“Have mercy, Mr. Charlie, what’s the matter with you?” Azalea replied over the barking of a dog. I spotted Stewart’s poodle, Dante, wiggling ecstatically as he tried to lick his buddy Diesel’s face. Diesel swatted at him but failed to convince him the attentions were not appreciated.
“I saw the patrol cars outside, and I figured there had been some kind of emergency,” I said. Stewart and his partner, Haskell, exchanged glances while Kanesha frowned at me. “But nothing happened, I guess.”
“That’s correct,” Kanesha said. “I came by to check on my mother, and Stewart and Bates stopped by to see you.”
I leaned against the refrigerator and drew deep breaths. My pulse rated dropped back to normal, and I felt like an idiot. “I’m glad nothing’s wrong.”
Diesel, accompanied by the happy poodle, disappeared into the utility room. I pulled out the chair next to Kanesha and sat. “Nice to see you, Stewart,” I said. “You, too, Haskell. We don’t get to see much of you these days.”
“I keep telling Haskell he ought to give up that tiny apartment of his and move in here with me.” Stewart grimaced at his boyfriend. “There’s plenty of room, even for his ginormous boot collection, but he keeps resisting.”
Haskell frowned. I knew he didn’t like discussing personal matters in front of others. He was so reserved he would make a clam seem chatty.
“It would be fine with me,” I said. “There’s more room on the third floor if you’d like extra space. Justin uses only the one bedroom, and the other two are empty. Plenty of closet space.”
“Thank you,” Haskell said. “I will keep that in mind.” He shot Stewart a glance that seemed to promise an argument once the two were alone together. Stewart appeared not in the least worried, though. He grinned back at Haskell. I had no doubt Stewart would eventually get his way.
I turned to Kanesha. “How’s the investigation progressing? Did Chief Ford get in touch with you about what happened to my car?”
Stewart responded before Kanesha could answer me. “What happened to your car? Did somebody hit you?”
“No, I got a great big rock through the windshield. Deliberately.”
Stewart frowned, but this time Kanesha spoke first. “Yes, I heard about it. To answer your first question, yes, the investigation is progressing.”
I waited to hear more details but she didn’t continue. “That’s all you’re going to say?” I asked.
“That’s all you need to know,” she replied coolly as she rose. “Make sure you keep using the alarm system, you and Mama both.” She looked at Bates for a moment. “It might be a good idea if you did stay here a few nights, Bates. You’re off this weekend, too.”
Haskell frowned. “Is that an order, ma’am?” He didn’t appear happy at being forced into this particular corner.
“No, it’s not,” Kanesha said. “But I would take it as a personal favor if you would stay here, at least until the investigation is complete. I would feel a lot better about the security of this house with you on the premises.”
Thus she boxed him up and tied the bow as neatly as Forrest Wyatt had done with me. There was no way he could refuse now without looking like a completely selfish jerk. I felt sympathy for him, but I was relieved as well.
“All right, ma’am,” he said.
Stewart grinned and leaned over to whisper in Haskell’s ear. To my amusement, and Haskell’s no doubt chagrin, he blushed. He nodded and kept his gaze averted from the rest of us for a moment.
“Thank you, Haskell. I really would feel a lot safer having you in the house the next few days,” I said.
Diesel and Dante came back into the room. The poodle had calmed down a little. He was no longer hopping around Diesel, but he continued to gaze adoringly at his friend. Diesel ignored him and headed straight for Stewart.
“See, Haskell, Dante is thrilled to be spending time with Diesel,” Stewart said as he rubbed the cat’s head. “And Diesel is so happy to see his uncle Stewart, too, aren’t you, boy?”
Diesel recognized his cue and meowed and chirped in response. I saw one corner of Haskell’s mouth twitch. Even he wasn’t completely immune to Diesel.
“If there’s gonna be two more men for dinner,” Azalea announced, “I got me some cooking to do.” She shot pointed glances at Kanesha and me. “You got time to stay and eat?” This last was addressed to her daughter. “Be ready in about thirty minutes.”
Kanesha shook her head. “Thank you, Mama, but I’m due back at the department. Time to check on a few things. Charlie, would you mind seeing me out?” She nodded at Stewart and Haskell and headed out of the kitchen.
I hurried to catch up with her. I wondered what she wanted, after saying to me a few minutes ago she had nothing to share concerning the investigation.
“What is it?” I asked when she stopped at the front door.
“I couldn’t talk in front of my mother and Stewart.” She frowned at me. “It’s bad enough I’m talking to you about a murder case.”
“I see. I can understand that.”
“I know how nosy you are.” Kanesha crossed her arms. “You’ll be trying to find things out like you always do, and I figure I might as well get some benefit out of it. As long as you do not put yourself or anyone else—particularly my mother—in harm’s way by doing so. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, of course,” I said. We’d had similar conversations before, and I had no idea why she felt she had to repeat her usual admonitions.
“All right. I’m trying hard to figure out what the motive is for Reilly’s murder. In the case of his brother-in-law, I figure it’s because he knew something, maybe saw something, and the killer got spooked. Took him out as a precaution.” She looked grim. “But with Reilly I can’t get a handle on why he was killed. So I’m asking you, have you come across anything that could constitute a motive?”
“Not yet,” I said. “I spent several hours today going over the library’s budgets for the last few years. I figure there might be a connection to money somehow, since that was supposed to be Reilly’s area of expertise. I’m meeting with President Wyatt and the board on Monday, and I may get more details about any financial issues then. In the meantime it wouldn’t hurt if you got in touch with Wyatt or the vice president for finance, Wayne Taylor. You might find out something pertinent from them.”
“Sounds good. Anything else?”
“I’m meeting with the department heads, Lisa Krause, Delbert Winston, and Cassandra Brownley, on Wednesday. I know Lisa has talked to you, but what about Delbert? I urged him to, after he came to me and insisted on telling me his story. He had a motive, certainly. Cassandra, I’m not sure about. She’s a difficult woman, but I’ll do my best with her. I know she was really angry with Reilly over some matter, but then she’s angry with just about everybody.” I relayed the scene I’d witnessed two days ago when Cassandra stormed out of Reilly’s office.
“Thanks for the information,” Kanesha said. “I have talked to Mr. Winston, so I’m aware of his potential motive. Can you think of anyone else, besides the three department heads, who had any reason to want to get rid of Reilly?”
“Not unless there is someone in the financial affairs department he got on the wrong side of, I can’t think of anyone.”
She nodded and reached for the doorknob, but before she could open the door, I spoke. “Can you answer one question for me?”
Kanesha eyed me warily, her hand still on the knob. “Maybe. What is it?”
“What’s the status of Brent Tucker? Chief Ford told me about his being arrested in DeSoto County.”
“He was released on bond this morning,” Kanesha said. “So if you’re wondering whether he could be the one who smashed your windshield, the answer is yes.”
“What about the murders? Was he already in jail when the second murder occurred?” If he had been locked up, I reasoned, at the time of Stanley’s death, he probably hadn’t killed Reilly, either.