I nodded. “I will. I’ll be on the lookout for Nancy Dunlap as well. Is there anyone else?”
Randi frowned. “I know I saw another familiar face. A man’s. Now, what is his name?” She thought for a moment. “Marisue, what’s the name of that guy from South Carolina, the one who writes science fiction under a pseudonym?”
“Mitch Handler,” Marisue said after a moment’s hesitation. “I think he writes as Berger Mitchell. Does that sound right?”
“Yes, that’s him,” Randi said. “Average height, salt-and-pepper hair, glasses, on the quiet side. I heard something happened between him and Gavin, but I don’t know what. I’ll try to remember who told me about it.”
“Don’t look at me,” Marisue said. “I’ve read some of his stuff. He’s good. Other than that, I don’t know anything about him.”
“These are some good leads,” I said. “Well, I won’t keep you any longer, ladies. I’m so glad we had time to visit tonight. I know I’ll see you both again before the conference is over.”
“Of course. Thank you for that divine meal.” Marisue gave me a hug, and Randi followed suit. She thanked me also, then both women bade Diesel and me good night.
I watched them enter the hotel lobby, then realized foolishly that I would have to follow them in, unless I wanted to go back down the alley beside the hotel to get to my car. I wasn’t superstitious, generally, but after my last experience with that alley, I didn’t feel like walking through it again just yet.
I pushed open the door, and Diesel entered ahead of me. The hotel staff had seen me here with him in the past, so I didn’t expect one of them to raise a fuss when we were simply walking through to get to the parking lot.
We encountered two guests who looked askance at us, however. I started to pass them by, but then I remembered where I had seen one of them. She was the woman who had come up to Gavin after I knocked him down. What was her name? Maxine Muller.
I hesitated for a moment, thinking I might say something to her. As I turned, I heard her speak in an urgent whisper to her companion, an older woman with brown hair liberally streaked with white.
“That’s him, Sylvia. He’s the one who killed Gavin.”
I did stop then, and I turned to confront them, even though Diesel tugged at the leash. He knew we were headed for the car, and he was ready to go home.
They were scurrying away. I started to call out to them, but my cell phone rang. I would have to find the two women and try to talk to them tomorrow.
I pulled out my cell phone. Lisa Krause’s name popped up on the screen.
“Hi, Lisa, what’s up?”
I heard a sob, then a deep breath before she spoke.
“Charlie, I’ve got to talk to you as soon as possible. I think they’re going to arrest me for murder.”
FIFTEEN
“Where are you now, Lisa?” I asked. The poor thing sounded terrified.
“I’m about to leave the sheriff’s department. They’re going to bring me back to the Farrington House.” She sobbed again, then collected herself. “Can you meet me there? I hate to impose, but I really need to talk to you.”
“I’m already at the hotel. Diesel and I will wait for you in the lobby. Don’t worry, now, I’m sure we can get this sorted out.”
“Thank you.” She ended the call.
I put away my cell phone and looked down at my cat. “Well, boy, I guess we’re not going home for a while yet. Come on, let’s go sit over there out of the way until Lisa gets here.”
Diesel resisted for a moment and pulled against the leash when I tried to lead him toward the lobby sitting area. He meowed in protest, but after a stern look and a “stop that” from me, he gave in and followed me to a small sofa. The moment I seated myself he jumped up and lay his head and the upper half of his body across my lap. The rest of him extended to the other arm of the sofa, and his tail thumped against the upholstery.
I worried for a moment about the cat hair that would no doubt get left behind, but then I figured that, over time, there had probably been far worse things on this sofa. The sheriff’s department was nearby, so Lisa ought to be here soon.
While we waited, I stroked Diesel’s back to keep him happy. He purred in response, and I knew he would be satisfied for a little while. My thoughts turned to the encounter with Maxine Muller and her friend, Sylvia. I supposed it didn’t take a great leap of imagination on her part for Ms. Muller to connect me with Gavin’s murder after she saw me knock him down. I didn’t kill him, though, and I would try to get that point across if I could get her to talk to me. As someone who had seemed friendly to Gavin, she could be helpful in identifying persons with motives far stronger than mine to get rid of the man.
Lisa Krause walked into the lobby and made a beeline for me the moment she spotted us on the sofa.
“Oh, Charlie,” she said, her breath catching in a sob. “I feel like I’m going crazy. You’ve got to help me.”
“I will. I promise.” I gently moved Diesel aside so I could stand up. He chirped in protest and climbed down from the sofa to rub against Lisa’s legs. “We can’t talk about it in the lobby, though. Aren’t you staying here during the conference?” At her nod, I suggested we go to her room, and we headed for the elevator.
In her fifth-floor room, I checked out her view of the town square before I settled into a low-backed chair. Diesel stretched out beside me, while Lisa sat on the edge of the queen-sized bed. She appeared calmer now in this quiet space.
“Okay, tell me what’s been happening with you.”
Lisa nodded. “It all started because I was the one who handed Gavin Fong that bottle of water he drank from right before he collapsed.” She shuddered. “That was awful. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the shocked expression he had right after drinking from that bottle. At first I was so stunned by it all that I didn’t think clearly. It wasn’t until someone at my table asked me about the bottle that it dawned on me that whatever killed him was inside it.”
“You couldn’t have known there was poison in the bottle,” I said. “If, indeed, that turns out to be the case.”
“No, I couldn’t have,” Lisa said. “But the fact is, I handed it to him. I brought the bottle to the table. Actually I brought a couple of them because he, Gavin, I mean, insisted that he had to have them. He refused to drink the hotel water.”
“There were two bottles. That’s interesting. Where did they come from?” I asked.
“From his suite,” Lisa said. “I arranged to have two dozen there for him during the conference. I figured that ought to be enough water for anyone for three days. Any that were left over he could take home with him, and I told him that.”
“How many were left when you went to get the two that you brought to the table?”
Lisa gave me a blank stare. “I’m not sure.” She thought for a moment, then shrugged. “There are a dozen bottles in each shrink-wrapped package. One package was still intact. The other one was open, of course, and I think maybe five bottles were left after I took two. Could that be important?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “It might be. They’re going to have to figure out when someone had the opportunity to put the poison in the bottle. Did you happen to look at the caps? Perhaps notice if one had been opened already?”
“No, why would I?” Lisa said. “They were still with the others in the shrink-wrap, and I simply pulled them out. I wouldn’t have had any reason to examine them closely.”
“You wouldn’t,” I said. “The killer had to count on the fact that no one was looking closely at the caps, I suppose, unless there was another way of getting the poison into the bottles.” I frowned. “It seems a chancy thing to do, frankly. A lot of people would check to make sure the seal was unbroken before they would remove the cap. I usually do.”