Powdered Peril (8 page)

“No, but it was my niece’s doing, and she knows better than to act that way. She was raised better.”

“We really do need to talk to her,” I pushed.

“Like I said, I can’t do anything about that,” Burt said.

“Well, if she won’t talk to me, I’m guessing the police chief is going to want to have a word with her.” I wasn’t sure if Chief Martin knew about Leah’s relationship with Peter, but if he didn’t know at the moment, he was going to find out pretty quickly from me.

He shrugged. “What can I say? He can look for her all he wants to, but she’s gone,” he said. “I’m not exactly sure what I can do about that.”

“Could you at least tell us where she might have gone?” Grace asked. “Please? It’s important.”

He pushed back a little from his seat. “Ladies, she needed a break from April Springs, and truth be told, I’m not exactly sure when she’ll be coming back, and I’ll tell the police chief the same thing if he comes by to ask about her.”

“You sent her away, didn’t you?” I asked, the hunch strong in my gut. “You didn’t want your niece answering any of my questions, did you?”

Burt just smiled for a brief moment, and then he went back to his magazine, dismissing us completely. What was so fascinating about handguns and rifles to him, anyway? If Peter had been shot, I might consider it a clue, but anyone could have hit him in the back of the head with a piece of wood.

This was worse than useless. We left the hardware store, and for some odd reason, Grace was smiling. She held up her hand for silence as she dug into her purse, found a notepad, and jotted something down. When she was finished, she looked up at me. “I don’t think we’re going to need Burt’s cooperation after all.”

“Why do you say that?”

She showed me her pad, which now had three telephone numbers written on it.

“What’s that?”

Grace explained, “While you were talking to Burt, I was memorizing the numbers displayed on the phone that was sitting on the counter in front of him.”

That was news to me. No wonder she’d been so quiet at the end of the conversation. “I didn’t know anything was displayed there. How on earth did you remember all three numbers?”

“That was what I was chanting to myself until I could write them all down. I hope they’re right.”

I nodded. “I’m sure they are. I’m just not certain they’ll do us any good. He could have just as easily called three customers for all we know.”

“Maybe, but I’m willing to bet that one of them gives us a clue as to where Leah is. Should I dial them up and see?”

I stopped Grace just as she pulled her cell phone from her purse. “Hang on a second. You don’t want to do that.”

“Why not?” she asked.

“What if you’re right and one of those numbers can tell us where Leah is? Do you really want your name and number displayed on one of those phones?”

She frowned as she put her phone away. “You’ve got a point, but what are we going to do? I haven’t seen a pay telephone in donkey years, so it’s going to be hard to call these numbers without them knowing who we are.”

“I’m sure we’ll think of something,” I said.

“I’ve got it,” Grace answered after ten seconds. “We’ll give them to Jake and have him check them out for us.”

“I’m not sure that we should do that just yet. I’m not about to drag Jake into this without more reason than that. He’s got a case of his own he’s trying to solve, remember? We’re going to have to find another way to check these out.”

She nodded. “Fine, but we need to come up with something quickly. When Leah ran like that, she went to the top of my suspect list; how about you?”

“She’s definitely gotten my attention.” I hesitated, and then asked, “Was it me, or was Burt a little too happy about his niece’s absence? I got the distinct impression that she left at his request.”

“You weren’t imagining it,” Grace said. “He was clearly trying to protect her.”

“From me, or the police?” I asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Make me a copy of those numbers, would you? I’ve got an idea.”

Grace looked puzzled as she processed my request, but then she jotted them all down and handed the list to me. “You know you’re not going to do any digging without me, right?”

“Trust me, I’m not trying to cut you out of the loop. I just needed these written on something I can pass along to someone else.”

“Would you care to share with me exactly who this someone else might be?”

“I can do better than that,” I said. “You can come along, too.”

As we parked in front of city hall, Grace asked, “You’re not going to ask George to do it, are you?”

“No, I told him we weren’t going to involve him unless we had to. As far as I’m concerned, he and Jake are both off our list of resources. I do know someone else who might be able to help us, though.” Instead of going to George’s office upstairs, we made our way down the steps to the Board of Elections.

