Twenty-seven

“This means Hank murdered Randall. Don’t you think so?” asked Oma.

The news took my breath away. “That seems like a reasonable assumption.” I leaned against the doorway. “Wow. That changes everything.”

“How so?”

“I think Dave was working on the assumption that Zelda or I murdered Hank. But now he has to consider why Hank would have killed Randall and whether that had something to do with Hank’s death. It puts Hank’s murder in a whole new light.”

I needed to tell Dave about Hank sleeping at Randolph Hall. “Have you seen Dave?” I asked Oma.

“He interviewed Zelda a while ago, but I don’t know where he went after that.”

“Thanks, Oma. Are you having dinner with Gustav again?”

“I have invited Rose and some friends to join us. I don’t want to see you alone. Would you like to come? Maybe Mr. Huckle could cover for us.”

“I’ll mind the fort. Frankly, I’m very happy to see you having a good time.”

Gingersnap had settled at Oma’s feet. But Trixie came with me when I headed to the main lobby. Cocktail hour was approaching, and the dining area had cleared out.

I stopped by the private kitchen for a cup of tea. When I put on the kettle, Trixie whined at the door. I opened it for her and found Zelda and Ben encamped on the private patio overlooking the lake. Trixie stopped for a pat from Zelda, threw an annoyed look at Ben, and ran out to the grass, where Huey and Duchess lay watching the activities on the water.

“Hey! Where have you been?” asked Ben.

“Trying to figure out what’s happening in this town. I had an interesting conversation with Paige McDonagh.”

Ben opened his mouth and snapped it shut. His face flushed red.

“You’re seeing two women?” I teased.

“No! I would not say that.” He looked at Zelda and rubbed the back of his head. “Okay, maybe.”

Zelda giggled. “Go ahead and tell her. I think it’s sweet.”

A long sigh shuddered from his mouth. “I’m just going to tell you the truth. Okay?”

“Always a good idea,” I said.

“Not when one is engaging in games of romance.”

Ben? Romance? I tried not to laugh. The kettle whistled inside. I asked if they needed anything, but they had an array of leftovers in front of them.

After pouring my tea, I took a moment to phone Dave. His voice mail picked up, so I left a message telling him where I was and that I had some information about Hank. I was back on the patio with my tea in a minute. “So what’s going on?”

“I read about Animal Attraction in the newspaper,” Ben said. “I thought it might be a great way to get back together with you. I called WAG and asked for a dog through the If the Dog Fits program. I’ve never had a dog or a cat, and yours hate me, so I thought, perhaps incorrectly, that I should try to understand what it is that you like about dogs.”

I glanced at Zelda, who nodded.

“I filled out one of Macon’s matching forms online by giving answers that I thought would match me to you.”

“So you lied.”

“I prefer to think of it as fudging. Like Where does your dog sleep? I don’t have a dog, so it’s not a lie to say that my dog sleeps on my bed. I knew that was how you would answer the question. But Macon matched me to Paige. And the night I arrived, I happened to meet Laura at Hair of the Dog.”

Ben rubbed both his hands up his face. “This has never happened to me before. I have never met a girl at a bar. They usually avoid making eye contact with me.”

“You’re making it sound like you never went out with anyone. You dated your boss’s daughter.”

“Do you think she would have been interested if her parents hadn’t pushed us together?”

“Yes. I dated you!”

“Ben,” said Zelda, “I think you don’t have enough self-confidence. A lot of women like nerdy guys.”

“Really? Given a choice between Hank and me, which one would you have chosen?” He didn’t give her an opportunity to respond. “Hank, of course! It’s hard enough to find a girl, but to have two that like me at the same time? Wow. My plan to cozy up to you backfired in every way possible. I got the wrong dog, and I was matched to the wrong woman. But Huey gave us something to talk about. There was never that awkward painful silence when nobody knows what to say. I thought for sure I would be matched to you, Holly. But, by golly, they actually like me! I’m worn out from running between the two of them, but also kind of jazzed because this has been a lot of fun.”

“And you have Huey to thank for it.” Zelda smiled at him.

“In a way, I guess you’re right. He broke the ice and made me more comfortable.”

I pondered whether it was worth pointing out that the women liked someone he was pretending to be. But maybe I was wrong.

“I hope you like Paige better than Laura,” I said.

“Why? Do you have something against Laura?” Ben frowned at me.

“Not at all. But I’ve seen her a couple of times with John Adele, and they looked pretty friendly.”

“You misinterpreted that. They worked together years ago and are old friends. She says he’s a nice guy but got into some trouble and had to leave the university. I’m sorry, Holly. I could tell you liked him, but it sounds like he comes with some serious baggage.”

“Did she say what happened?”

“Not exactly, but I can’t imagine it’s anything good if he had to leave his job.”

Ben bit into a mini–ham croissant. “What did you find out in your nosy wanderings?”

I filled them in about everything except where Hank had been staying. Something told me I might need that nugget to coax information out of Dave. He was usually pretty forthcoming with me, but he probably wouldn’t tell me much as long as he thought I was a suspect.

Zelda sagged in her chair. “I wish I had never met Hank. That Randall sounds like an awful guy, but that’s no reason to murder someone.”

“Zelda,” I said gently, “was Hank ever violent? Is it possible that he killed Randall?”

“I don’t think so. He was too doggone lazy. I swear the man was a couch potato. It drove me nuts that he couldn’t hold a job. I think there’s actually a dent in the sofa from him lying there watching TV and eating potato chips. He was home all day, but do you think he could have washed a dish or cleaned the cat litter?” Zelda’s eyes opened wide. “I’m speaking ill of the dead! I didn’t mean it. What I meant to say was he never lifted a hand against me. Ever.”

“It’s okay, Zelda,” said Ben. “It’s not like lightning will strike you for telling the truth. I think we can agree that Hank was a jerk, and he probably conned plenty of people. But I don’t know why you suspect anyone else, Holly. It seems clear to me that Mick the small-time crook probably killed both of them for money.”

Someone cleared his throat in the doorway to the kitchen. Dave walked toward us, a glass of ice water in his hand. “May I join you or is this a private conference?”

“You can join us,” said Zelda, “as long as you agree that I did not kill Hank.”

“Just doing my job, Zelda. We always look at wives and husbands first.”

“I haven’t been married to him for a couple of years.”

“Exes are equally suspect. I’ve heard you complain about Hank.”

Ben asked eagerly, “What about my theory that it was Mick?”

“I appreciate your speculation, Ben. I had the same thought,” Dave said. “But it wasn’t Mick who killed Hank. Couldn’t have been.”