Janet Evanovich - Full Tilt

Lamar turned the casing over several times as though he might find a clue. "We don't see this kind of action down here. Somebody is mighty serious about killing somebody." He studied Max. "Do you have any enemies? Anybody who might want you dead?"

"I try to conduct business fairly," Max said, "although I'm sure I've made a few people angry in my dealings. I can't think of anyone who'd actually want to kill me."

Lamar turned to Jamie. "Have you been printing anything controversial in your newspaper?"

She rolled her eyes. "Well, I did accidentally print that Peggy Block won a blue ribbon for her Wedding Ring quilt, when it was actually Jane Barker."

Lamar frowned. "Did you print a retraction?" When Jamie nodded, he went on. "Well, then, we know that's not it." At Max's incredulous look Lamar added, "These ladies take their quilts seriously."

"Obviously," Max said, his voice controlled as though he were trying to practice patience. "But one possibility we might consider is that Jamie is covering the mayoral campaign and has already endorsed Frankie Fontana. Since she owns the only newspaper in town, it won't sit well with his opponent. I'm sure you're aware of the threatening mail Frankie has received."

Jamie looked surprised. "He's getting threatening mail? I didn't know that."

Lamar nodded. "Yeah, we're looking into it, but I don't see how the two are connected." He looked at Jamie. "Are you sure you printed a retraction?"

"Yes, Lamar!"

"How about your employees? Anybody holding any grudges against you?"

"Just Vera. She's mad at me because I haven't given her a raise in a long time."

"She carries a.38, doesn't she?"

"How do you know that?"

"My cousin's wife goes to the same beauty parlor. The gun fell out of Vera's purse once." He looked concerned. "Guess I'll have to wake Judge Dobbert so I can get a search warrant. He's not going to like it."

"You're not going to search Vera's house! Jeez, Lamar, Vera wouldn't lay a hand on me. She loves me like a daughter."

"Well, that's true." He sighed. "Doesn't look like this is going to be an easy case. Doesn't look like I'm going to be able to take time off for my annual fishing trip, either."

"Perhaps this was politically motivated," Max said.

Lamar's expression went blank. "Are you thinking of running for office, too?"

Max and Jamie exchanged looks. "No, but the attempted hit might have been a ploy to scare off Frankie," Max said. "Nobody can get to him because his place has more security than Fort Knox. Since I'm his cousin they might try to get to him by hurting me. Or Miss Swift since she's a close friend."

"Well, he did threaten to look into those missing tax dollars," Lamar said. "You might be on to something."

"And who better to help Frankie with the investigation than his cousin Max Holt?" Jamie said.

"Man, this puts a whole new light on things," Lamar said.

Bud from the crime lab arrived. "Holy smoke, Lamar!" he said the minute he stepped into Jamie's office. "What happened here?"

"Somebody shot holes through Jamie's window."

"Hell's bells, I figured that out for myself. Does anyone know why?

"We're working on it. I want you to run this metal casing through ballistics and see if we can get an exact make on the weapon."

Bud took the casing and looked at it closely. "Man oh man, this here puppy is bad." He looked at Jamie. "I hope you cleared up matters between the quilting-bee ladies. My wife is part of the group, and she was mad as a hornet that somebody else got credit."

Max turned and looked out the window.

Jamie suspected Max was growing impatient with the local law enforcement personnel. "Lamar, can we go?"

"Give me just a sec," he said. "I need to write up a quick report and have ya'll sign it. And I'll have my men board up the front window for you," he added.

"Would you mind leaving one of the deputies here until my production crew finishes up?"

"Sure thing. Do you want me to post someone outside your house?"

"I'm taking Miss Swift to the Fontana place," Max said. When Jamie looked like she might argue, he went on. "Frankie's house is the safest place in town right now."

Jamie relented. She was bone tired, and she suspected she wouldn't get much sleep if she was home alone.

"I may as well tell you there's someone from the local TV station outside," Bud said. "I tried to get rid of him, but he's looking for a story."

"I'll go out with you," Lamar said.

As soon as they finished the report Jamie followed Max and Lamar outside. Sure enough, a reporter stood outside the door, another man taping them as they tried to pass.

A man shoved a microphone in Jamie's face. "Miss Swift, can you tell me what happened here tonight?"

"I have no comment," she said.

"Go ahead," Lamar said quietly. "I'll talk to them."

The reporter faced him and raised the microphone to him. "We're ready, Chief."

Max and Jamie hurried away. His car was parked on the other side of her Mustang convertible. As Jamie started around her car, she paused.

"Oh, my God!"

Max whipped around. "What is it?"

"They shot a hole through my passenger door!" Jamie knelt on the ground beside her car so she could get a closer look. She felt her throat close up. "I don't believe it."

Max knelt beside her. "Probably ricocheted off the building. That's too bad."

Jamie's eyes stung. "You don't understand. I love this car. It's—" She almost choked on the words. She looked up at Max. "You wouldn't understand."

"Help me."

"My father gave me this car as a graduation present, it's really all I have left," she added mournfully.

"I'm really sorry, Jamie. The good news is it can be fixed."

She swiped her eyes, determined not to burst into tears. To a man like Max Holt, who'd probably spent millions having others design his automobile, her car was just an old Mustang convertible. "It's just a car," she muttered. "Don't worry about it."

* * * * *

"You think we got 'em, dude?" Lenny asked, as Vito parked behind the motel and cut the engine.

"I don't know how we could have missed, but we can't leave town until we know for sure. We don't get paid until it's a done deal." He grunted. "I wanted to get out of here tonight. The cops are probably combing the area as we speak."

"Nobody knows we're here, man. The motel manager thinks Mitzi is alone."

Vito nodded. "Yeah, but the sooner we blow this town the better. I've got a bad feeling. Now, be quiet going in, okay? If Mitzi's asleep I don't want to wake her. She'll ask questions."

* * * * *

Frankie and Deedee were awakened at two a.m. by the telephone. Frankie picked it up. "Yeah?" He rubbed his eyes and listened. "Let them in."

"Who is it?" Deedee asked, reaching for the lamp. She turned it on, and the two blinked at one another sleepily.

"Max and Jamie. What in the world are they doing together?"

Deedee wrinkled her brow in thought. "Oh, I wish I wouldn't do that," she whined. "One day I'm going to frown, and the wrinkles are going to permanently lock into place." She smoothed her forehead as though checking to make sure they were gone. "Max is sort of her business partner," she finally said.

Frankie just looked at her. "Why didn't I know that?"

"Sweetie, I try not to bother you with every little thing. You know Jamie's had financial losses with her newspaper. I asked Max to help."

Frankie's look softened. "Why am I not surprised? My little Deedee, who always wants to make things easier for people. What I don't understand is why he would bring her here at this hour."

"I hope he's not planning to nail her. I hope I didn't screw up by asking him to help her."

"Your intentions were good." Frankie climbed from the bed, shivering from the cold. He reached for his terrycloth bathrobe. Deedee, wearing a tight-fitting gossamer teddy, got up as well.