Lucy Stone Mysteries - 10 - Father's Day Murder by Leslie Meier

Author:Leslie Meier
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Mystery
ISBN: 9780758228956
Publisher: Kensington Books
Published: 2009-08-15T00:55:39+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Three hours later, when the “Keeping Features Fresh” panel ended, Lucy was more convinced than ever that there were no new feature stories. They had all been written. Even worse, they’d all been written by her: the heartwarming reunion with long-lost relatives or pets, the lucky discovery of a priceless antique carelessly used for a humble purpose, and the always popular struggle of one courageous individual or family to overcome a cruel and debilitating disease—or the variation in which a courageous individual or family battles to raise money for an experimental but potentially lifesaving procedure that was not covered by medical insurance.

It was enough to make you a cynical sob sister, thought Lucy, as she closed her unused notebook and dropped her pen into her purse. In fact, one of the panelists had been an extreme example of what happened to a features editor who had lost all interest in human-interest stories. Lucy recognized her from the registration line, where she’d admired her shoes. Today she was wearing a different, equally fascinating pair. Her name was Carole Rose, and Lucy was interested to discover that she worked for the Pioneer Press Group’s Hartford paper, one of the papers published by Junior and edited by Sam Syrjala.

“That was very interesting,” said Lucy, approaching Carole when the panel was over and introducing herself.

“I saw you yawning, you know,” said Carole, a trim, fiftyish woman dressed in a tailored pantsuit and sporting oversize eyeglasses with black rims. “Not that I blame you. I could hardly keep myself awake.”

“How about a reviving cup of tea at the Swan Court?” suggested Lucy.

“How about a stiff drink at the Whiskey Bar?” countered Carole.

It seemed a little early to Lucy, but she really wanted to talk to Carole. She was sure to have some insight into Junior’s role in the company and his relationship with Sam Syrjala, the Gazette editor who had given the police evidence incriminating him.

“Sure,” she said. “I hear it’s one of the trendiest bars in Boston.”

“Honey, I don’t care if it’s trendy or not as long as they don’t water the booze.”

Lucy treated this as a joke and laughed, but she had a feeling Carole was absolutely serious. She struggled to keep up as Carole hurried through the lobby and into the candlelit lounge, where low banquettes were arranged around cube-shaped tables. It took Lucy’s eyes a few moments to adjust to the darkness—all natural light was carefully excluded and the walls and furniture appeared to be black—and she stumbled as they sat down. Fortunately, the bar was virtually empty and no one saw her gaffe, not even Carole, who was busy lighting a cigarette.

“What can I get you ladies?” inquired a waiter, speaking down to them from a lofty height. It wasn’t just the fact that he was quite tall and the banquettes were very low; Lucy was pretty sure he considered himself a superior being.

“Double martini,” growled Carole.

“White wine for me,” said Lucy.

“Which white wine would that be?” inquired the waiter.

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