Миранда Джеймс - No Cats Allowed

With all the controls the college had in place to insure against fraud, I was surprised that Reilly could have found anything suspicious. I said as much to Delbert.

“Right, I know. You have no idea how many hoops I have to go through to get purchase orders and invoices okayed. There’s no way I could embezzle anything.” He sounded disgusted. “Maybe if I was some high-priced accountant, I could figure out a dodge, but I was a classics major, for crying out loud. What the hell do I know about cooking the books?”

“Yes, I can see your point.” I didn’t necessarily agree with him but there was no point in my antagonizing him. “He accused you of embezzling. What was your response?”

“I went ballistic,” Delbert said. “See, I’ve got a temper. Most of the time I’m this quiet, mild-mannered guy, gets along with pretty much everybody. But I have a quick fuse, especially when some idiot like Reilly comes along and calls me a criminal. I totally lost it, and I was screaming at him like nothing you’ve ever heard. And you know what?”

“No, what?” I said, because he was obviously expecting me to.

“The jackass just sat there and stared at me with this superior little smile on his face.” Delbert sounded surprised. “I couldn’t believe it, and it just made me angrier. I grabbed this brass bookend I have and was about to brain him with it, and then he got up and walked out. I went after him, though I had enough sense to put down the bookend, and I was yelling all kinds of things at him.” He paused. “I guess I even said I’d kill him if he ever came back and accused me of anything like that again. So you see why I’m worried, don’t you?”

“Did anyone besides Reilly hear you make those threats?” I asked.

“All of technical services,” Delbert said. “You’ve been in our area, you know what it’s like. All those cubicles are open, and if you’re loud enough, they can hear everything.”

“You’re worried you could be a suspect in the murder,” I said. “I really think you should go to the sheriff’s office and make a statement before they have a chance to hear about it from anyone else. I’ve known Chief Deputy Berry for several years now, and she is tough and determined. She’s also principled and intelligent. She’s not going to railroad anyone. If you didn’t do it, you don’t have to worry about it. Just tell her the truth.”

There was only silence on the other end. Had I angered him? I wondered. I wasn’t sure what else he expected me to do, other than to give him the benefit of my experience.

“I’ll think about it,” he finally said. “You won’t go to her and tell her about this, will you?”

“Not if you don’t want me to,” I said. “I will respect your confidence for now, but eventually you will have to talk to her and be straight with her. Just think about it this way. How would you feel if the wrong person is arrested and charged with the murder?”

Delbert laughed, a harsh sound. “I’d just as soon give the guy a medal for getting rid of Reilly. He’s no loss to anyone, believe me.”

“He may not be, but we can’t let a murderer go free,” I said. “What if the killer goes after someone else?”

“Why would he do that?” Delbert seemed surprised.

“If the murderer feels threatened somehow, he—or she—might do anything for self-protection.”

“I hadn’t thought about it that way. Interesting,” Delbert said. “But if someone is smart enough, they can keep the killer from finding out what they know.”

Something about his tone made me suspicious. “Delbert, if you know anything else about this, I cannot urge you strongly enough—for your own safety—to talk to Kanesha Berry. As soon as possible .”

“I’ll think about it,” he said. “Look, thanks for your advice. I appreciate it.” He ended the call.

Did he really know anything that could be dangerous? For his sake I hoped I was misreading the situation.

If I wasn’t, however, he could end up in a lot of trouble—or worse. I really ought to talk to Kanesha, I decided. I didn’t have to break Delbert’s confidence—at least, not yet—but I could emphasize that she really needed to talk to the senior library staff. There was no telling what kind of accusations Reilly might have made against Cassandra or Lisa, for example. He could have subjected them to the same kind of intimidation.

My phone rang and pulled me out of my rumination.

“Hi, Sean. Are you still at the jail? How’s Melba?” I asked.

“Yes, I’m still here,” he said. “They plan to hold Melba for a while longer.”

“Why? Surely they haven’t charged her with anything. What’s the holdup?”

“They haven’t charged her. Yet.” Sean sounded grim. “But I think it’s only a matter of time.”

“Why?” I asked again.

“They have evidence tying her to the scene,” Sean said.

“What evidence?”

“A tube of pink lipstick that she says is hers.”

SEVENTEEN

“Pink lipstick?” I said, momentarily confused. Then my mind cleared, and I understood the significance.

Sean started to explain, but I cut him off.

“Yes, I know what it means, Son. I was there when Reilly found his car vandalized with the lipstick, and Melba told me about how the lipstick was stolen from her desk.”

“That’s right,” Sean replied. “I’m sure the killer planted the lipstick on the body to implicate Melba.”

“And that means the killer also played the prank on Reilly.”

“More than likely yes, or the killer stole the lipstick from the prankster. We can’t overlook that possibility.”

“No, you’re right,” I said. “I should have thought of that.”

“I imagine you would have,” Sean said, a touch wryly. “Look, Dad, I have more to do here, then I’ll be going to the office. I may call you later to discuss this. Would you be able to come to the office?”

“Sure,” I said. “I don’t have a job to go to at the moment, so I’m free.”

“You’ll have to tell me about that later. Bye.”

I was thankful my son was there to help Melba. In situations like this, he remained cool, always watching out for his client. Melba couldn’t be in better hands.

I hated for her to languish in police custody, though. I knew how galling it must be to her, and I wished there were more I could do to help her. I would have to stick my nose into this, though I knew Sean would worry, and Kanesha might be furious.

I decided I would call Kanesha, even though she was in the midst of this investigation. I speed-dialed her cell.

“I know you’re swamped,” I said the moment she answered. I rushed on before she could respond. “Look, you know as well as I do that Melba didn’t kill Oscar Reilly. She would never do such a thing. There are other much more likely suspects. In particular, there’s Reilly’s ex-brother-in-law, Porter Stanley. You’d better track him down before he disappears.”

“Thank you, Charlie, you’re always helpful.” Kanesha did not sound grateful, but at least she didn’t sound furious, either. “I was planning to get around to you later today. For your information, I am aware of Mr. Stanley’s existence, and I am trying to track him down. Will you be at home today, or at the archive?”

“Home, unless I’m with Sean at his office,” I said. She was obviously in a hurry to get me off the line, so I would explain about my job later.

“All right. I’ll check with you later.” She ended the call.

I set the phone aside and thought about my options. Despite what I had told Sean and Kanesha, I was thinking about leaving home and heading for the library. Then I remembered that it was closed for the day. That frustrated me, because I itched to do something. Talking to people in the library would be relatively easy. I couldn’t go knocking at their doors at home and expect them to invite me in to talk about why they might have a reason to kill Oscar Reilly.