That struck me as more than a bit cold-blooded, but it was, I decided, pragmatic. If Zac was telling us the truth, he truly had no idea why Kilbride had come storming in the door, wanting to confront him.
Paul Bowen said, “I knew Denis through business. He was a client of our bank, and I had occasion to work with him on several projects. We were not friends outside business, however, so I don’t know much about his private life. I guess I agree with Zac; his death is unfortunate, but I don’t see that it has anything to do with the group, despite Kilbride’s bizarre behavior last night.”
Burdine piped up next. “Elmore and I agree with Zac and Paul. We didn’t know Kilbride personally, so I don’t see that this thing should affect us getting on with our business.”
“Heavens no,” Celia Bernardi said. “I don’t see why we should disrupt our plans for the death of a man who was mostly a stranger to us. I’m sorry for Ellie’s sake if she was close to him, as I gather she might have been. I can understand if she wants to withdraw and go home, but I think the rest of us can go forward with a clear conscience.” She threw a swift but obvious glance at Johnny Ray when she finished.
Johnny Ray cleared his throat. “I’m real sorry about what happened last night between me and Denis Kilbride. I shouldn’t have done what I did, and I’ve been praying that me hitting him didn’t have anything to do with his death.” He paused for a moment, then rushed on to get out the next sentence. “If it turns out he died because of me, I’ll take the consequences.”
“I don’t think it will come to that,” Melba said. “Denis Kilbride was a heart attack or a stroke waiting to happen. On top of the smoking and his diet, he had a hair-trigger temper. You put all those together, and you get a dangerous combination. He was liable to drop dead any second, and you don’t know what went on after y’all had your run-in last night. Most people didn’t like him. Even Ellie didn’t like him that much, I’d say.”
“Melba’s right,” Helen Louise said. “Don’t go borrowing trouble, as my mother used to say.”
Johnny Ray responded with a weak smile. “Thank you, ladies. I appreciate it, but my heart’s not going to be easy until I am one hundred and ten percent sure that I didn’t cause his death.”
“It’s going to be rough for you until we hear something,” Miss An’gel said. “Have faith, Johnny Ray. We’ll stand behind you.”
“Thank you, Miss An’gel,” Johnny Ray said. “That means a lot.”
I could feel the undercurrent of unease building in the room like a slowly rising tide. The longer we discussed the subject of Denis Kilbride’s sudden death, the more the tension mounted. We all wanted answers, but I figured those answers would be pretty slow in coming. Here in Asheville, none of us had any connections with the local authorities the way we did back in Athena. Chief Deputy Kanesha Berry wasn’t in charge of the investigation, natural death or not.
“Do you feel that you can continue to participate in the group’s activities?” Miss Dickce asked Johnny Ray.
“I’d like to,” Johnny Ray said. “I’ve been looking forward to this, and so have Lou and my kids.” He shrugged. “Waiting to find out what happened is hard, though.”
“Did you tell your wife about what happened last night?” Zac asked.
Johnny Ray nodded. “Yeah, I told her. She wasn’t happy, but she understood why I was so angry with Kilbride. The kids don’t know anything about it, though.”
“We’ve heard from everyone now, I think, except Charlie and Helen Louise,” Miss An’gel said after a glance at Benjy, who nodded.
“I’m fine with going on with our schedule,” Helen Louise said.
“I am, too,” I added, and Diesel meowed loudly. That elicited smiles or chuckles from the rest of the group, even Johnny Ray.
As the mirth quieted down, we all heard a knock at the door. “Come in,” Miss An’gel called, and a man of about seventy, silver haired, fit, and distinguished in appearance, stepped in. I estimated that the suit he wore must have cost a couple of thousand dollars.
“Good afternoon, Howard,” Miss An’gel said. “This is an unexpected surprise.” She stood and proffered her hand as he approached. He accepted it, and then Miss An’gel introduced him to the group as the owner of the hotel, Howard Hindman.
