things, the two of them were as thick as thieves.

  “MAY WE JOIN YOU?” I ASKED AS WE APPROACHED THEIR table.

  Mindi looked a little intimidated by our presence, but Cary certainly took it in stride. “Actually, we were just leaving.”

  She stood, and Mindi followed.

  “Good, I hate bars, don’t you? We can talk in the lobby.”

  We followed them out of the bar, and Cary said, “Frankly, I’m tired of answering your questions. You’ve become more tedious than the police.”

  “We just have a few,” I said. I kept obsessing over the telephone books, and I wanted to see if Cary knew why her husband might have been squirreling so many away. “When Jenny and I cleaned up Derrick’s suite, we found quite a few telephone books.”

  Cary nodded sadly. “I wondered why you didn’t give me any when you brought his suitcases. Derrick was obsessed with pilfering the things. You should see our garage. There’s one entire wall of shelves loaded down with them. It was a little quirk of his, taking souvenirs from everywhere he ever stayed.”

  That answered that question, even if the response was less than satisfactory.

  “We just have one more, then,” Zach said. “How did you two get to be such fast friends? Was it before Derrick died, or has it been since then?”

  Mindi blanched a little, but Cary just smiled. “Imagine how surprised I was to find that we have so much in common. Apparently Derrick’s tastes were more similar than anyone could have imagined.”

  “Are you saying you actually like your husband’s mistress?” Jenny asked unbelievingly.

  Cary waved a hand in the air. “That’s all in the past, isn’t it? If we can give each other a little solace in this time of need, why shouldn’t we take advantage of it?”

  I had a wild guess, and decided to try it before I lost my nerve. “Is that why you moved her here to your hotel?”

  Cary was about to deny it when Mindi spoke up first. “She was just doing me a favor. I couldn’t stand staying there after what happened.”

  Cary looked at Mindi as though she wanted to gag her, but I was going to take advantage of her candor. “So, nobody answered our question. How long have you two been friends?”

  “We aren’t friends,” Cary said harshly, and then immediately backed off the bold statement when she saw Mindi flinch. “Honestly, I didn’t even know she existed until she came to my room the day after Derrick was murdered. Naturally I was reluctant to speak with her, but she made some good points, and I decided to give her a chance. After all, who better to know what I’m going through than someone else who loved my husband?”

  Mindi started nodding, but she kept her mouth shut.

  That was too bad. I would love to get them apart so I could grill them individually, but I wasn’t sure how to do it. Zach must have been reading my mind.

  He said, “Cary, I’d love a moment of your time, if you wouldn’t mind.”

  “Whatever for?”

  “It’s related to something Frank Lassiter told me about you. I just want to confirm it before I go to the police with what I’ve uncovered.”

  “What did that weasel say about me?” she asked, her eyes flashing with anger.

  “Do you really want to discuss it here?” He gestured around the lobby, and Cary reluctantly nodded.

  “There’s a quiet corner over there.” Before she left, she turned to Mindi and said, “I’ll be right back.”

  After they were gone, I asked, “What’s really going on, Mindi?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “We’re not buying your ‘best buddies’ act. The last time we spoke to you, you hated Cary, and now you two are nearly inseparable. Something changed. I’m just wondering what it was.”

  Mindi frowned. “I didn’t know her before. Now that I understand where she’s coming from, I’m actually starting to like her.”

  “It couldn’t hurt that she’s paying your expenses now, either.”

  “I earned that much at least, after the way Derrick treated me.”

  That answer surprised me. “Isn’t it a little odd that his widow is the one covering the tab for his mistress?”

  “You heard Cary. There’s nothing wrong with what we’re doing.”

  I wished I’d had more time, but Cary came storming back. “Let’s go, Mindi. We’re finished here.”

  She didn’t say a word as she accompanied Cary onto the elevator.

  After they were gone, I asked Zach, “What happened?”

  “Sorry, I couldn’t keep her any longer than I did. I had to let her know that Lassiter accused her of cheating on Derrick. She denied it of course, and when I pressed her on it, she got hostile, not that it was a long reach for her. Were you able to get anything out of Mindi?”

