“Did you and Lloyd get along in high school?” Jodie asked.
“Lloyd and I didn’t know each other, Jodie. I can’t remember ever having one conversation with him, or even one class. I didn’t know him at all. Sarah did.” He nodded toward the bookstore. “She told me we’d definitely gone to high school with a Lloyd Gavin; that’s what I meant about getting stuck talking about him. When I got the invite I thought about pulling out my yearbooks to see what he looked like, but I never got around to it.”
“Why would you four be invited to anything together?”
“I have no idea. Like I said, I didn’t know Lloyd. I didn’t even know you and Creighton had followed in your dad’s footsteps and were cops. Sarah told me. As far as I can tell, the four of us had nothing in common, except maybe that we were all relatively successful.”
“Right, but while I do give my brother credit for succeeding in his career, he doesn’t make much money. The rest of you do. And you and Donte, and Sarah for that matter, were friends back then. Not Lloyd or Creighton. I feel like I’m missing something.”
Howard shrugged. “Did you ask Creighton?”
“Of course, but he can’t find a connection either.”
“I don’t know, Jodie, I really don’t.”
She nodded and squinted over toward the bookstore. “Howard, have you ever heard of the author Nathan Grimes?”
“Sure. One of the best horror writers of our time.”
“He is,” she said. “Have you seen him this morning, maybe in the bookstore?”
“No.” Howard looked toward Starry Night. “Is he here, maybe doing a signing? Sarah didn’t say anything to me.”
“No, not a signing. So, you in town for a day or so?” Jodie asked.
“I guess. The meetings are off, of course, but I bet you’d like me to stick around.”
“Yes, I would. Going to remain at the Three Bells?”
“Yep.”
“Good.” She handed him her card and told him to call her if he had any new thoughts regarding Lloyd or the rest of the group.
He said he would and then tipped the cowboy hat at us before he strode down the hill, walking much more bowlegged than he did in high school.
“Why did you ask him about Nathan?” I said.
“We’ve got another missing man, Clare. Coincidence? On the outside it seems like it, though truthfully I don’t think Nathan’s missing. Come on, let’s go see if Sarah’s in. Let’s go see if she’s talked to any visiting authors recently.”
“I hope she has.”
“I hope someone has.”
Her eyes went toward Howard walking down the hill.
I looked too. “Think he’s up to something?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “I can’t quite understand what might be behind these meetings. It would be immature for Lloyd to want to rub in his success. We’re grown-ups, and Lloyd had a business to run. There’s also the Hoovens. Howard seems like the least important piece of the puzzle, but I’ve done this long enough to make sure I take another look at all the links that seem unimportant.”
“You think someone might have killed Lloyd for the Hoovens?”
She shook her head. “Money’s always a possible motive. I’d like to follow it, but I can’t even find a starting point.”
We watched as Howard’s figure disappeared into a small crowd.
“Something will come clear,” I said.
“Right. Come on, let’s talk to Sarah.” She led the way back across the street and, silently, we hurried to the shop.
13
“No, I don’t think I’ve seen Nathan Grimes,” Sarah said with her eyebrows pressed tightly together. “I’m sure I would remember if one of the greatest horror novelists of our time came into my bookstore.”
“He might not have been wearing his scarf and hat,” I said.
Sarah and Jodie both looked at me.
“It’s a trick he does. It’s uncanny how he doesn’t look like himself when he isn’t wearing the scarf and hat. Maybe someone that reminded you of him?”
“This morning?” Sarah said.
“Anytime, sure, but yes, this morning specifically.”
“I think I would have recognized him anyway and I’m sure I haven’t seen him, particularly this morning. Howard Craig from high school was in, and the gentleman who ordered that book we talked about, Clare”—she nodded toward the metaphysical shelf—“came in for it, but no one else.”
“Evan Davenport came in?” I said.
They looked at me again.
“Yes,” Sarah said a second later. “You know him?”
“He and his wife stopped by The Rescued Word,” I said.
“Who are they?” Jodie said.
“No one. I mean,” I said, “just some people who came to town for a book and wanted to know if I could repair a typewriter. It was beyond repair. They told me about the book.”
Jodie nodded, and Sarah looked at me with still-tight eyebrows.
“Will you call me if Nathan comes in?” Jodie handed Sarah her card.
“Of course,” Sarah said as she looked at the card.
“Mind if I ask a question that might seem rude?” Jodie said.
“Not at all,” Sarah said as though the idea of Jodie sounding rude wasn’t unexpected.
“What’s with all the candles at the end of the counter? They look like they’ve been lit, so they aren’t for sale. It’s hard to believe you would light candles in here; all the paper and stuff.”
“Oh. Well, when I light them tonight I’ll put them up front. I’ll move a couple of the shelves out of the way and put a table up there. I’ll be careful. That’s not really a rude question, Jodie. It’s very observant.”
