Between the time
Investigator Pepper Black went to McCormick’s Boat Rental, and got back to the
station, Sheriff Clayton Nazzaro had been to some of the shops around the lake.
He wanted to see if anyone had seen Margie Webster at the docks after 9:00 AM
on Friday when she stopped at her job to look for her Hemingway book of poetry. He didn’t
have much luck. He also, in a roundabout way, questioned people in regards to
the book club held at Malcolm Sinclair’s estate.
***
“I’m not
liking this Idea, Pepper,” said Sheriff Nazzaro. “What if someone recognizes
you?”
Pepper
adjusted the wire under her blouse and put on her suede blazer. She decided to dress
casual in her best jeans, one of the few pairs she owned with no holes or
stains. Crime scenes tend to give one’s wardrobe a workout. Her auburn hair was
pulled back in a French braid. A pair of flats, a silver bracelet and simple
earrings, and very light on the makeup completed her average girl look. She
pulled up her pant leg and slid her Sig Sauer 380 into its hidden holster.
“No one saw
me at McCormick’s if that’s what you’re worried about. I was in and out,”
Pepper said, as she stood up and smoothed out her jacket sleeves. “Mine was the
only vehicle in the lot.”
Clayton rose
from his desk chair to pace back and forth by the windows. “What about someone
in town who goes to the book club?”
Pepper
stepped in front of the sheriff’s path. “Clayton, I’m too new around here. This
is the first case I’ve worked the scene. Everyone in the department has the
heads up, so quit worrying. You’re making me nervous and that’s not the image I
want to present when I get there.”
“Fine. It’s
just we’ve never had a reason to play spy, probably don’t need to now even, but
I have to admit, learning about this guy today, it might be the best way to get
a bead on him.”
Pepper didn’t
like to see the sheriff worry like this. Where she came from going undercover
was common. She had to remember, for a small rural town, a decapitated body was probably the weirdest
murder case they’d ever encountered. She'd better shift the focus away from her and
back onto the case itself. Pepper sat down on her usual spot on the edge of the sheriff's desk.
“Anything else
you learned today I should know before I head out to see Sinclair and the other
bookies?” She got a smile out of him with that and he sat back down in his chair.
“The guy is a
bit peculiar from what I was told, and I’m not talking about a minor foible or two,” said Clayton. “Mostly
keeps to himself except the book club and who knows how he gets a hold of the
bookies, as you call them.”
“The problem
is how much of what you heard is true and how much is small town busybody
gossip?” Pepper picked up a book of Hemingway’s poems similar to
Margie’s.
“Got it at a
bookstore a couple counties over—in case you’re wondering,” said Pepper. “It’s
not exactly the same, but it’ll work.”
Clayton stood
up to walk Pepper out. “Got one of the department’s unmarked vehicles for you
to use. Still wouldn’t park near the house though, go a ways down the road. Any
ideas how you’re going to justify being there seeing as no one knows how to get
into the group?”
“Sure,” she
said, taking the keys. “I’ll say Margie invited me and told me to meet her there. It’s not like Malcolm can ask her, right?”
***
Today's word - F for Foible - is brought to you by Nicholas Ruggiero
If you would like to catch up, here is my 2013 A to Z Mystery Recap.
If you would like to catch up, here is my 2013 A to Z Mystery Recap.
Good luck to her in her spying! I need to go back and look, but it sounds like Margie has disappeared (at the very least). I hope they find her (or whodunnit if it's something more).
ReplyDeleteShannon at The Warrior Muse
Poor Margie is dead.
ReplyDeleteI guess we will have to wait until monday to get our first look at the book club.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to meet Sinclair.
ReplyDelete