Hindman stood beside Miss An’gel and glanced around at each of us. “I am regretful that you should all have this unpleasant experience here at my hotel, and I offer my most sincere condolences to any who were friends of the deceased. I can assure you that we are cooperating with the authorities to the fullest extent, and if you have any concerns about your stay, please feel free to let me know.” He paused for a deep breath. “My grandson has been relieved of duty for the next few days to recover from the shock he suffered, and a replacement will be at the desk from this afternoon on during the day shift.
“Now I regret I must take Miss An’gel away from you for a few minutes,” he continued. “A police officer will be here to speak with all of you soon.”
TWELVE
I could feel this new ripple of anxiety that shot around the room as Miss An’gel left escorted by Mr. Hindman. A police officer wanted to speak to all of us. Was this connected to the results of the autopsy on Denis Kilbride?
No, I decided. That surely couldn’t be. There hadn’t been enough time to conduct an autopsy, even if the medical examiner had nothing else to do. The earliest we could expect to hear back about it was sometime tomorrow afternoon. The police probably wanted to find out more about Kilbride’s background.
I stated this aloud, against the low buzz of conversation. Miss Dickce spoke up in agreement, sounding calm, and the tension seemed to dissipate. I felt myself relax, and I reached down to stroke Diesel’s head, aware of his restlessness. He was sensitive to these moods, and I didn’t want him to feel distressed by them.
The group fell silent as we awaited Miss An’gel’s return and the advent of the policeman. Five minutes passed, then ten, then fifteen. I felt the unease of others around me. I knew that, like me, they all wanted to get this over with. What was holding up the policeman?
The door opened, and Miss An’gel walked in with an officer in uniform. She introduced her as Sergeant Bloesch and then introduced each member of the group in turn. The sergeant acknowledged each of us with a nod.
“Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen,” the sergeant said. “Sorry to keep y’all waiting while I talked with Miss Ducote and Mr. Hindman, but we have procedures that need to be followed. I have been gathering information on the deceased, Mr. Kilbride, and I need to talk to y’all to find out whether you have any further information before I report back to my boss and to the medical examiner.
“I’d like to talk to you one-on-one.” Sergeant Bloesch pulled out a notebook, flipped it open, and found the page she wanted. “I’ll start with Mr. Johnny Ray Floyd.”
I heard Johnny Ray’s sharp intake of breath. I felt for him, but he had to face up to this, whatever the outcome.
He stood. “I’m Johnny Ray Floyd.”
“Thank you, Mr. Floyd. If you’ll come with me, this won’t take long.” Sergeant Bloesch walked to the door and held it open.
Once the door closed behind them, we all looked to Miss An’gel to enlighten us.
“All I know is that the police department decided to send a more senior officer to talk to the group. Sergeant Bloesch doesn’t know for sure when the medical examiner will perform the autopsy, but she said it could be done within a couple of days. They have no reason so far to treat it as a suspicious death, but in such cases they have to find out what they can about the deceased.”
“What about his medications and his doctor?” Helen Louise asked. “Did the EMS team find any?”
Miss An’gel looked suddenly distressed. “No, they did not. That was the first thing I asked the sergeant. They looked for them but none turned up. I know Ellie said he wasn’t a
lways good about taking his medicine, but I’d be surprised if he left on a trip and forgot to bring them.”
“I don’t know about that,” Burdine Gregory said. “If it weren’t for me, Elmore would go off without his every time we go somewhere.”
“That’s because I know you’ll make every step I do and some I don’t, because you want to show you’re better at packing for a trip than I am,” Elmore replied.
“Point taken,” Miss Dickce said. “If you’re in a hurry to get going, sometimes you can forget to pack the simplest things. I’ve done that myself, and I daresay that most of you have done it, too.”
I almost always forgot something when I packed, which I tended to postpone until the last minute. I said as much, and several people laughed.
“I shared with the sergeant what Ellie told us about Mr. Kilbride’s cardiologist,” Miss An’gel said, “but who knows how many cardiologists there are in Memphis. That could take them several days to track down. We don’t even know which pharmacy he used.”
