Рита Браун - Pawing Through The Past

"What?"

"You know, the boots that made L.L. Bean famous. We call them duck boots but I guess today that means the short rubber shoe. Short, tall, did anyone wear them?"

"No. That's an odd question."

"Did anyone wear heels? Not spike heels, but say about two inches."

"Do you think I spend my time cruising people's feet?" She laughed.

"I know you are a woman of fashion. I expect you take in everything, BoomBoom."

"Let's see." She studied a spot at the left-hand corner of the ceiling. "Baltier wore white espadrilles. Susan wore navy blue flats, Pappagallo. Susan loves Pappagallo. Bitsy wore a low heel, Marcy wore sandals, Chris wore a slingback with a bit of heel. Harry wore sneakers, as you would suspect, since it's summer."

"Why?"

"Harry wears sneakers in the summer, Bean boots in the rain, or riding boots. Oh yes, and her favorite pair of cowboy boots. That's the repertoire."

"Did she wear her Bean boots?"

"No, I just said, she wore sneakers."

He dropped his eyes to his notes. "So you did."

"How big are the footprints?" BoomBoom asked.

He crossed his arms over his chest, uncrossed them, picked up his cigarette out of the ashtray, taking another drag. "BoomBoom, you don't ask me questions. I ask you."

"I hate to think of Leo like that." Her eyes brimmed sud-denly with tears, but then it was well known BoomBoom could cry at a telephone commercial. "He was such fun. He-" She shrugged, unable to continue.

Rick waited a moment. "He was an old friend."

"Yes," came the quiet reply.

"Did you know he was divorcing his wife?"

"Yes." She opened her hands, palms upward. "He told us at the Outback. I think he was upset, although Leo always made a joke about everything."

"Will you go to the funeral?"

"Of course I'll go."

"It's in Richmond, isn't it?"

"Yes. St. Thomas. The most fashionable church in Richmond."

"Leo from a good family?" He dropped the verb.

"Yes, but he married higher on the social ladder. His wife is a Smith. The Smiths."

"And I don't suppose they've named any of their daughters Pocahontas."

"Uh . . ." The corners of her mouth turned upward. "No."

"I expected you to be more upset." He ground his cigarette into the ashtray until tiny brown strands of tobacco popped out of the butt. "You're the emotional type."

"I guess I'm in denial. First Charlie. Now Leo. It's not real yet."

"Did they ever date the same girl?"

"In high school?"

"Any time that you can recall."

"No. Not even from grade school."

"Can you think of anyone who hated Leo?"

"No. His wit could rip like a blade sometimes. But a true enemy? No. And I don't think his wife hated him either. After all, divorce is such a pedestrian tragedy."

"That's poetic."

"Is it?" She batted her long eyelashes at Rick, not a conventionally handsome man but a very masculine one.

He smiled back. "If you think of anything, give me a call." He stood up to leave and she rose with him.

"Sheriff, do you think Charlie and Leo were killed by the same person or persons?"

"I don't know, and I'm not paid by your tax dollars to jump to conclusions."

She showed him the door and bid him good day.

Later that same day he compared notes with Cynthia Cooper. Between the two of them they had buttonholed everyone who'd been at the shoot that day. Better to catch people as soon after an incident as possible. Rick was a strong believer in that.

They'd found Leo's car still in the parking lot at the Outback. None of the restaurant staff remembered seeing him get into another car, but they had been inside working. The small gathering of friends didn't remember him getting into another car either.

They sat in his office drawing up a flow chart for Leo. Each person's story confirmed what every other person said. There were no glaring omissions, no obvious contradictions.

"Boss, he could have picked someone up after the dinner and gone to wherever they went in their car. Charlottesville is a college town. There's a semblance of night life." Not for her. She fell between the college students and the married, which put her in the minority.

"Could have."

"You think he knew the killer just as Charlie probably did, don't you?"

"If he didn't know the killer I'm convinced the killer is innocuous in some fashion. A nonthreatening person or functionary, you know, like a teacher." He stopped. "Someone you wouldn't look at twice in terms of physical fear. Leo could have been killed by a woman for that matter."

"She'd have to be fairly strong to hoist him into the dumpster," Cynthia said.

"Yes, but it could be done. The man Hunter Hughes saw go into the locker room at Farmington was thin. Average height, but as it was from a distance the man could have been shorter. Doesn't mean it's our killer, and it doesn't mean the same person killed both men. But it's odd."

"That it is."

"Have you talked to Charlie's ex-wives?"

Cynthia cracked her knuckles. "Yes. Finally reached Tiffany, wife number four-don't you love it-'Tiffany,' in Hawaii. Said she'd heard he was shot and she was sorry she hadn't done it herself. When I asked for suspects she said, apart from herself, the person who hated him most when she was married to him was Larry Johnson."

"Larry Johnson? That doesn't make any sense." Rick ran his hand over his balding head. "Or maybe it does."

"Abortions. Does Larry perform abortions?"

"He's a general practitioner, so no, he doesn't. But he knows where the bodies are buried, as they say." He noted the clock on the wall, five-thirty in the afternoon. "The best time to talk to Larry is in the morning. Maybe we should both make this visit. Oh, did you talk to Mim yet?"

"Yes, she's fine as long as she knows things before anyone else does."

"I asked BoomBoom about shoes. She remembered everybody's shoes. Another thing: for BoomBoom she was remarkably self-possessed. No vapors. No lace hankies to the eyes and thence to the bosom. Another oddity."

"What do you think of Tracy Raz?" Cynthia asked.

"A trained observer and a damned sharp one at that."

"Ran a check on him. Legit. Korea. A solid Army career, Major when he mustered out and into the CIA."

"If he hadn't pointed out those prints in front of the dumpster before more people walked around I might have missed them. He said nothing. He motioned with his eyes and then turned to push the gawkers back. He's a pro." He slapped his hand on his thigh. "You know what I'm going to do?" She shook her head and he continued. "Take the wife to the movies."

"Good for you." She wished she had someone in her life. She'd go out with a guy but eventually her schedule and work would turn him off. "I'll see you at Larry's office. Seven."