The hostess greeted me and led me toward a table. On the way, I spotted Marisue and Randi. They waved and motioned for me to join them. I steered the hostess in their direction, and she left me there with a menu.
“Good afternoon, Charlie,” Marisue said. “We were hoping we’d run into you today.”
“Have you heard the latest?” Randi’s eyes were alight with curiosity.
“Good afternoon.” I opened my menu and laid it flat on the table. “What’s the latest you’ve heard?” I was curious whether news of Maxine Muller’s murder had started making the rounds.
“Some poor woman was strangled to death in her room,” Randi said in an undertone.
I didn’t bother to correct her about the method of murder. “Who told you that?”
“You don’t seem surprised by the news,” Marisue said. “Did you already know about this?”
There was no point in prevaricating. “Yes, I did.” I figured I might as well share a few of the main details, aside from the way the poor woman died.
“Poor Lisa,” Marisue said, and Randi echoed her. “How awful.” Marisue looked a bit ashen.
“Who was murdered?” Randi asked.
“Maxine Muller,” I replied.
The irrepressible Randi didn’t seem much bothered by the thought of Lisa’s ordeal or by Ms. Muller’s unfortunate demise. “The person who killed poor Maxine had to be the same one who poisoned Gavin, don’t you think?”
“It seems pretty likely,” I said. “You didn’t answer my question. Who told you about the murder?”
“The maid who was cleaning our room,” Randi said. “We popped upstairs for a moment before coming down here, and she was in our room. She almost jumped out of her skin when we walked in. The poor thing was terrified.”
“When we asked her why, she told us that a woman had been found strangled in her room on the sixth floor,” Marisue said. “We didn’t know until now, though, that poor Maxine was the victim.”
“Maxine must have known something about Gavin’s murder.” Randi exchanged a glance with Marisue.
“I would think that’s certainly possible,” Marisue said. “But we have an expert right here. What do you think, Charlie? You’ve had a lot of experience with this kind of thing, haven’t you?”
“Unfortunately, more than I would care to admit to anyone besides friends of long standing,” I said. “I think Maxine is connected, and the killer obviously felt Maxine had to be got out of the way for some reason. I sure wish we knew what that reason was.”
“I didn’t really know her that well,” Lisa said. “I’d see her at these meetings and usually at ALA. We served on an ALA committee together twice, I think.”
“Same with me,” Marisue said. “I do know that she had a thing for Gavin Fong, and that I found extremely strange. I can’t imagine why a sane woman would be attracted to that narcissistic creep.”
Randi giggled. “Maxine was odd. I always thought so. Most of the time she carried a knitting bag around with her. She was always knitting sweaters for her dogs.”
“I’d forgotten about that.” Marisue grimaced. “She gave me a couple once because I made the mistake of telling her I had a Yorkie, too. They were dreadfully twee. I donated them to the local animal shelter when I got home.”
I found the image of Maxine knitting dog sweaters sweet, but also rather sad for some reason. I hoped there would be someone to give her dogs a good home. I hated to think of orphaned pets. There was never any way to explain to them why their human was never coming back.
Randi could have read my mind. Her face clouded. “I didn’t think about her poor little orphaned fur babies. I hope someone will take them and give them a good home.” For a moment I thought she was going to cry, she looked so sad.
Even Marisue appeared moved by the plight of Maxine’s dogs. Before we turned maudlin, I decided I’d better change the subject. I wanted to bring up blackmail as a motive, but I needed to be careful doing it. I couldn’t share with Marisue and Randi the bit of conversation Lisa overheard at the luncheon.
I couldn’t think of a graceful way to do it, so I dove right in. “I’ve been thinking about that story you told me at dinner last night. The one involving Harlan Crais.”
“What about it?” Marisue asked.
“About Gavin blackballing Crais to keep him from getting a job.”
“It was nasty,” Randi said, “and you couldn’t really blame Harlan for hating Gavin the way he did.”
“No, I suppose not,” I said. “Look, here’s what I’m wondering. If Gavin was willing to blackball someone, what are the chances he would threaten to do it, but tell his victim he wouldn’t if he got paid enough not to?”
TWENTY-ONE
I glanced from one to the other and back again as I tried to gauge their reactions to my question. Both Marisue and Randi seemed to freeze for a moment, then they shared what I interpreted as an uneasy glance.
Marisue responded first. “With Gavin, anything low and underhanded was always a possibility, I suppose.”
“Yes, he could have done something like that,” Randi said. “I wouldn’t put it past him.”
I sensed that they both knew something but were reluctant to tell me what it was. “We’ve already talked about the fact that I have experience with a murder investigation, haven’t we?”
They both nodded. “What’s your point?” Marisue asked.
“My point is this,” I said. “If you know something that could have a bearing on the case, then you really need to share it with the investigating officer. I can assure you, from personal experience, that Chief Deputy Berry is an intelligent, seasoned investigator. She’s tough but fair.”
I sat back and waited for them to mull over my words. Our server came to the table with a glass of water for me, introduced himself, and then asked if we were ready to place our orders. I waited for Marisue and Randi to give theirs, then I told the young man what I wanted, the All-American Cheeseburger and salad, with unsweetened iced tea, no lemon, to drink. I loved their sweet tea, but it had way too much sugar in it.
Once the server finished writing down our orders, collected the menus, and moved away, I looked at Marisue and Randi and waited for them to respond to what I had said right before the server came to the table.
Randi fiddled with her spoon and avoided meeting my gaze. Marisue stared at something over my shoulder. I waited, however, and didn’t prompt them to speak.
Finally Randi broke the silence. She glanced quickly at Marisue and away again as she spoke. “The thing is, Charlie, we don’t know anything for sure. I mean, we have no proof of it. It’s more like an educated guess.”
“That’s a start,” I said.
“A couple of years ago, we heard that Gavin bought a new car,” Randi said. “A BMW, one that sells for well over a hundred thousand dollars.”
I almost spit out the water I’d sipped the moment before. How on earth could a librarian afford a car that expensive?
He could if he was blackmailing someone or, in fact, several people.
I set my water glass down and swallowed the mouthful of water. “That is highly suspicious, don’t you think?”
Marisue shrugged. “He could have inherited the money, because he evidently paid cash for it. At least, that’s what we heard through the grapevine.”
“Yes, that’s possible,” I said.
“But from what we heard, Gavin never mentioned a death in the family or ever boasted of having rich relatives,” Randi said. “He was the type who would, though, if he had some.”