“Well, thank you, but why will you be lighting them tonight?”
I could tell that Sarah wished Jodie hadn’t continued asking. Her shoulder twitched and her fingers flitted weirdly as she put her hands on the counter.
“Thursday is our metaphysical meeting night, but we’re having a séance here tonight instead. We’re going to try to talk to Lloyd.”
“That’s . . . interesting,” Jodie said.
“Want to come? Both of you knew Lloyd. It might be a good thing,” Sarah said in a tone that made me think she didn’t really want us to come, she was just being polite. Perhaps she really was the hostess with the mostess.
“I’ll come,” I said.
“We would both love to be here. Thanks for the invite, Sarah,” Jodie said.
“Great,” Sarah said. She cleared her throat. “It can’t hurt, can it?”
“Not at all,” Jodie said. “Hey, speaking of observant, what happened back there?”
I stepped forward to look over the front counter. Jodie had noticed not only the candles, but also a mess on the floor behind the counter. A pile of books filled up almost the entire space, leaving barely enough room for Sarah to stand. She looked like she was drowning in a quicksand of books.
“I knocked over a box of books that was on the counter,” she said. “I can’t get ahead of my inventory. People love bringing me their books.”
“People from Star City?”
“From everywhere around here. Lots from Salt Lake City.”
“Want some help?” Jodie said.
“Straightening books? No, it’s my job. I just have to get organized. And stop taking boxes of books from people.”
“Well, Clare and I are here to help if you need us,” Jodie said.
I forced a quick smile, hoping to look like I agreed with Jodie’s offer of help.
“That’s very kind. I might take you up on your offer in a day or two. Let me get a little more organized.”
“Sure. So, why are you trying to contact Lloyd?” Jodie asked.
“To find out what happened!
He was murdered. Perhaps he can tell us about his killer. That would help, wouldn’t it?”
“Definitely. I hope he shows up,” Jodie said.
Only I, her best friend, would know she was working harder than she ever had done to sound sincere. Yes, she’d like to talk to Lloyd, but she didn’t believe in any sort of communication from the dead.
“I do too!” Sarah said.
“What time should we be here?”
“The magical hour tonight is nine p.m. Don’t be late.”
“Not a chance. Thanks so much, Sarah,” Jodie said before she turned to leave.
“See you later,” I said to Sarah before I followed Jodie.
“Yes. Later,” Sarah said with an uncomfortable smile as she leaned her arms on the front counter.
“We’re going to a séance tonight?” I said when we were completely out of the view of Sarah’s store’s window.
“Yes, we are,” Jodie said as we crossed the street. “I hope we get a chance to talk to Lloyd, and that Nathan doesn’t show.”
“Ugh. That sounds gruesome.”
“Well, they aren’t real. You know that, don’t you? Séances, I mean.”
“Sure,” I said with a shrug.
Jodie looked at me. “There was something weird about the books behind the desk.”
“The mess?”
“Yeah.”
“I saw her small back office and storage area, and it was really messy. Maybe it’s just the way she does things.”
“But she said she hadn’t seen but a few people today, and I take a gander at the store every time I drive by. I never see much activity and I’ve never seen anyone with a box of books.”
“Maybe she just already had so many books herself.”
“Maybe.”
“What?”
“I’d like to spritz a little luminol back there to see if there’s any evidence of blood.”
“What? Just because of a messy pile of books? Remind me not to let you in the workshop anymore.”
She shook her head. “It wasn’t a normal mess, and the way she stood there so normally was weird, like she didn’t want us to know the mess was there. I’ve seen that sort of behavior before, and it sometimes means someone is covering something up. If a box of books fell to the floor there, it would seem only normal to get it picked up right away, or even as she was talking to us. Her feet were buried in books.”
“Cop instincts perking up?”
“Yeah, something like that. I’ll try to get a look tonight.”
“You’re going to spray luminol back there tonight?”
“Probably not. But I’d like to see if something is still covering the floor, books or something else.”
“What can I do to help?”
“I don’t know. We’ll see. Just watch me for signals.”
“What are the signals?”
“You’ll know them.”
I nodded and hoped I would. “What about Nathan?”
“I’m going to walk down the hill and then back up again, but you get back to work. If he doesn’t show up somewhere, I’ll get him written up as a missing person when it’s a legal option. Until then let’s just hope he’s being a flake. Famous people irritate me to no end.”
“I know they do. Okay, I’ll get back to work, but it’s not going to be easy to stay focused.”
“Yeah. I do think we should bank on the fact that he’s just being a flake at this point, though. Seriously, he’s a grown man in good enough shape to fend off most threats.”
“Maybe a fan saw him and lost his mind. Took him.”
“I doubt that happened. Let’s hold off worrying a little longer.”
“I’ll try.”
“See you tonight?”
“Definitely.”
We parted ways at Bygone Alley. For a long time, I watched her walk down the hill. I wished I’d insisted on giving Nathan a ride last night. Jodie would be fine. She was a cop, and it was daylight.
