With This Puzzle, I Thee Kill by Hall Parnell

Author:Hall Parnell
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2011-06-29T13:45:55+00:00

30

“SO, WHAT’S YOUR THEORY OF THE CASE, CHIEF?” CORA DEMANDED, as they drove back toward the crime scene.

“It’s too early to have a theory of the case.”

“Don’t give me that. You made an arrest.” Cora jerked her cigarettes out of her purse.

“You can’t smoke in here.”

Cora made a face. “In a police car?”

“In my police car. Put ’em away.”

“I will if you tell me your theory.”

Chief Harper sighed. “This is not exactly rocket science. The suspect was found kneeling over the victim with a knife in his hand.”

“I know. I found him.”

“And you’re still not convinced?”

“Of course not. There’s no way he did it.”

“How do you know?”

“How do I know my fanny’s round? Dennis couldn’t have killed Raymond. Raymond would have ground him up and spit him out like chewing tobacco.”

“I understand it’s personal—”

“You don’t understand a thing.” Cora snuffled. “Sure it’s personal, but it’s not just personal for me. It’s personal for Sherry.”

“She and her ex-husband were estranged.”

“That’s putting it mildly. A restraining order was in effect.”

“Even so, you think it would upset her to have him charged with murder?”

Cora shook her head. “You don’t understand. He didn’t do it. You charge him with murder, he becomes the sympathetic hero, charged with a crime he didn’t commit. Don’t cast that jerk in that role.”

“This is not a game, Cora.”

“No kidding. This is deadly serious.”

Chief Harper slowed his car near the crime scene. He frowned. It appeared half of Bakerhaven was there.

Harvey Beerbaum emerged from the crowd. “Cora, I just heard. I’m so sorry.” He enfolded her in a clumsy embrace.

“I’m sure you are, Harvey. I’m sure you are.”

Harvey was almost knocked off his feet by a stampede of Tune Freaks.

“Hey, man, where’s our lead singer?” Razor demanded.

“If you mean Dennis Pride, he’s talking to his lawyer.”

“I’ll bet he is,” the portly drummer said, and rolled his eyes suggestively.

Harper and Cora tiptoed through the Tune Freaks to where Sam Brogan was standing with two witnesses. Cora had a momentary rush of dread as she recognized Raymond’s long-haired hippie next-door neighbors, before the horrible realization dawned that she didn’t have to be afraid of them anymore.

“These the ones?” Harper asked.

“Yeah.” Sam rolled his eyes slightly as he introduced the hippie couple as Jack and Daffodil Dirkson. Their getup recalled the Beatles song in which John and Yoko looked like two gurus in drag. “They saw him go in.”

“Is that right?” Chief Harper asked.

Jack Dirkson ran his hand through his long, thinning hair. His mind appeared blown by the question. “Wow, man. What a thing to say. When you say, like, ‘Did we see him?’ you mean, like, ‘Did we see him?’ ”

“That’s the gist of it,” Harper said patiently. “Did you see him go in?”

“You gotta ask me that?” Jack whined. He pointed to Cora. “She was there. She went in. You don’t need us.”

“According to your wife, the young man came earlier,” Sam Brogan prompted.

“Yes, he did,” Daffodil Dirkson said. She seemed slightly more coherent than her spouse. Cora wondered if that had to do with their relative drug intake, or was just generally the case.

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