If anyone could find out who those numbers belonged to, it had to be Hillary Mast.

*   *   *

“What can I do for you, ladies?” Hillary asked as we walked into her office.

“We need your help,” I said as I slid the list of numbers across the desk to her. “Is there any way you can tell us who has these phone numbers?”

She didn’t even glance at the list, but instead kept watching us. “I have to ask you something first. Is this official city business?”

“No,” I said. “It’s just a favor for two friends.”

Hillary frowned. “Well, I’m sorry, but I can’t use city computers to help you.”

I reached for the numbers as I said, “That’s fine. Thanks anyway. We understand.”

She stopped me before I could retrieve the list. “However, I was about to take my break, and no one tells me what to do when I’m on my own time.” She reached down and brought up a notebook computer, opening it in one fluid motion. After a few moments, Hillary took the list, typed in the first number, and then said, “It will just take a second.”

Grace looked at me. “I could have done that myself.”

“But there’s no need to,” Hillary replied. “I’m doing it for you.” She looked at the screen, and then said, “The first number belongs to Cutnip.”

Why would Leah be talking to someone at the local beauty shop? I kind of doubted that Burt would call them unless he was looking for his new wife, but then again, I knew that Marge wasn’t a big fan of Cutnip’s identical styling results.

“What else do you have?” I asked.

Hillary didn’t even have to type in the second number. As she looked at it, she said, “This one came directly from upstairs,” she said, a little surprised.

“From any telephone in particular?”

“Unless I’m mistaken, and I know that I’m not, this is the mayor’s direct phone number,” she admitted.

Was George following up on the case himself, even though I’d asked him not to? Our next stop had to be upstairs so we could ask him, but there was one more number on the list.

“And how about the last one?”

Hillary punched the number in, and then said, “Whoever owns it is in Montview,” she said. “Someone named Ida Belle. Here’s the address,” she said as she copied it down on the back of our original paper.

As she wrote, I asked, “I’m curious; is there some kind of secret database you can tap into to find those numbers?”

Hillary laughed. “It’s called a reverse directory. It’s amazing how much information is out there if you just know where to look. Is that all I can do for you?”

“Thanks, you’ve been a big help,” I said.

“Posh, it was nothing,” Hillary replied.

“I wouldn’t say that. It’s good for half a dozen donuts and a big cup of coffee, any time you want to come by to claim it.”

Hillary laughed. “I’ve been offered a great many bribes over the course of my time here, but I have to admit, never donuts.”

“More’s the pity,” I said. Then it hit me what she’d just said. “Hey, it’s not a bribe. It’s just the only concrete way I have to thank you for helping us.”

“In that case, I’ll see you tomorrow morning before work,” Hillary said. She glanced at her watch, and then said, “If I hurry, I’ll still have just enough time to eat lunch.” She looked at each of us in turn, and then added, “All I have is a ham sandwich, but I’d be glad to split it three ways if you’d care to join me.”

“Thanks for the offer, but we’re in kind of a rush,” I said.

As we started for the door, she said, “Tell the new mayor I said hello.”

“What makes you think that’s where we’re going?” Grace asked.

“Please, ladies, I’d be disappointed in you both if you weren’t planning to see what that telephone call was all about. You
are
investigating the murder, aren’t you?”

“We might do a little digging,” I admitted.

“Well, I sincerely hope that you find Peter’s killer. It’s all rather unpleasant business, isn’t it?”

“There’s no doubt about it,” I said.

As we headed up the steps to George’s office, I told Grace, “I’ve never heard anyone refer to murder as unpleasant business before, have you?”

“It’s a great deal worse than that, isn’t it?” Grace asked. “Suzanne, we need to focus on the fact that we’re doing this for a reason. I hated the way Peter and I left things, and now neither one of us will ever have the opportunity to make it right again between us. I’m not going to let a few roadblocks stop us.”

“Grace, are you serious? Do you really believe that you might have gone back to him after he lied to you?” I asked, having a hard time buying it.

