“And the white lilies. You gave them to the girls in the dance group, and you gave one to Hazel. You said they were the symbol of purity. Hazel kept hers in vase on the table next to your picture. She treasured it. She liked you, Elroy. She wouldn’t have talked. You want me to go on?”
He sprang from the desk, holding the gun in his shaky hand. It was aimed somewhere in my general direction. “Shut up, just shut up.”
I approached him. He shuffled backward. “Don’t come any closer.”
“Calm down, Elroy. I’m just going to use the phone.”
I picked up the receiver and dialed. Snavley cowered in a corner. He slowly moved the gun to his head.
“Hello, this is Jimmy O’Brien. Get a call through to Sergeant Hammer. Tell him I’m at the Divine Christ Ministry church on Winnetka in Chatsworth. Tell him I’m talking to the murder suspect he’s been looking for. The guy who killed Hazel Farris. Tell him to hurry, before he does something rash.”
I hung up, walked over to Snavley and took the gun away from him. If he hadn’t shot himself in the time since he’d killed Hazel, or since Robbie’s death, he wasn’t going to do it now.
“Make some coffee, will you, Snavley? We’re going to be here a while.”
I picked up the phone again and dialed.
“Hey, Rita, guess what.” I glanced at Snavley, dragging himself into the snack area to put on the coffee. “I’ve got a new client for you.”