Arsenic And Old Books

“I’ll be talking to both those ladies about this,” the chief said. “Anybody else you can think of might want to get hold of the diaries?”

I hesitated. Should I tell Chief Ford what I suspected about the connection between Kelly Grimes and Jasper Singletary?

My poker face evidently failed me.

“You’ve thought of something,” the chief stated flatly.

“It’s hearsay, probably. Something I saw today and then a short snatch of conversation I overhead.”

“I’m listening,” the chief said.

I wondered briefly whether Chief Ford had heard about my previous experiences with the murder cases I’d been involved in, and what he might think about me as a result. With Kanesha Berry, chief deputy in the sheriff’s department, I was on a surer footing. She knew me pretty well, but Chief Ford and I were barely acquainted. I decided that, if necessary, I’d refer him to Kanesha to check my bona fides.

“Okay, here’s what happened.” I launched into a description of the events at the bakery and the epilogue at the bookstore.

“Sounds like you have a knack for being in the right place at just the right time,” the chief commented when I finished. His expression gave me no clue as to whether he was making a joke.

He didn’t wait for a response. “Does sound to me like there’s a connection to the diaries. Pretty logical, based on everything you’ve told me. Looks like I’m going to need to work with either Athena PD or the sheriff’s department on this, though.”

Here was my chance. “If you work with the sheriff’s department, I’m sure Chief Deputy Berry will vouch for me, in case you need any reassurance.”

The chief nodded. “Anything else missing?”

“I haven’t really looked yet,” I said. “I figured I should wait until you arrived. Shall I go ahead now?”

“Yes,” the chief said. “Touch as little as possible, because we’re probably going to check your desk for fingerprints and trace evidence. The diaries were on your desk, right, when you left for lunch?”

I confirmed that they were before I checked around my desk. Without inventorying the shelves in my office I couldn’t say for sure whether anything else had been taken, but I didn’t get the feeling that anything was missing from the shelves. Everything looked as it should.

“I don’t think the thief took anything else,” I said finally.

“Okay,” the chief said. “How about you go wait downstairs in Ms. Gilley’s office? I’ll be down soon to talk to her. Meantime, I’m going to get a couple of my officers over here, and I’m going to contact the locals and see how they want to proceed. I can question Dr. Steverton, but they’ll probably have to track down Ms. Grimes.” He whipped out a cell phone without waiting for a response.

“I’ll be down there if you need me,” I said. I didn’t think he heard me, so I headed downstairs. Melba would be bouncing with excitement when I told her what happened.

Mayor Long, on the other hand, would probably be angry, and I wasn’t looking forward to that conversation.

THIRTEEN

By the time I got home that evening, I felt like I’d been dragged backward through the briar patch. That’s what my late mother used to say anytime she was exhausted. Occasionally she’d say she was “plumb wore out.” No matter how I described it, I was beat.

Poor Diesel was fatigued, too. All the noise, with law enforcement personnel going up and down the stairs outside Melba’s office, and the tension he picked up from me, wore him plumb out. We were both glad to get home to the quiet and peace of an empty house.

Or so I thought. Sean came noisily down the stairs about five minutes after Diesel and I walked into the kitchen. I was seated at the table, and the cat was stretched out beneath it after a visit to the utility room.

“Hey, Dad,” he said as he headed for the fridge. “How was your day?” He pulled out a beer and popped the cap off with his thumb. The cap hit the floor, but Diesel couldn’t be bothered. Usually he would bat it around until I took it away from him to stop the noise.

“I’ve had better.” I leaned back in my chair.

Sean put his beer on the table and sat across from me. “You look out of it,” he said. “And when Diesel doesn’t want to play with a bottle cap, I know he’s out of it as well. What happened?”

I realized I hadn’t seen my son for at least a couple of days; thus I had a lot to tell him. “Tell you what. Pour your poor exhausted old dad a glass of iced tea, and I’ll fill you in.”

“Deal.” Sean got up and went to the cabinet for a glass. “I’m not buying the poor old dad bit, though. You’re not quite ready for the old folks’ home. Next year maybe, but not now.” He grinned broadly as he set the full glass in front of me.

I clinked my glass with his bottle once he resumed his seat. I drained half the tea before I started talking. “This will take a few minutes.”

“I’ve got the time.” Sean leaned back in his chair and sipped his beer.

The cold tea and the caffeine revived me a bit, though by the time I finished my recital of the events of the past two days, I was ready to go up to bed and forget about dinner.