She thought about it before she answered, and when she finally did, the weight of the world was in her words. “I don’t guess we’ll ever know the real answer to that, will we? Suzanne, you forgave Max a great many things after you split up, remember?”

“I might have,” I conceded, “but I never did manage to forgive his tryst with Darlene. I kicked him to the curb the moment I found them together, and I haven’t looked back.”

“And you can’t ever see it in your heart to forgive him?” she asked.

“There’s no reason to now. I’ve got Jake, and I’m happy,” I said.

“But what if you didn’t have him in your life and Max came knocking at your door?”

“I honestly can’t say, but I’d have to guess that I doubt I would answer it. I’m sorry. I know some folks find a way in their hearts to forgive a cheating spouse. I just don’t think that I’m one of them.”

“I guess my point is that you can never say never, not as long as you both are still alive.”

I didn’t want to think about my marriage to Max anymore.

We were at George’s office in another two minutes, and I was surprised to see that Polly wasn’t at her desk. George’s door was ajar, and as I knocked, it swung open. George was sitting at his desk, with Polly leaning over his shoulder showing him something written on a piece of paper in front of them. They looked rather cozy together like that, but I knew better than to tease either one of them about it, and I had a hunch that Grace did as well.

Polly looked almost guilty as she stood up and moved away from the new mayor as though he were radioactive. “I have calls to make. Just let me know when you’ve signed them, sir.”

“I keep telling you, it’s George,” my friend said.

“Not when you’re in this office. I didn’t agree with Cam Hamilton on a great many things, but I do believe the mayor should be treated with respect while he’s sitting behind that desk.” She turned to us and asked, “Is there something we can do for you?”

“We need a second with George, er, his honor,” I said.

That was going to take some getting used to, but Polly had a point. George was already working hard for the folks of April Springs, and he deserved a little respect for it.

Polly turned to him and asked, “Is that acceptable, sir?”

“Sure, I have a minute,” George conceded as he started to stand.

“But just that,” Polly said. “You’ve got a zoning meeting downstairs, and you can’t be late.”

“Why not?” George asked.

“Because you’re the one who’s running it,” she replied.

George nodded, and Polly left us.

The second she was gone, I asked, “You’re not investigating Peter’s murder on your own, are you?”

“What? Of course not. I told you that I wouldn’t, and I meant it.”

“Then why did you speak with someone at the hardware store today?” Grace asked.

“Hang on a second; it’s bad enough following the logic behind one of your questions, let alone both of you together. Teaming up against me just isn’t fair.”

“The hardware store, George,” I said flatly.

“I don’t know why it’s such a big deal. If you have to know, I needed a new washer for one of my faucets at the apartment, and they called me back to tell me that they’d have to order one special,” he answered, clearly perplexed by the line of questioning.

“Did you speak with Leah, or Burt?” I asked.

George frowned for a second. “What is this about, Suzanne?”

“Trust me, it’s relevant. We’re interviewing suspects,” I admitted.

“And you think I killed Peter?” he asked, clearly bemused by the very thought of it.

I shook my head. “Of course not.”

He nodded, and added a smile as well. “I thank you both for that. Then you must believe that Burt might have done it.”

“No, we were thinking more along the lines of Leah,” I replied.

George shook his head. “Okay, you just lost me again. Why would she kill Peter? I just don’t get it.”

Grace answered him in a halting voice. “Not a great many folks know this, but they were dating on the side. If there was a rift between the two of them, she might have a motive for killing him.”

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that,” George answered, slumping back down into his chair. “I didn’t know.”

“There’s no reason you would,” Grace said. “So, which one did you speak with?”

“It was Leah,” he admitted.

“So, it was nothing about the murder, then?”

“No, sorry to disappoint you,” George said. “Are you two sure you don’t want my help?”

“You can’t,” I said as Polly walked back in.

“I’m sorry,” she said as she tapped her watch, “but you really do have to go.”

George nodded and stood again. “I have to go. Listen, if you two get yourselves in trouble, call me,” he said as he walked out of his office.