Killer Crullers (23 page)

“Who was with you?”

She stared at the ground before answering. “I’d really rather not say.”

This girl was killing me with her evasiveness. If she wasn’t ready to talk, why had she called me? “I’ll do my best to keep it quiet,” I said, “but you really need to tell me, or the state police. I can have an inspector here in two hours.” I could, too, if I could manage to drag Jake away from campus to intimidate one of my suspects. It was mostly a bluff, but I was hoping that Katie wouldn’t realize it.

“There’s no need to bring in the cops,” Chet answered for her, a frown creasing his forehead.

“I’m just saying,” I said as I stared up at him. “She needs to tell someone. Why not me? I’m a lot easier to deal with, trust me.”

Katie seemed to consider that, and then said, “Chet, would you mind getting me a glass of water?”

“Sure thing,” he said without hesitation, and headed quickly inside.

As soon as he was gone, she said, “I was with Mr. Duncan, and I didn’t want Chet to hear it.”

“I thought you were still in love with Desmond?”

“I am, I mean, I was,” she said. “Harry was helping me sort things out, that’s all. There’s nothing going on between us. He’s just a friend.”

“Then why did you feel the need to send Chet away?”

She stared at the ground as she admitted, “He gets jealous, even though I’ve told him a thousand times that we can never be anything more than just friends.”

“So, you’re saying he doesn’t have any reason to believe otherwise?”

“Believe me, I haven’t led him on,” she said.

“I need to talk to Harry,” I said.

“You don’t trust me?” she asked.

“Katie, I have to have confirmation. You said yourself that he wasn’t with you the entire time. I need more specifics if I’m going to tell the state police that you have an alibi.” Jake was a member of the state police, so technically it was true.

“Shh,” she said as Chet came back out with a glass full of water.

“Thank you,” Katie said as she took a large gulp.

Chet looked at her as though she were the only woman in the world for him, and Katie would have to be blind not to see it.

I stood, and then started toward the office.

Chet asked me, “Where are you going?”

I was at a loss, but Katie spoke up for me. “She wants to get a quote to see how much it would be to build a new donut shop.”

On the face of it, if you didn’t know how anemic my bottom line was at my shop, it was a good lie, and it gave me the perfect excuse to approach Harry Duncan. I considered the fact that Katie was a strong liar on the spur of the moment, as well, so I wasn’t sure just how far I could trust her. It had been my experience in the past that people who lied so well usually had a great deal of practice doing it.

Chet seemed to accept her explanation, and Katie joined me, while her large friend made his way to the back where I could see that the heavy equipment was stored.

“Thanks,” I said. “That was clever of you.”

“I didn’t want to make Chet suspicious,” she said.

“That’s probably wise.”

She started to go into Harry Duncan’s office when I put a hand on her arm. “If you don’t mind, I’ll go in alone.”

“I just wanted to let him know that he could tell you anything,” she said.

Katie had a point. There was little chance that Duncan would talk to me without her blessing. On the other hand, I didn’t want her to give him any signals about what to say. “If you want to use him as your alibi, you need to tell him that he can tell me anything, and then not say another word. Do you understand?”

She nodded. “I don’t blame you for being careful. You don’t want me leading him to say what I want, do you?”

“That’s right.”

“Good enough.”

Katie knocked on the office door, and we both heard a man say, “Hang on. I’m on the phone.”

After twenty seconds, he said, “Okay, I’m off. Come in.”

We waited a second, and then walked in side by side.

“Harry, you can tell her anything,” Katie said, and then turned around and left the office.

“What’s this about?” he asked.

“Where were you the night Desmond Ray was murdered?”

“That guy was a cancer around here, between Allen and Katie. I hate to speak ill of the dead and all of that, but I’ve got a feeling the world’s a better place with him gone.”

His phone rang, and as he reached for it, I said, “If you want to help Katie, tell me what you know about her alibi. If you answer that call, I’m going to assume that it’s her telling you what to say, and I won’t be able to tell the state police that she’s in the clear.”

