I emerged from my woolgathering and looked at my watch. The panel should have started seven minutes ago. I also noticed that the room was nearly empty. I counted three other people besides myself.
What was going on? Where were the other members of the panel?
Moments later a harassed-looking Lisa Krause hurried into the room. Her expression forewarned me of bad news.
“What’s going on?” I asked. “Am I in the wrong room for the cataloging panel?”
Lisa shook her head. “No, this is the room.” She hesitated, then plunged into speech. “I’m sorry, Charlie, the other panel members all canceled. I only found out about this a few minutes ago, or I would have let you know sooner.”
“They all canceled? Why?” I thought I knew why, but I wanted to hear what Lisa had to say. My head started to ache as my earlier feelings of self-consciousness resurfaced.
“They all suddenly came down with really upset stomachs.” Lisa glowered. “Of all the ridiculously lame excuses I’ve ever heard, this one is the lamest.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “I wasn’t particularly looking forward to it myself.” After a brief pause, I continued in a rueful tone. “I’m pretty sure I’m the cause of those upset stomachs.”
“Oh, Charlie.” Lisa reached out and squeezed my upper arm, her expression one of sympathy. “They don’t know you like I do, or they would never behave in such a ludicrous way. Frankly I’m surprised they’re not all avoiding me. After all,” she added bitterly, “I’m the one who gave the bottle of poisoned water to Gavin Fong.”
“But you weren’t the one who knocked him down in front of a lot of people.” I shrugged. “By now I’m sure every single one of the people at this conference knows who I am and what I did.” I told Lisa about my run-in with Virginia and Ada Lou. She rolled her eyes at the mention of their names.
“I know them. They’re retired, have been for probably ten years or more, but I’ve seen them at every SALA meeting I’ve attended. I think they both get weirder every year. I’m sorry you had to deal with them.”
I chuckled. “I’ll admit it was disconcerting at the time, but now I can laugh about it. A little, anyway.”
“Good,” Lisa said. “Since you no longer have a panel to do, are you going to hang around for the rest of the day?”
“Am I going to tough it out, you mean?” I nodded. “Unless people start screaming and running away from me like I’m Frankenstein’s monster, I’ll hang around. I’d like to see more of some friends who are here, and there are some interesting sessions this afternoon.”
Lisa patted my arm. “I hope you won’t run into any more idiots. Well, I’ve got to go.” She glanced at her watch. “Heck, I was supposed to meet someone five minutes ago.” She turned and sped from the room.
I noticed that the two people still remaining in the room watched Lisa hurry out. They put their heads together to talk, and I had a feeling they were talking about Lisa. Maybe people were taking more notice of her than she realized.
I walked toward the man and woman. “Sorry, but evidently the panel is canceled. The rest of the speakers are all under the weather.” I gave them a pleasant smile and left the room without waiting for a response.
Back in the foyer of the ballroom I debated whether to return to the exhibits and wander around for a while. I didn’t feel like attending any of the sessions going on right now. I didn’t even bother to consult the program because I knew I would be unable to focus on the speakers. I felt too restless, and I didn’t want to sit in a room on an uncomfortable chair for an hour or so and fidget.
I went to the gift shop in the lobby and paid too much for a diet soda and a small bag of salted peanuts. I found a spot in the hotel lobby, a chair that faced the windows, and made myself comfortable. While I nibbled on peanuts and drank my diet soda, I watched the activity on the square and let my thoughts roam.
While I had some interest in the solving of Gavin Fong’s murder, I had two other matters that continued to stew in my subconscious. What would Laura and Frank do? I couldn’t help but think that their decision could affect my own decision about the full-time director’s job at the college library.
I promised Forrest Wyatt and the others, however, that I would give them my decision on Monday morning. I had no idea when Laura and Frank would make theirs. If I had to give an answer about the job before I knew what my children were going to do, I would be deciding without all the facts, in a way.
These thoughts made me realize that if Laura and Frank by some small miracle remained in Athena I really didn’t want to take on the full-time job. I wanted to be able to spend time with my grandchild. Grandchildren, I corrected myself. Sean and Alexandra were having a baby, too, and in my preoccupation over Laura’s potential move, I had lost sight of the fact that, even if she and Frank relocated to Virginia, I’d still have one grandchild in Athena. I needed to consider that, too.
Suddenly I felt too restless to sit any longer. I got up, discarded my empty soda can and the peanut bag, and headed to the front door of the hotel. I needed fresh air, and I would also soon be ready for lunch, despite my snack. As long as I was this close, I might as well have lunch at Helen Louise’s bistro.
The sun warmed my face, but it was not unpleasantly hot. A light breeze made for a pleasant walk around the square. I nodded a few times at people I knew and stopped once to chat briefly with a neighbor who lived three houses down from mine.
The conversation finished, I resumed my walk toward the bistro. My cell phone rang, and I pulled it out. Lisa Krause’s name came up. I was tempted to let it go to voice mail, but I knew I couldn’t do that to Lisa.
“Oh, Charlie, where are you?” Lisa broke into speech right away, not even giving me time to say hello. She didn’t wait for an answer to her question, either. “Wherever you are, I need you right away. I think somebody poisoned her, just like Gavin.”
NINETEEN
Lisa started sobbing, and I almost had to yell over the phone to get her attention. Passersby stared at me, and one woman made as if to approach me. I held up my hand and smiled to let her know I was okay.
“Lisa, you’ve got to calm down enough to tell me where you are,” I said. “I can’t help you if I don’t know where you are.”
I heard her draw a shaky breath. “Sorry, Charlie, you’re right.” She sniffled. “I’m at the hotel. Room 602. Can you come?”
I had already turned in the direction of the hotel and started walking back. “Yes, I’m on the way. Who is it you’re talking about? Are you sure she’s dead?”
Lisa sobbed again into the phone, but she caught hold of herself right away. “Maxine Muller. She’s dead. She looks so awful I can’t stand to look at her.”
“Have you called 911 yet?” I started moving faster, and my calves ached from the strain. I wasn’t used to this pace.
“No,” Lisa said. “I was so scared I called the first person I thought of. I guess I’d better call them now.”
“Yes, and then notify the front desk. I’m on the way.” I shut off my phone and stuck it back in my pocket. By now I was only about thirty yards from the hotel. I kept up the pace, despite the pain in my legs, and I almost ran into the front door of the hotel.
I made it through to the elevator without knocking anyone over, and I muttered under my breath while the agonizingly slow elevator doors opened to admit me. The elevator stopped twice on the way up. The moment the doors opened wide enough on the sixth floor I hurried out and looked for the sign that indicated the locations of the rooms by number.