Garbo Towers

Chapter 20

"Pete. Pete, listen to me will you. We cleared the others, we have to start thinking of the ones in the garden." Art pleaded with his partner. "There has to be a way one of them got inside without being seen."

White sat slumped in his chair, chin propped on his chest and arms folded. "There's no goddam way, I don't care what the captain says. There's just no goddam way."

"Look," Art began patiently. "Let's take them one at a time and check them against the statements again. Degrew we can scrub—"

"Oh, you're sure?"

"Don't be a jerk, Pete. She was up at the lectern in front of everybody almost right after Spade went inside. The chef, the catering staff..." He scribbled some notes. "Let's just leave them for now. I know it wasn't the chef. He was consoling himself in the garden over the mess he made of the cake. Not a killer's profile. Alec Fletcher."

"What about him?"

"He was first one in after the scream. He was also cuddly with the Hayes woman." Art scribbled some more. "Not really likely since they were together the whole evening." He doodled a heart with an arrow through it. "You gonna help or what?"

"What."

"Fine. Be a smartass."

"You're just doin' what we've already done, eliminate everybody." White gave his partner a bleak look and leaned forward on his desk. "I know what we have to do, Art and I'm not tryin' to be a jerk about it. It's just that I can't see a way around the times." Art didn't respond. "You hear me?"

"Get this," he said suddenly excited as he thumbed through his notes. "Brenda Carlisle."

"Gee, that's enlightening, Detective Washington."

Art ignored him and went on. "According to both Fletcher and Hayes, Brenda Carlisle went to the bar for another drink." He flipped a few pages. "Mrs. Morano says that Brenda Carlisle got up and moved when Emily Crouse joined the group." Another flip of pages. "Cheryl Woz-whatever, said that Brenda said she wanted another drink and left the group."

"What's the point here, Art?"

"The point, partner, is that we have this Brenda Carlisle away from the group during the tribute—and none of them said she came back." The two detectives stared at one another, the imaginary smell of wood smoke from overheated brains permeated the office. "Now who do you like?"

**************

Alec and Darlene sat quietly at the kitchen table surveying the damage caused by their lusty encounter, both stunned by the speed and the outcome of their passion. Darlene looked down at the stains on her dress and the flour on her legs and began to giggle.

"What?"

"Look at us. Talk about hands in the kitchen."

Alec laughed, shaking his head. "We're lucky we didn't seriously hurt ourselves. How the hell am I going to get all that flour up off the floor?"

"First we have to make sure we don't step in the broken glass. Who keeps a flour canister on the kitchen table anyway?"

"Besides me? What's that liquid over there?"

"I don't know. Whatever you had on the counter in that plastic jug."

"Oh shit, lemonade." He got up quickly then realized he had no pants on and sat back down. "I think we both need a shower."

"Me first." She said. "I still have things to do today. You can start cleaning in here."

He looked at her in surprise. "Things? You're going to shower and leave?"