“Do you think there’s something sinister about the fact that they couldn’t find any medications in his room?” Paul Bowen asked.
Miss An’gel frowned. “I think sinister is rather a strong word, Paul. It’s certainly curious, but who’s to say?”
“Did anyone here see him last night after he left this room?” Melba asked. “I saw him going into his room with a sack. I figured he’d been out to buy liquor.”
“What time was that?” Paul asked.
“Around ten-thirty,” Melba said. “Not long after you’d gone to your room for the night. I’d stuck my head out the door because I thought I heard someone talking in the hall.”
“Did you see anyone besides Denis Kilbride?” Zac asked.
“No, I didn’t,” Melba said. “Maybe it was the television coming from next door that I heard.”
Paul shook his head. “Not from my room. I didn’t turn it on at all last night.”
“I’m in the end room,” Melba said, “so it must have been someone in the hall. Guess whoever it was ducked into their room before I looked out.” She glanced around the room, but no one spoke.
I doubted Melba imagined it, so whoever it was—perhaps someone who had spoken to Kilbride?—didn’t want to admit to it. That bothered me. Why not admit to it?
Maybe it was Johnny Ray, I thought. He might have tried to apologize to Kilbride and been ignored. I didn’t think that was the case, however. As far as I knew, Johnny Ray hadn’t felt any significant remorse about the altercation until he heard of Kilbride’s death today.
“Did anyone else see him or speak to him?” Helen Louise asked. “I didn’t, nor did Charlie.”
“We saw him in a bar down the street,” Burdine said. “We went for a walk before bedtime, and I spotted him through the window when we paused to have a look at the place. I wanted a nightcap, but when we saw him in there with Ellie, we walked on.”
“Looked like they were arguing about something,” Elmore said. Burdine nodded.
“What time was that?” Miss An’gel asked.
“Eleven, near’s I can recall,” Elmore said. Once again Burdine nodded.
That was odd, I thought. Melba had seen him around ten-thirty going into his room with a bag that might have contained liquor. But half an hour later, Burdine and Elmore saw him in a bar with Ellie.
“Did you come back the same way?” Zac asked.
“We did,” Elmore said, “but it was only about five minutes later. Burdine started getting cold. I told her she ought to’ve brought a wrap, but she didn’t pay any attention.”
Burdine bridled at Elmore’s words but to my surprise, for once she forbore to comment.
“Were Kilbride and Ellie still in the bar?” Miss Dickce asked.
“I didn’t look,” Elmore said. “Did you?”
Burdine shook her head.
“Has Sergeant Bloesch talked to Ellie yet?” Helen Louise asked.
“I don’t think so,” Miss An’gel said. “I’m sure she will before she finishes questioning the group.”
Ellie, I reckoned, had most likely been the last to see Denis Kilbride last night. She hadn’t mentioned anything about it when she was with the group a little while ago, but no one had thought to ask her.
“Zac, what about you?” I remembered that he’d asked Melba whether she had seen anyone besides Kilbride when she looked out into the hall. Why had he asked her that? Simple curiosity? Or was he the one who had been talking to Kilbride and wanted to know if he had been seen?
“What do you mean?” Zac said, appearing startled. “Are you asking if I saw him last night?”
“Yes, that’s what I’m asking,” I said. “He seemed pretty determined to talk to you. I’m sure we’re all wondering whether he found you last night to discuss whatever it was he wanted to discuss with you.”
“Whatever it was, I’ll never know,” Zac said with a shrug. “I didn’t see him again last night. After we finished here, I went straight to my room, locked the door, and stayed there until it was time to go to Biltmore.”
He sounded convincing, yet I couldn’t help but be a bit suspicious. His answer seemed a little too pat to me. After a moment’s reflection, however, I chided myself. Was I trying to make more of this than it was? There was a mystery here, but whether it had anything to do with Kilbride’s death, I didn’t know. Probably none of my business. Simply my unbridled curiosity at work. That’s what my son, Sean, would have said if he were here, and he would be right, I decided.
