I called the Nation County Sheriff's Department on Hester's phone. I asked Sally to get a message to Borman.
“Just a sec, I'll let you talk to him.”
“What?” I didn't want to do that, not until I could reach him, anyway. But I had no choice. “He's right in the back room,” she said. “Writing his reports.”
Borman came on the line a second later. “Hi.”
“I thought you were up around the Mansion?”
“No, we went up there, and everything's fine. I thought I better come back down and get writing on these reports.”
I could see why he'd want to do that, but I wasn't all too happy about it. I thought he was trying to avoid working overtime, as opposed to being eiffcient.
“Look, go back up and talk to them again, will you? We have indications that Peale was in Lake Geneva this morning, early. He left. He's driving one of Jessica Hunley's cars, but we don't know which one for sure. There's a good chance he may be on his way back to the Mansion. Tell them that. All of them.” I really tried for a friendly voice. Well, a normal one, anyway. He didn't know that I was aware he'd filed a grievance, and he'd figure out Lamar had told me if I mentioned it.
“Oh, okay. Sure. So, like, you're over in Lake Geneva, then?”
Well, it was a good guess, and there really wasn't a reason to keep it secret anymore, since we'd already talked to Jessica.
“Yeah, we're in Lake Geneva. We got a few interviews to do yet, and should be on the way back tomorrow sometime.”
“Oh. Rank has its privileges, huh?”
I couldn't tell from his voice whether he was kidding or being sarcastic. “It sure does. You might want to remember that.” I took a breath, and lightened back up.
“Keep all this to yourself, though. Just you and Lamar. No point in the whole world knowing just yet.”
“Okay, I'll get right on it. Nothing much going on here, at all.” He sounded fairly earnest, and sincere.
“Okay. You might want to pick up some OT, and hang around up there this evening. Maybe a good idea to have a couple of reserves up there tonight, all right?”
“You got it.”
“Give me back to Sally, will you?”
“Yo!” Sally always managed to sound cheerful.
“Yeah, hey, keep me posted on anything that comes up, okay?”
“Always, Houseman. Hey,” she said, “I hear I'm a witness.”
“Ah, yeah, I guess. But I'm not allowed to talk about that with you.”
“Sure. I think it's a crock of shit, though. He's acting like a little brat.”
“I have no oiffcial opinion,” I said, smiling in spite of myself. “I can only say I agree with you completely.”
“Gotcha.”
“Anyway, I can be reached at Hester's cell phone yet today, and Lamar has my motel number for tonight. Lake Geneva.”
“I guessed,” she said.
“Not surprised. How long did it take you?”
“Just until Lamar called you from Dispatch.” I could hear the smile in her voice.
“No secrets in Nation County,” I said.
“You got it. Oh, hey… ”
“Yeah?” I was just getting ready to break the connection.
“Did Lamar tell you he had the flu?”
“Lamar? No, not a word.”
“He's pretty sick, I think. Be ready to get recalled, Houseman. We have Norris and Willy both out, too. You might have to come back here.”
“Right.” I broke the connection this time before she could give me any more bad news. The department was now down to four effectives, counting me.
I told Hester and Harry. They thought they could get the job done without me, if it was necessary. Put it gently, though. Like Harry said, “We'll miss you at mealtime.”
The next call was to Hawkins at the local sheriff's oiffce, with Hester doing the calling. I felt I should let her use her own phone once in a while.
She told him that our man Peale had likely been in Lake Geneva until early this morning, and that he was en route to points unknown, in a car that was probably registered to Jessica Hunley. Made his day. Hawkins told her he'd put out an E-1/F-1 bulletin, immediately. That would send the data to all the Midwestern states, including Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, and Illinois. With the notation that the suspect was armed, dangerous, and wanted for questioning in a murder in Iowa.
“That ought to produce something,” I said, when she told us.
“You'd think,” said Harry.
“So, we have,” she said, and looked at her watch, “about three hours to kill before we call Jessica. Mind if I check out a couple of these antique stores?”
By closing time at 5 P.M., Hester had acquired three brass candlesticks, and I had picked up a small cinnabar vase for Sue's collection. Harry, surprisingly, had shopped very intensely, but had no luck.
“Can't find good Royal Daulton anywhere, these days.”
Apparently to cope with his disappointment, Harry also engaged one of the store owners in a conversation about the “big gray building.” Bridgett Hunley's house, of course. Everybody seemed to know it as soon as we said it looked like a large government oiffce building. The lady told Harry quite a bit of local lore about the Hunleys, replete with the veiled implication that all their money hadn't been acquired on the up and up, and ended with her assessment of Jessica.
“And she's going to inherit the whole thing,” she said. “She seems nice, but there's something about her.”
“Really,” said Harry, “I think there's 'something about' everybody who has that much money, don't you?”
“Oh, yes. I've known her… well, known of her, since she was in high school. Always able to buy her way out of any sort of trouble.”
“Those rich kids always seem to get into their share of trouble, don't they?” said Harry, sounding bemused. He was really good at that.
“Yes, they do. Can I interest you in something else?”
“No, Royal Daulton is my thing, honey.”
“That's nice,” she said. “That Jessica, she does seem to have problems with her proteges, though. For some reason.”
“Oh, really?” said Harry, with more charm than I'd seen him display since his last murder trial. “Well, young people are a little different these days.”
“They just don't last,” said the clerk. “She has one now, with really horrible hair, who's been with her the longest of any of them. Must be all of three years. I don't give her much longer, and Jessica will be ready for a new one.”
“Oh, I'm sure,” said Harry.
“She really has bad luck with them. Some just leave, I guess, but one was drowned out there in the lake, and one was killed in a car crash just about four years ago.”
“Really?”
“Oh, yes. One ran off with a local insurance man. Ruined his family. I truly think,” she said, very seriously, “that it must be something with dancers.”
“Oh,” said Harry, cinffding in her, “I do agree. Yes I do.”
When we got in the car, Harry was smiling all over himself. “I still got, it, don't I? Don't I? Am I fuckin' charmin' or what?”
“Uhhuh.” I agreed. “Charm the birds from the trees.”
Hester was shaking her head. “I don't care what anybody says, Harry, you can be almost human if you really, really try.”
“You really think so? You ain't just being nice, Hester? Wasn't that great?” asked Harry, of either of us. “But, hey? Two deaders associated with Dirty Dan the Vampire Man? Nobody has to draw me a map of that one.”
As if to punctuate, Hester's phone rang. Hawkins. They'd checked out Hunley's home and studio. The silver 2000 Mercedes Benz SUV was nowhere to be found. Not conclusive, of course, but if Peale was in one of her two cars, and they had the BMW accounted for…
Hester thanked him, and then told him about Harry's conversation with the clerk. I couldn't hear what he said, but it took a few seconds. She said, “Right. Good. Thanks,” and broke the connection. She took a deep breath, and let it out very slowly. “This damned case just keeps going, doesn't it?”