Hiss H for Homicide by Toni LoTempio

Author:Toni LoTempio
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Beyond the Page Publishing

Fourteen

I was in the middle of the breakfast rush the next morning when Jenks ambled in the front door. He took his place in line behind Henry and Lauretta Trimble, a retired couple who came in every morning for bear claws and coffee before starting their customary three-mile walk. Lately, though, they’d been skipping the walk and sitting at one of the front tables to watch the morning news, like most of my other customers. Right now the story of the hour was Marlene’s murder, and everyone’s eyes were glued to the screen. I gave Henry and Lauretta their donuts and coffee and greeted Jenks with a smile as he approached the counter.

“I see you got my message,” I said. “Your voice mail wasn’t on, so I had to leave it at the switchboard.”

“Technical troubles.” He chuckled, brushing an errant strand of hair out of his eyes with the flick of a finger. “I’ve never been one to turn away a free breakfast. Or, as you put it, ‘the scoop of the century.’ What exactly did you mean by that?”

I leaned across the counter so my nose was level with his, and I whispered, “How’d you like to possibly catch Marlene McCambridge’s killer?”

His eyes widened slightly and then he coughed. “Well, it would certainly put me back in Marker’s good graces. He wasn’t happy that we had to share the news of her murder with every other newspaper and TV station in the vicinity, especially since I’d had prior knowledge. I’m lucky he didn’t demote me to reporting on local news, like that pet show over in Castillo.” He let out a small groan. “I hate pet shows. I had to practically grovel for him to let me stay on features. That detective really owes me for keeping quiet like he asked.”

I was relatively certain Samms wouldn’t care in the least about Jenks’s career problems, but I refrained from making any comment. I set some eggs frying on the griddle before I turned back to him. “So you’re in, then?”

“Heck, yeah.” He stroked his chin thoughtfully. “You know who killed her?”

“I have a pretty good idea.”

His eyes widened. “You do?”

“Well, it’s nothing definite. It’s a gut feeling. But as gut feelings go, it’s a good one.”

He seemed to relax a bit. “Oh.”

I transferred the fried eggs to a fluffy roll, topped them with a thick slice of cheddar cheese, some crumbled bacon bits, and a slice of tomato, filled a mug with steaming coffee and placed it on a tray in front of Jenks. “Here you go, one Jimmy Fallon Special. Now, do you recall the house across from the one where Marlene was killed?”

He shook his head. “Not really, no.”

“It’s a brown stucco one. I saw the curtains move on several different occasions. At first I thought it might be a nosy neighbor, you know, like Rear Window? But certain things have come to light that make me think the person in that house might have had a more vested interest in recent events.

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