Рита Браун - Pawing Through The Past

"Fence coat black. You can only buy it in one place in the U.S., Lexington Paint and Supply in Lexington, Kentucky. They ship it out in fifty-five-gallon drums. I've tried everything. This is the only stuff that lasts."

"Smart girl." He whistled as he painted, carefully, as he did everything. He was a tidy and organized man. "Is there a connecting link between the two victims?"

"Huh?"

"Leo and Charlie."

"Well, they graduated in 1980 from Crozet High School. They were both handsome. That's about it. They weren't friends. I don't think they saw one another after high school."

"Nothing else? Did they play football together or golf or did they ever date sisters or the same woman? Were they involved in financial dealings together?"

Harry was beginning to appreciate Tracy's ability to construct patterns, to look for the foundation under the building. "No. Charlie wasn't much of an athlete. He thought he was but he wasn't. Leo was much better. He played football and basketball in high school and then he played football in college, too."

"Where'd he go?"

"Uh, Wake Forest."

"What about Charlie?"

"He went up north. Charlie was always smart in a business way. He went to the University of Pennsylvania. Charlie had a lot of clients. He was an independent stockbroker. I don't know if Leo was one or not, though I doubt he was."

"Anything else?"

"They were both senior superlatives. I can't see that as much of a connection, though. Not for murder, anyway."

"I saw you had two superlatives."

"I know you were Most Athletic."

"Yep. We have that in common." He smiled at her. "Keep a notebook handy. Has to be little so you can stick it in a pocket. When ideas occur, write them down. No matter how silly. You'd be surprised at what you know that you don't know."

"Interesting." Murphy got up and headed for the barn.

"Where are you going?" Pewter enjoyed eavesdropping.

"Tackroom. I am determined to destroy those mice." She flicked her tail when she said that.

Tucker laughed. Murphy stopped, fixing the corgi with a stare, a special look employed by Southern women known as "the freeze." Then she walked off.

"We'll find the killer or killers before she gets one thieving mouse." Tucker laughed loudly.

That quick, Murphy turned, leapt over a startled Pewter, bounded in four great strides to the corgi. She flung herself upon the unsuspecting dog, rolling her over. Tucker bumped into the big paint bucket. A bit slopped out, splattering her white stomach.

"Murphy!" Harry yelled at her.

Murphy growled, spit, swatted the dog as she righted herself, then tore toward the barn, an outraged Tucker right after her. Just as Tucker closed the gap, Murphy, the picture of grace, leapt up, and the dog ran right under her. The cat twisted in midair, landed on the earth for one bound, was airborne again as she jumped onto the bumper of the red dually, then hurtled over the side into the bed. She rubbed salt into the wound by hanging over the side of the truck bed as the dog panted underneath.

"Cat got your tongue?"

"Murphy," Tucker said between pants, "I'll get you for that."

"Ha ha." Murphy jumped onto the dome of the cab.

The truck, parked in front of the barn entrance, gleamed in the rich late-afternoon light.

Harry laid her paintbrush on the side of the can. "Don't you dare put paw prints on my new truck." She advanced on the tiger, who glared insolently at her, then chased her tail on the cab hood to leave as many paw prints as possible.

Just as Harry reached the door to open it so she could step inside and gain some height to grab the little stinker, Murphy gathered herself together, hunched down, and then jumped way, way up. She just made it into the open hayloft, digging up the side with her back claws as she hung on with her front paws. Her jet stream rocked the light fixture, which looked like a big Chinaman's hat poised over the hayloft opening.

She looked down at her audience. "I am the Number One Animal. Don't you forget it." Then she sauntered into the hayloft.

Tracy laughed so hard he doubled over. "That's quite a cat you've got there, Harry."

"Heatstroke," Tucker grumbled furiously.

"More like the big head," Pewter replied.

"I still say she won't catch one lousy mouse."

"Tucker, if I were you, I wouldn't say it any too loudly. Who knows what she'll do next?" Pewter advised.

25

"-everybody."

"That's very edifying." Rick leaned toward BoomBoom sitting opposite him in her living room. "But I'd like to hear the names from your lips."

"Well, Leo Burkey of course, Bonnie Baltier, Denny Rablan, Chris Sharpton, Bitsy Valenzuela, Harry, Marcy Wiggins, who mostly stood around, and Susan."

"Then what?"

She shifted in her seat, irritated at his pickiness. "Have you interviewed everyone else?"

He counted names on his notepad. "No."

"Are you going to tell me who's left?"

"No. Now, BoomBoom, get on with it. What did you do, and so forth."

"We were reshooting the senior superlative which was Wittiest with Bonnie Baltier and Leo Burkey for the reunion. After we finished, everyone went to the Outback to eat. Marcy called her husband, Bill, who met her after work. They're making a point of spending time together. And Bitsy called her husband, E.R., to invite him. He took a pass, said he was tired. Funny, he was such a quiet guy in high school. To think he'd go out and start a cellular phone company. He has no class spirit, unfortunately. Neither does Bill."

"No tension at dinner?"

"No, because Harry went home. She doesn't like me," BoomBoom flatly stated. "And I have tried very hard to make amends. It's silly to carry around emotions, negative emotions."

"I wouldn't know." He reached in his pocket for the red Dunhill pack and offered her a cigarette. "Mind?"

"No. Those are expensive."

"And good. I tried to wean myself off smoking by buying generic brands. Awful stuff."

"I have some herbal remedies if you decide to stop again."

"I'll let you know."

"Anyway, nothing much happened. We all ate, told tales, bored Marcy and Chris and Bitsy, but they were gracious about it. Denny flirted with Chris. She didn't seem to mind. Then we went home."

"Did Leo linger with anyone in the parking lot? Talk to a waitress?"

She put her finger to her chin. "He cornered Bitsy for a minute as we left, but well, you'd have to ask her. I think they were discussing mutual friends and whether E.R. could give Leo a deal on a cell phone."

"Uh-huh."

"Do you have any leads? I mean surely you've noticed the two victims were killed right after their senior superlative reshoot. That's what bothers me. That and those offensive, cheap mailings!"

"Yes, we have leads." He exhaled, then continued his questioning. "Did anyone wear L.L. Bean duck boots that night?"