He stared at the phone for ten seconds, and when it finally stopped ringing, he looked almost relieved.

Before he could say anything, Katie peeked in and said, “That was your
wife
. I tried to tell her you were busy, but she made me put her through anyway.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll deal with her later,” he said.

After Katie left, I asked, “You’re married?”

“So, what if I am?”

There was a little boy’s defiant tone in his voice as he answered my question.

“What did your wife think of you spending time with Katie?”

“She’s fine with it,” he said with a shrug. Unlike Katie, he was a terrible liar, and I was sure his wife had no idea what was going on. As a former betrayed spouse, my heart went out to her, but I had to find out if Katie was in the clear before I worried about a stranger’s relationship with his wife.

“Did you see her the night of the murder?” I asked.

“My wife? Of course I did. I see her every night.”

“I’m talking about Katie,” I said, a little more strongly than I should have.

He took too long to answer, and when he finally did, it was clear that he was lying again. “Sure I did. We were together all night.”

“Where exactly were the two of you?” I asked, not convinced at all that he was telling the truth.

“Around,” he said. “She needed to talk, so I offered to listen.”

I shook my head. “Sorry, but it’s not good enough. I need one specific detail that Katie just told me before I’ll believe either one of you.”

One look in his eyes told me that he didn’t have an answer to that. I could almost see his mind working as he decided how to handle me. He finally decided to go with righteous indignation. “Believe me or not. Frankly, I don’t care. I don’t have time to play games with you. I have a business to run.”

As I stood, I said, “I just hope you have a better answer when the state police come.”

He laughed at the threat. “Bring them on. I’ve got three lawyers on retainer. I’m not afraid of the police.”

As I left the office, Katie said, “He confirmed my story, didn’t he?”

“As a matter of fact, he didn’t.”

She shook her head, her face flushing. “The fool is lying to you, trying to protect his marriage.”

“And leaving you out in the cold in the process,” I said.

“I’m telling the truth,” she said more forcefully.

“It’s not up to me, anymore.”

She stood, and then stormed into her boss’s office. I thought about sticking around to hear what was being said, but Chet walked in, so I took that as my cue to walk out.

Whether Katie had lied to me or her boss had, one thing was certain. Her alibi hadn’t gotten any better since the last time we’d spoken, and quite possibly, it had just gotten a great deal worse.

*   *   *

The drive back home was uneventful, which was nice. It gave me a chance to think about what I’d seen and heard on my visit. With Bill Rodgers off my list and Chet added to it, I was left with the same number of suspects as I’d had before, though the exact roster had changed. I briefly considered Harry Duncan, and wondered if he might have had something to do with Desmond’s death, but in the end, I doubted that it was possible. If something had happened to Katie, I could see him as a suspect, especially to keep her from revealing too much to his wife, but it didn’t make any sense for him to have harmed Desmond Ray. I needed to focus more on Katie and Chet. I hoped that Grace would be able to help again tomorrow. I knew she had a job to do, and for that matter, so did I, but my investigations usually went so much better when I had her with me. I was just lucky that she didn’t have a nine-to-five job where she could never get away. Her supervisory duties and her sales territory still left her time to lend me a hand when I needed it, and that was especially the case right now, since George was off visiting his brother.

*   *   *

Momma’s car was in the driveway when I got back to the cottage, but that didn’t necessarily mean that she was still home. She’d been seeing Chief Martin nearly every night since the proposal, and the lights blazing inside didn’t mean anything, either. Some sinister things had happened in our park over the past few years, and we both had no problem paying a larger electric bill if it meant that people believed we were at home. It may have given us both a false sense of security, but neither of us was willing to give it up, no doubt much to our power company’s delight.

The second I walked inside, all illusions that she might be gone were instantly dismissed. The house was filled with the aroma of turkey and pumpkin pie, a combination of scents that could weaken even the strongest man’s knees.

“Hey, I’m home,” I said as I hung up my jacket in the hallway. “If you tell me I’m not invited to the feast, you’re going to break my heart.”

Momma stepped out of the kitchen and smiled. “How can you not be invited? You’re the guest of honor.”