“Didn’t you eat breakfast?” Burdine asked, sounding appalled.
Zac laughed. “I had some fruit and cheese in my room. I don’t eat a heavy breakfast.” He smirked at Burdine, and I could almost hear the additional words like some people I could name.
Burdine laughed. “You’re welcome to your fruit and cheese, honey. I’ll take my eggs and bacon and grits every time.”
Zac didn’t respond to this sally.
I glanced at my watch. Sergeant Bloesch seemed to be taking a long time with Johnny Ray. I hoped that wasn’t a bad sign. The group fell silent as the minutes ticked by.
After nearly a quarter of an hour passed, Sergeant Bloesch came back. This time she wanted Zac. I was watching him, figuring he would be next, and I would have sworn that he paled when she called his name. Maybe the sergeant could get out of him the issue between him and Kilbride. If he was smart, he would tell the truth. I well knew, however, that in these situations even innocent people will prevaricate because the police make them nervous.
We watched Zac precede the sergeant from the room. I began to wonder who might be the next to go. Johnny Ray did not return, and that I had expected. The sergeant wouldn’t want us talking among ourselves more than we already had, and no doubt Johnny Ray was ready to go back to his family once the sergeant finished with him.
So much for our schedule, I thought. We would simply have to adjust to the changes brought by Kilbride’s unexpected death. For the first time, I was shocked to realize, I wondered whether he had any family to mourn him. Was there anyone besides Ellie who would feel the loss? No one in the group appeared to, other than the normal regret for a person who has died unexpectedly and at a relatively young age.
Melba startled me by moving from her seat next to Paul Bowen and inserting herself between Helen Louise and me on the sofa. Diesel greeted her with loud meows, and she patted his head.
“Sorry to push myself in the middle,” she told Helen Louise and me in a low tone, her expression apologetic. “I wanted to talk to you, and I don’t want to be overheard. I figured this was best, since we can’t leave the room or go over in the corner without people getting suspicious.”
Both Helen Louise and I assured her we didn’t mind. “What is it you want to talk about?” I asked.
“Zac Ryan,” Melba said, her voice barely above a whisper.
“I think I know what was going on with him and Denis Kilbride.”
THIRTEEN
Trust Melba to know what is going on when nobody else does, I thought. Aloud, I said, “Tell us what you know.”
Melba glanced first at me, then at Helen Louise. Now, her head bowed slightly, she looked at her hands in her lap as she began to speak. “This is kind of embarrassing, and how I came to know about this isn’t what you may think after I tell you. Just keep in mind that the person who told me about this knows what he’s talking about usually, and I have no reason to doubt him.”
More intrigued than ever, I said, “We understand, don’t we?”
Helen Louise said, “Of course we do. Go ahead.”
Melba expelled a pent-up breath. “All right. Here’s the skinny. Apparently Denis Kilbride liked to walk down both sides of the street, if you get my drift.”
Why couldn’t she say it outright? I wondered.
“You mean he and Zac?”
Melba nodded, and Helen Louise and I exchanged glances.
“While he was dating Ellie?” Helen Louise asked, obviously perturbed by the information that Denis had been unfaithful to Ellie.
“I believe so,” Melba said.
“Is this well known around town?” I asked. “That he was bisexual, that is.”
“I don’t think so,” Melba said. “My source’s information comes from Memphis, at one of the clubs there. And a hotel.”
“Goodness me,” Helen Louise said. “Do you think Ellie found out about it?”
Melba shrugged. “I’m not sure.”
“I bet she did,” I said. “That would explain the argument we overheard yesterday, when Ellie called Zac a rat.”
“I think you’re right, Charlie,” Helen Louise said.
“Do you think I ought to tell the sergeant about this?” Melba asked. “Who knows what she might ask when she’s interviewing us, and if she asks me what I know about Denis Kilbride, should I tell her this?”
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