Casey Mayes - A Killer Column

“You’re tricky,” I said.

“I prefer to think of it as being clever,” he replied. We stood there in the shadows of the tree’s leaves when I saw a familiar face coming toward the elevator. I grabbed Zach’s arm and pointed to the man, carrying a bouquet of flowers in one hand.

He punched an elevator button, and after a few seconds’ wait, got on.

I pulled Zach out and watched as the floor numbers lit up.

“Who was that?” Zach asked.

“Hang on one second,” I said as I continued watching. A few seconds later the elevator stopped, and I saw that it had reached the twelfth floor.

“I don’t believe it,” I said.

“Savannah Stone, if you don’t tell me right now who that was, I’m walking out of here.”

“It was Brady Sims. He worked for Derrick writing the Wuzzle World puzzles.”

“And now he’s visiting the widow,” Zach said. “It doesn’t necessarily mean anything, you know. He could be here to pay his respects.”

“He could be, but I doubt it. Did those flowers look like something you’d give to a grieving woman?”

“You’re asking me? Seriously?”

“Trust me, they’re not. They looked more like courting flowers.”

“I don’t know,” Zach said. “It’s a reach.”

“Maybe, but it’s not one we can afford to ignore.”

My husband nodded. “Then Brady moves up a few spots on our suspect list.”

“As long as I keep moving down, I’m fine with that.”

I tried to imagine Brady and Cary together, but I just couldn’t wrap my head around it.

Love made up some stranger matches than that, though. I saw it nearly every day.

But it certainly was something we needed to investigate.

Chapter 11

“ WHAT SHOULD WE DO?” I ASKED ZACH. “SHOULD WE stay here until he comes back down so we can talk to him?”

“It’s hard to say how long that might be,” he answered. As he looked around the lobby, he added, “Besides, we’re a little conspicuous standing here, even with this tree blocking us from view.”

“We could always go to the restaurant and get something to eat while we’re waiting.”

“Come on, Savannah. Surely we can find someplace better than that,” he said as he glanced at the formal dining room that was connected to the lobby. I was certain that the men in suits offered the reason for his hesitation. Zach didn’t like to go anywhere that he had to dress up for, particularly to eat. It was all I could do to get him to take me out to a fancy restaurant on our anniversary every year.

“I’m sure they have a jacket you can borrow.”

“No thanks. I say we leave Brady and Cary to their tryst, or whatever it is, and go talk to another suspect.”

“I’m good with that,” I said, giving in. “Which one do you want to go after next?”

“Well, since Brady and Cary are busy upstairs, and Sylvia’s at the other hotel, that leaves Mindi and Frank Lassiter at the top of our list.”

“I can’t believe we have five suspects already without even trying.”

“Six,” Zach said.

“Who did we miss?”

“Kelsey Hatcher. I keep asking myself, who had the most to gain by Derrick’s murder, and Kelsey’s name keeps popping up.”

“She is in charge now, isn’t she? That’s quite a step up, from assistant to editor and syndicator. Cary must trust her an awful lot. Or Kelsey must have something pretty damaging on Cary.”

“Who’s being cynical now?”

“More like realistic,” I said. “You didn’t see Kelsey when she called us all together. It was pretty clear the power has already gone to her head.”

“I thought you two made up?”

“For now,” I admitted, “but I can see some rocky times ahead. There was an edge to her before that she’s trying to hide now, but she’s not what she seems.”

“To be, rather than to seem,” Zach quoted.

“Yeah, and mountaineers are always free,” I answered.

“What’s that got to do with anything?”

“I figured if we’re quoting state mottos, I’d throw out a few of my own. You gave me North Carolina, and I replied with one from West Virginia.”

Zach looked into my eyes. “Savannah, I’m not in the mood for any foolishness.”

I couldn’t keep from laughing. “Boy, did you ever marry the wrong woman, then.”

He tried to look stern, but his visage suddenly broke into a smile. “I think I did pretty well for myself, thank you very much.”

“You’re very welcome,” I replied.

The clerk must have been watching us the entire time we’d been standing in his lobby. “Was there something else you needed?” he asked as he approached us.

“No, we’re good,” I said with a smile.

“Very well,” he replied as he backed up a few steps.

I tugged on Zach’s arm. “Come on, we’re clearly making the man nervous.”

“We have that effect on folks sometimes, don’t we?”

I looked up at my powerful husband. “I think they’re more intimidated by you than me.”

“Don’t kid yourself. I know some hardened criminals who’d rather take me on than you.”

“Now you’re just trying too hard.”

I led him out of the hotel, and we got into the rental. As I started the ignition, I said, “We never really decided what we were going to do next, did we?”

“Is there a place around here I could make a few telephone calls? I hate to be where anyone else can hear me.”

“How about right here in the car? Or did you want me to leave, too?”

“Of course not.” He opened his cell phone, and then said, “I’m having a hard time getting a signal in here anyway.”

“I have an idea,” I said. “It’s on the way to the other hotel, too, if that helps.”

“I’m in your hands.”

As I drove through town, I said, “This is a place where you should have plenty of privacy, and the views are pretty spectacular, too.”

“You’ve got me curious. Any hints?”

“We’ll be there in a second,” I said. I took the last turn, and wondered for a minute if I’d gotten it right. The neighborhood we drove through was a little sketchy, but a few minutes later, I saw the sign I’d been looking for.

“We’re here,” I said as I pulled into the parking lot.

Zach looked at the train tracks and the benches. “Where exactly is here?”

“It’s Pullen Park,” I said. “Jenny brought me here the last time I visited. They have the coolest carousel in the world here.”

“We don’t have time to ride, Savannah.”

“Come on. We can at least go look at it.”

Zach nodded, and we walked down the path of gray brown interlocking pavers. The view, once obscured by bushes, now presented a large lake of beautiful water. There were paddleboats docked close to us, though none were out on the water at the moment. Several ducks were sitting on the wooden docks, as if waiting patiently for their turns to ride.

“Everything’s closed,” Zach said.

“I don’t understand,” I said. “The carousel has to be open.”

As we walked toward the round building, I saw shutters closed at every opening.

A man was working nearby, replacing the trash bags from one of the garbage cans. “Excuse me? Is it closed?”

He nodded. “They had to do some repairs. Don’t worry, it’ll be back open in a few days.”

“Thanks,” I said.

“Is the train running?”

He shook his head. “Sorry, you just missed the last ride.”

Zach shrugged. “Hey, you tried.”

“Perfect. At least the statues should still be there, unless they’ve hauled them off somewhere for cleaning.”