“Where’s the chief?” I asked. “Will he be here soon? I’m starving.”

“It’s just the two of us tonight,” she said.

I glanced at the table and saw that there were just two place settings, and I suddenly felt guilty about our earlier conversation. “I don’t want to crowd him out,” I said.

“Don’t worry, I did it all on my own. I’ve missed spending time with you, so I thought a nice dinner would give us a chance to catch up.”

“Let me wash up first, but is there anything I can do?”

She smiled at me. “It’s all taken care of. Have a seat, and I’ll bring the food out.”

When I got back from the powder room, the turkey was in its place of honor, flanked by mashed potatoes, green beans, Brussels sprouts and cheese sauce, and jelled cranberry sauce. “Wow, what is this, a dry run for Thanksgiving?”

“Call it what you’d like. The turkey was on sale, so I thought this might be fun.”

“I’m not complaining. Trust me.”

As we sat down, Momma asked, “Would you like to say the prayer?”

I did as she asked, and mentioned George’s brother as well. As we began to fill our plates, Momma asked, “What’s wrong with George’s brother?”

“He’s dying,” I said. “George left town this morning.” I suddenly realized that he’d failed to call me upon his arrival. Then again, I hadn’t asked him where he was going, so I had no idea when he might get there. “Momma,” I said, “I know it’s not usually done, but would you mind if I gave him a quick call before I eat? I’m worried about him.”

“You have my blessing,” she said. “Give him my love, as well, would you?”

“I will,” I said. I stepped out on the porch, dialed his number, but there was no answer.

“That was quick,” Momma said when I rejoined her.

“He didn’t pick up. I’ll try him later.” I tried to put George and his problems, along with the case I was working on, out of my thoughts. Momma had prepared a feast, and I wasn’t about to disrespect the time and effort she’d put into it, especially since she’d done it just for me. “Let’s eat.”

We had a wonderful meal, and I made the mistake of not pacing myself, so there was barely room for pie, but I managed to have a sliver somehow.

“That was nothing short of amazing,” I said.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” She looked at the bountiful supply of food still on the table and then added, “I’m afraid we’ll be eating leftovers for a month.”

“Not if Jake gets a chance to help,” I said.

As Momma and I began to clear the table, she asked, “Have you spoken with him today?”

“He called at six this morning,” I said with a smile.

“Judging from your expression, it went well.”

“His cell phone was dead, and he didn’t take his charger with him. Everything’s good.”

“I’m so glad,” she said.

I had to give her credit for not saying that she told me it would be. Momma was happy for me, and that was all that mattered. As she began putting things in Tupperware, I started on the dishes. I was happy that she didn’t try to stop me.

Once she was finished with the leftovers, she picked up a towel and began to dry. It was nice working side by side with her.

“If anything changes around here, I think I’ll miss this most of all,” I said.

“What, my cooking?”

“No, just doing everyday things with you. In case you didn’t realize it, I’m a big fan of hanging out with you.”

I looked down at her and saw a tear in the corner of her eye. “Having you here after your divorce has given me a new lease on life,” she said. “If you hadn’t been there pushing me all along the way, I would never have taken a chance on dating again. You’ve helped me remember something about myself that I’d nearly forgotten.”

“I would have fallen apart when Max cheated on me if you hadn’t been there to help me get through it, Momma. I don’t think I’ve ever thanked you enough for that.”

“It’s so lovely that my daughter has turned out to be my best friend, as well,” she said.

I felt a tear of my own begin to well up, and the last thing we needed was a shared crying jag. “Right back at you,” I said with a smile. “Hey, is there any pie left?”

She laughed at me, and then said, “You can’t be serious.”

“I don’t know, after we finish the dishes, another sliver of it might just hit the spot.”

“I don’t know where you put it,” she said.

“The same place every other woman does,” I replied, “mostly my hips.”

“How is your investigation coming along?” she asked.

Momma rarely inquired about my extracurricular activities. “I’m treading water at the moment, at least that’s what it feels like.”

“These things take time,” she said.