Клэр Донелли - Hiss And Tell

“Beau Bellingham left after the first round. He said he wanted to get some sleep.” Sunny didn’t need a scorecard to realize that her statement would put another check mark under “Opportunity” for Beau. As for motive . . . “What could he possibly have against Sheriff Nesbit?”

“Just tell me who was present and who wasn’t.” Wainwright’s voice was cold.

“Carson and Priscilla were playing, and so were Tommy and Yardley Neal. Peter Van Twissel was on my team, but he, um, wound up a little under the weather—”

“Or in the bag,” Wainwright muttered.

“So he went to lie down,” Sunny finished a little defiantly. “Then Caleb Kingsbury came to join us for a while.”

“Sure,” the state police investigator said. “The fun-loving Kingsbury.”

That got a flicker of interest from Will’s poker face.

Now he probably wishes we’d had more time to talk before this whole circus hit, Sunny thought.

She took a deep breath. “Lieutenant, I’m sure you know that Augustus de Kruk and his wife are arriving tomorrow. Carson, Priscilla, and the others were just hoping for a last blowout before things got more, well, formal. This was their only chance to let off a little steam.”

Wainwright looked at her shrewdly. “And maybe a chance for someone to let something slip, thanks to the beer.”

Sunny gave a small nod of concession. “But no one said anything. Maybe you should talk with Caleb. He was with the older generation of the family.”

“And I’m sure they’ll all stick together,” Wainwright growled. “At least as far as they’ll tell us.”

“Don’t knock yourself, Lieutenant,” Sunny joked, but she couldn’t hold on to her flippant attitude. More somberly she added, “Do you really think these two things are connected?”

“Two people get murdered, a few blocks from one another, and a couple of days apart . . .” Wainwright’s rumpled face added a few wrinkles. “The proximity is suggestive, and I don’t mean that in a dirty way.”

“But what connects a girl up here from New York City to a sheriff who barely leaves Elmet County?” Sunny demanded.

“The Kingsburys, for one,” Lieutenant Wainwright said. “Lord knows that Frank was about as plugged in as anyone in the county.” He turned to Will. “Given your relationship with Frank, you should get ready for people looking into you.”

That jarred Will a little. “Hey, I was only running against him for sheriff. It wasn’t a blood feud.”

“He stuck you out here in the boondocks while he was busy campaigning,” Wainwright pointed out.

“So people will think I killed him because he wouldn’t let me speak to the local rotary clubs?” Will shook his head as if a mosquito were buzzing around his ears. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“You’re the one who found him, after picking up a witness for yourself.” Wainwright scowled again. “I’m not saying anything, Price, I’m just throwing out a few facts. You should think about how they might be interpreted.” He paused for a moment as Captain Ingersoll arrived in a patrol cruiser with sirens blaring. “Is this Ingersoll politically connected?” he asked Will.

“I don’t think so,” Will said. “He’s a pro, worked with my dad before Nesbit took over as sheriff. Kind of a hard-ass, from what I remember. These days, he seemed to be the brain Nesbit would pick when he had to think about policing.”

“Okay.” Wainwright turned a poker face on Will. “And how do you think Ingersoll would feel about you being his boss?”

“Um.” Will closed his mouth with a snap. “Not very positive, I expect.”

Wainwright gave him a wintry smile. “Welcome to politics, bunkie.”

Captain Ingersoll was a big, florid man who very evidently had been fast asleep about forty minutes ago. Sunny wouldn’t have been at all surprised if he actually still had on his pajama top under the zipped-up green sheriff’s department Windbreaker he wore.

I wonder what his first official action will be? she thought.

She didn’t have to wonder long. Ingersoll strode right up to Will. “Constable Price, you’re hereby relieved of your liaison duties here.” The captain had a hoarse, breathless sort of voice that made Sunny want to start coughing in sympathy. “After you’ve rendered any assistance Lieutenant Wainwright requires, you’ll return to your normal duties at the beginning of the next shift.”

*

One pair ofeyes unblinkingly took in the activities in the almost unbearably bright circle of lights. Shadow crouched beside a bush in a big flowerpot—a very big one, it had to be twice as tall as he could stretch his body, a long jump to get to cover. He’d wedged himself into a tight space beside the giant flowerpot, and had slept for a while, but had been awakened by go-fast things making horrible screaming noises as they rushed along, then screeching to a stop. And the too-bright lights with their too-loud noises had made further sleep impossible.

It took him a while to realize that Sunny was also down there in the circle of light. Shadow’s first thought when he spotted her was to run straight to her. But there were other two-legs around her, and when he saw the way she held herself and moved, Shadow knew she wasn’t happy. Maybe this wasn’t the time. Because the absolute worst thing that could happen would be if he came up to her, and Sunny pushed him away.

So he hunkered down and simply watched.

I know Sunny is around here, he thought. I can always find her again.

*

After getting theofficial brush-off from Captain Ingersoll, Will made arrangements to submit a statement in the morning. “Do you want me to do this at the station in Levett, or should I go to the Troop A barracks in Alfred?” he asked Wainwright.

“Go to the barracks. You, too, Ms. Coolidge.” The state police investigator glanced over at Captain Ingersoll. “No reflection on you, Captain, but I’d like this to stay in-house.”

“Understood,” Ingersoll replied. “But I’d appreciate it if you’d keep me in the loop. And, of course, feel free to request any assistance we can offer.” His reddish face deepened in color. “For the time being, you can consider me the local liaison.”

Sunny had a sudden ridiculous vision of the oversized captain directing traffic outside the Kingsbury’s compound and had to bite her lip to keep from laughing inappropriately. Hold it together, she told herself firmly.

Wainwright was diplomatic, saying, “Thanks, Captain, I appreciate that.” He turned to supervise his troops with Ingersoll on his heels.

“The troopers along the perimeter will have more than nosy neighbors to deal with now,” Will noted as the first news crews arrived along with the state police crime-scene team.

Will didn’t seem all that upset about being removed from his post; when Sunny asked about it, he replied, “Why would I complain about not being a fifth wheel?”

Then he frowned. “Although there’s a ripe smell of politics in this already. Wainwright had a point. If Ingersoll thought I had a chance of ending up as his boss, would he have handled that scene the way he did?”

“Well, he was very formal,” Sunny said.

“Yeah, in a superior officer talking to a subordinate sort of way.” Will’s frown deepened. “Ingersoll isn’t a politician like Nesbit, but with all the years he’s spent in Levett, he’s got to know at least some of the powers that be. I guess he must have told them what happened, and they’re already coming up with something.”

“What could they come up with on the spur of the moment?” Sunny was ready to argue some more, but her cell phone gave off the pinging sound that meant she’d gotten a text. “Excuse me,” she said, opening up the device.