Guilt Strikes at Granger's Store by Terry Shames

Author:Terry Shames [Shames, Terry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Severn House
Published: 2023-07-04T00:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-ONE

I go over to Town Café for lunch, and while I eat I think about Connie Sullivan’s reluctance for me to search her husband’s office. Did her hesitation mean anything, or was it a general protection because news of her husband’s death was fresh? Either way, it’s past time for that search. If there’s a link between the mummy and Paddy’s murder, I need to find it.

Something in the phone call Sullivan got that night alarmed him enough that he left his dinner uneaten. One thing I can think of that might have alarmed him was if the caller threatened to reveal knowledge of the thirty-year-old death. Maybe even blackmail was involved. So what did Paddy Sullivan do, or know, back then that made him vulnerable?

While I’m walking back, I get a call from Wendy.

‘I had a call from Chuck Hernandez this morning. He said he has arranged for a new lawyer in Monterrey. I’m worried that it doesn’t make any difference who the lawyer is, that the authorities are stonewalling.’ I’ve never heard Wendy so anxious.

‘Wendy, if anybody can cut through stonewalling, it’s Maria. Try to be patient. She’s barely had time to get there.’

When I hang up, I phone Connie Sullivan. ‘Connie, I’d like you to reconsider whether we can take a look at your husband’s home office for any indication of why he was targeted.’ I hope she’ll see reason and allow me to search her husband’s home and work office. Otherwise, I’ll have to call a judge and I don’t know if I can get a warrant this late on Friday afternoon.

She sighs. ‘I talked to my son and he said I had to let you do it. I know he’s right. I just hate to have someone rummaging through Paddy’s things.’

I tell her I understand and that we will be respectful.

I want to get right to it in case she changes her mind, and I ask her if tomorrow morning will work. She says it will be fine. I tell her I’ll be there at ten.

Then I put in a call to the medical examiner in Bobtail to ask if forensics got anything useful from the mummy’s clothing.

‘His clothes were pretty standard: blue jeans, a T-shirt and tennis shoes. Nothing to identify him.’

So still no idea who the man is. I have to dredge up ideas for other avenues to pursue. Tax records? Did someone pay taxes up until thirty years ago in town, and abruptly stop? I know one person who might have that kind of information.

I leave a note on the door to call me if anybody needs me, and head over to city hall. Martha Olderman has worked at city hall for fifty years. It’s high time she retired, but she clings to the job like it’s a lifeline. She shows me into her tiny office, pleased when I tell her she might be able to help me. She’s a tall, big-boned woman, carefully groomed, with her gray hair short and trim, and wearing tan slacks and a white blouse with simple gold jewelry.

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