The Coloring Crook by Krista Davis

Author:Krista Davis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2018-09-13T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

Eric closed the door behind us.

“We have news.” Zsazsa motioned for me to sit down. “The young man, Edgar, is not a student.”

“Edgar? Dolly’s tenant?” asked Eric.

Zsazsa explained her concern that he didn’t understand German.

“He’s not even enrolled.” Goldblum lowered his voice and looked at Eric when he said, “I still have some connections.”

“Maybe he’s planning to enroll in the fall,” I suggested.

“Applications for the fall term have closed.” Zsazsa shook her head. “He is not in the department of German and European Studies. I knew it!”

“There are other universities in this town,” Eric pointed out.

“An excellent observation. None of them have a graduate program in German and European Studies,” said Goldblum with great satisfaction.

“We need to see his driver’s license or the registration on his car.” Goldblum looked at me eagerly. “To find out who he really is. Maybe his name isn’t Edgar Delaney.”

“Why would he claim to be a student?” I wondered aloud.

“It’s an easy cover.” Eric pulled out his little notebook and wrote something. “Most people don’t happen to run into retired professors who would ask them questions in German. Maybe he thought that department would be an easy bluff. I’ll pass this information along to homicide.”

Goldblum scowled when Eric left. “That was certainly anticlimactic.”

Zsazsa ticked items off on her fingers as she spoke. “He claims he’s from Ohio. He has no apparent good reason to be in Washington. He lied about being a student. And he lives in Dolly’s house. Isn’t that enough to suspect him?”

Goldblum paced the floor. He came to an abrupt halt. “We should search his apartment.”

“Whoa.” I held up my palms. “That’s definitely illegal. No breaking and entering. Not even the police can do that. They would have to get a warrant.”

“But Maisie wouldn’t. Can’t the owner of the building go into the tenants’ apartments?” Zsazsa cocked her head.

“I want to find Dolly’s murderer as much as anyone else, but I don’t want to land in jail, nor do I want that to happen to the two of you. Besides, I don’t think you’ll find Maisie to be very cooperative.”

I heard Veronica shouting my name. “I’d better get back to work. Please don’t go getting into trouble.” I left the room and scrambled down the stairs expecting to find Veronica with an irate customer.

The man with her could have been Santa Claus had he worn red and added a white beard. He was clean-shaven, with a head of fluffy white hair and a belly that wouldn’t need any stuffing. His sport coat hung open. I suspected that it wouldn’t close over his abdomen.

“This is—” began Veronica.

The man interrupted her. Flashing a badge, he said, “Detective Lieutenant Holberstein. I’d like to speak to each of you individually.”

“You go ahead,” I said to Veronica. “The professor is out if you want to use his office.”

Veronica led the way upstairs, looking terrified.

In less than fifteen minutes, she came back. “Your turn.”

“How did it go?”

She shrugged. “I felt like I was boring him. I gave him the list of Hues, Brews, and Clues members like Eric suggested, and he didn’t even look at it.

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