  “Not really,” I said. “She seems to be Cary’s biggest fan now. When I asked her about Cary paying for her stay, she implied that it was owed to her, for some reason. I’m not exactly certain what she meant by that.”

  “Somebody’s playing someone else,” Zach said. “I just can’t figure out who is doing exactly what just yet.”

  “Well, we’d better hurry. I’m not sure how long we can keep this up.”

  “Don’t worry,” he said, touching my shoulder lightly. “We’ll figure this out. I’m sure of it.”

  “I’m not at all certain how we’re going to do that. We’ve run out of people to interview,” Jenny said. “Where does that leave us?”

  “We go back to your place and start looking at the evidence we’ve collected,” I said.

  “Do you honestly think the answer’s in Derrick’s planner?”

  “It could be in the telephone books, too,” I replied, “but yes, there’s got to be something there that can help us in our investigation. At first I thought those telephone books in Derrick’s suitcase were just there as a substitute for something about the same weight, but after you mentioned that torn page stuck to Brady’s foot, I’m not so sure.”

  Jenny said, “Listen, I’ve been thinking about it, and I can’t be one hundred percent positive that’s what it was.”

  “It’s another place to look,” I said. “What do you say? Do we head back to Jenny’s?”

  “Is there any way we can stop off for more pie on our way?”

  I laughed at my husband’s question. “I think you’ve had enough for one day.”

  “Hey, it doesn’t hurt to ask.”

  When we got back to Jenny’s, I was surprised to see a squad car pulled up in her driveway.

  Zach opened the car door as he said, “You two stay here for a second.”

  I wasn’t even going to fight him on it this time.

  He walked to the cruiser, and a young uniformed officer got out of his car. After he and Zach held a brief conversation, the officer got back in and drove off.

  Zach motioned us forward, and I pulled the car up to him.

  When we got out, I asked, “What was that all about?”

  “Murphy had him staking the place out. He’s doing what we asked him to do.”

  “Yes, but it’s going to be hard to find someone on the videotape if he’s got an armed officer stationed out front all of the time.”

  Zach shrugged. “We can’t have it both ways. Maybe someone will show up tonight.”

  “At this point, I don’t know what to wish for,” Jenny said.

  “The worst thing that can happen right now is for this
guy to just disappear. We need to catch him in the act so you can resolve this once and for all.”

  “You’re right,” Jenny said as she shivered slightly. “Can we go inside now? I feel kind of exposed, just standing here.”

  I put my arm around her and said, “Of course we can. Don’t worry, Jenny, it’s going to be all right.”

  “I know everyone’s doing their best, but I still wish it was all over, do you know what I mean?”

  Thinking about the cloud of suspicion hanging over me for Derrick’s murder, I could easily relate. “Yes, I kind of do.”

  She smiled, and then hugged me. “Of course you do. What do you say we go inside and see if we can make something happen?”

  “I’m all for it.”

  Chapter 20

  ZACH SAID, “I’LL GRAB THE PLANNER, AND ONE OF YOU can take the copy Jenny made. Whoever draws the short straw gets to look at the telephone books.”

  I volunteered, “I’ll take the phone books.”

  “Good,” Zach said. “Then let’s get to work.”

  They took the planner and its copy out from under the pile of newspapers where I’d stashed them, and I went into Jenny’s office to retrieve the telephone books. The box was heavy, but I lugged it into the living room anyway. I wanted us all to work together, and if there was a discovery made, I wanted to be in on it. I didn’t have much hope for the telephone books, but I had a hard time believing that the torn page stuck to Brady’s foot, if that’s what it was, was simply a coincidence. Zach had taught me long ago that there was no such thing in an investigation, and I believed him.

  I opened the box and reached inside for the first book. It was for all of Raleigh, and it weighed a ton. At first, I leafed through the pages, hoping something had been stuck somewhere, but there were no letters, no last-second wills, and there was certainly nothing there that even resembled a clue. Next, I started fanning the pages, looking to see if Derrick had written anything in the margins. I thought I had a hit, and I almost said something to Zach and Jenny, when I realized that someone had written a note about a business meeting three months prior.

  It was going to be a long night, and I couldn’t even complain, since I’d volunteered to take that task myself. I was going to need a bar of soap and a basin of hot water to scrub the germs off my hands by the time I finished.