But still.
We were a somber bunch. Chester, Adal, and I didn’t get one bit of work done in the workshop because none of us could bear leaving the front where we could look out the window and watch the door as if we could will Nathan to open it. Jodie stuck her head in to tell us she still hadn’t found him before she took the Bronco back down to the station. She said she’d meet me at the evening’s activities, about which both Chester and Adal were curious until I told them we were going to a séance. I was momentarily impressed by their almost matching scowls.
“See, what I heard is true. She’s an odd one,” Chester said.
We helped customers, but none of us had our best game faces on, and even Baskerville seemed morose. As the minutes ticked by, our concern only grew. I was sure Chester’s and Adal’s imaginations had concocted the same horrible scenarios that mine had, bad things we didn’t want to come into complete focus, so none of us shared them aloud.
Seth came through the front door around four o’clock and paused inside it when we all turned our hopeful eyes his way. “What’s up?”
I gave him the rundown, and he offered to go grab us all dinner. Chester and Adal weren’t hungry, but Chester told Seth and me to go on our own, that he would call the second he had any news and I was to do the same if I heard from Jodie.
We didn’t go far anyway, just across the street to the diner and a pink booth. Just as we got cheeseburgers and fries ordered, we were joined by someone who I thought might be going to the séance too.
“Haven’t seen you for years, and now it’s twice in one day, Clare Henry,” Howard said as he stood from his seat at the counter and came to our table, his coffee cup in hand.
“Howard. Hi again. Seth, Howard and I went to high school together. He was one of the folks invited to the same meetings as Lloyd.”
“Oh,” Seth said. “Well, nice to meet you. Join us?”
“I don’t want to interrupt,” he said.
“We’d love to have you join us,” Seth said.
“Well, all right,” Howard said as he sat next to me, keeping hold of the mug with both hands.
Seth and I shared a quick smile. It was the polite thing to do, but maybe not exactly what we wanted to do.
“Clare, how’s the shop? Your family? I didn’t get much of a chance to catch up earlier.”
“Very well, thank you. How about you, Howard? You’ve become quite the success. Seth, Howard has an oil company in Wyoming.”
“Really? I’m a geologist,” Seth said.
For about the next half hour and while Seth and I ate dinner, but Howard only drank coffee, I watched a friendship form. Apparently, oil folks and geologists have many things in common. They tried to keep it nontechnical for me, but they slipped a couple of times and I just pretended I got it when they used terms like jug hustler.
“Clare and I weren’t close in high school, but I was kind of a jerk; the now me wouldn’t have liked the then me. I promise I’m not a jerk now. Not as much at least.” He looked at me. “It’s good to see you again, even if the circumstances are rough.”
“Good to see you too, Howard. I wish I had stayed in better touch with everyone, with Lloyd. He was a good guy.”
“I recently read about all his success. He must have been really smart, even if maybe he’d turned into less of a good guy.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“His employees didn’t like him, I heard,” Howard said sheepishly before he took a sip of coffee.
“That’s something you should tell Jodie,” I said. “And how did you know that? Why didn’t you mention that to her earlier?”
“I don’t know. I was . . . I don’t know. I read some articles about him, though. They’re easy to find. I bet Jodie and the other officers have found them.”
“What did they say?”
He grabbed his phone from a holster on his waist and started sliding his finger through Internet sites.
“I can e-mail her some links,” he said. “You have her e-mail?”
“Send them to me. I’ll pass them on to her. I hate to give out her e-mail without asking first.” Besides, I wanted to read the articles too.
A moment later, I had the e-mail in my in-box, and then forwarded it to Jodie.
“I’ll read the articles later,” I said. “But what else can you tell me right now?”
“The thing I remember the most is that there was a small uprising at his company about a year ago. The employees all threatened to walk out if Lloyd didn’t tell them the status of some of the projects they’d been working on. Apparently, he and one other person there were spending a lot of time behind closed doors, taking the work everyone else had done, putting it together and making money without sharing the details. Sounds somewhat petty the way I’m telling it, but the way it sounded in the articles, it was a strange way for a company owner to behave.”
“The name of the other employee he was working closely with?” I said.
“I don’t know. A woman.”
“Brenda maybe?”
“Maybe. Yeah, that sounds about right.”
I couldn’t wait to dig into the articles and tell Jodie she should too.
We left the diner together, and when Howard confirmed that he was also headed to the séance, I took it upon myself to invite Seth and we walked up the hill together.
The night was cold and dark as the three of us marched up the hill to try to talk to the dead. The setting was perfect for an authentic séance.
But I still hoped they were fake.
14
I determined immediately that there would be no way for Jodie to check the floor behind the desk tonight. However, by the studied look on her face and her frequent scowls that direction, I knew she was still trying to devise a plan.
Comic Sans Murder Page 11