“There’s an excellent reason for a company like that to use different names at different outlets,” Jed said.
“Why?”
“Shelf space. Think about the soda beverage aisle in the grocery store,” Jed continued when he saw the mystified expression on his wife’s face. “There’s a huge selection. Some shoppers buy Coke. Some buy bottled spring water. Some are looking for diet drinks. Most of those choices are created, bottled, marketed, and put on the shelves by a few big conglomerates. But they don’t brag about the common ownership. Because the common ownership blurs each individual brand’s image. That a drink made from sugar and chemicals with artificial colors added might come from the same purveyor as the water from the pristine stream in Montana doesn’t help either product sell.”
“You’re saying that they might just be two different faces of the same company,” Kathleen said as their appetizers arrived.
Susan stared down into her bowl of shellfish and wondered if she was imagining that this might be an important concept.
TWENTY-FOUR
SUSAN OPENED THE FRONT DOOR TO TAKE CLUE FOR HER morning walk and found Brett Fortesque standing on the porch.
“We need to talk.”
“I-”
“We need to talk right now.”
“If we could do it while I walk Clue…”
“Fine.”
“… then you could walk Rock and Roll at the same time.”
“I could, but I’m not going to. Susan, this isn’t a social call.”
“Then we’d better go before Clue has a nervous breakdown. Golden retrievers are not known for their patience.”
“Neither are police officers,” Brett said, starting down the walk.
Susan hurried to catch up. “You know about Perry Island.” The words were out of her mouth before she could think about whether or not they were wise. Damn! She shouldn’t even think of leaving the house until she’d taken the time to drink at least one cup of coffee.
Brett looked down at her. “I know about Perry Island and I know the woman who is taking care of your grandchildren right now was employed there when the murders happened.”
Susan waited for more.
“And I know about Mike Armstrong and that he’s her cousin.”
“Oh.” Susan stopped to allow Clue to sniff the corner of a neighbor’s stone wall. “So why do you want to talk to me if you know everything.”
“Susan…”
“Brett, you’re not going to arrest Shannon!” Susan cried.
“I’m not going to arrest anyone. Now. But I may suggest that she come down to the station house so I can ask her some questions.” He stopped, turned around, and faced Susan. “Two dead women have been found in the house next door to you, Susan. I have no reason to suspect anyone in your home is involved, but you know perfectly well that I can’t ignore the connection.”
“I know, Brett. But I’m sure Shannon didn’t kill anyone. She was with Chrissy when Nadine was killed. Besides, she’s a wonderful person and a sensational nurse.” She wasn’t sure, but she thought she heard him snort at this statement. “It’s true, Brett. The police on Perry Island didn’t arrest her, did they?”
“The police on Perry Island didn’t arrest anyone. It’s an ongoing investigation.”
“And what reason would she have to kill Nadine-if she had the opportunity-or Blaine? She didn’t even know them.”
“Really? Donald recognized her.”
Susan thought for a minute. “Yes, but the fact that Donald knew Shannon doesn’t mean she would kill his wife. Think about it, Brett. What reason would she have to kill Nadine? If she was trying to hide her connection to Perry Island Care Center, she would have needed to kill both Nadine and Donald.”
“And Blaine Baines, too,” he said.
“So have you ordered extra protection for Donald?” Susan asked. She realized she sounded sarcastic, but she had been caught unprepared. She had hoped she and Brett wouldn’t have this talk until she had figured out who killed Nadine and Blaine and all those poor old people. Clue stopped and she was glad of the break. She couldn’t do it. Too many murders over too long a time. She was never going to figure this one out. She looked up at Brett who was standing quietly by her side.
“I don’t think she killed anyone, Brett,” she said quietly. “And she is a wonderful nurse and I don’t know what Chrissy and Stephen would do without her. But I can’t figure out anything about all this. I’ve talked to so many people, but nothing I’ve learned leads in any particular direction. And, of course, now Blaine ’s dead.”
Clue looked up impatiently and pulled on her leash. “We’d better walk. This poor dog’s main exercise for the past week has been trying to keep Rock and Roll from stealing her dinner and barking at all the confusion next door.”
“Not exactly the ideal dog’s life,” Brett said.
“Not exactly.”
“Susan, you know I’ve grown to respect your investigative abilities.”
“It took you long enough,” Susan yanked on the leash to prevent Clue from flattening a gorgeous curbside display of crocus.
“You’re probably right.”
Susan blinked. Where was this conversation going? “But I thought you were angry at me for not telling you about Perry Island and Shannon and all.”
“Not angry. It would make my job a lot easier if you shared what you know with me, yes. But sometimes you… well, sometimes your enthusiasm for what you think you know gets in the way of rational thinking.”
“Brett, why are you here? I mean, you didn’t show up on my doorstep at dawn just to chat, did you?”
“No. To be honest, I wanted to pick your brain. You usually have insight into the personal relationships of the people involved in any of my cases.”
Well, he already knew what she had been trying to hide. Why not? “Okay. But I don’t think I know anything. I mean, I’ve heard that Nadine and Donald were having marital problems, and that Donald and his mother were competitive, and that Nadine and her mother-in-law didn’t get along. And, damn it, that’s really all I’ve learned.
“Not much, is it?” she added when he didn’t respond right away.
“Not much,” he agreed. “Of course, you were investigating a single murder. Now things have changed. Two women have been killed.”
“As well as those patients at Perry Island,” Susan said.
“ Perry Island is not, of course, the primary focus of my investigation, but I haven’t forgotten them since Donald Baines told me about your baby nurse.”
“Donald told you about Shannon! When?”
“Last night.”
“Because he was trying to protect himself! You suspect that he killed his mother!”
“I certainly checked that out right away.”
“And?”
“He has an alibi.”
“That’s not possible. Did you even know when she was killed last night? When was the autopsy completed?”
“Her personal secretary called the station right after she heard about the murder. Blaine Baines had lunch with a prospective client at the Hancock Inn at noon yesterday. I haven’t spoken to the client yet, but I did speak to Charles who says she’s one of his best lunchtime customers and he saw her there. My understanding is that the last time Blaine Baines appeared in public was around two-thirty when she walked the client to her Jaguar in the inn’s parking lot.”
“And Donald…”
“Was in the office of a lawyer in Darien closing on a house from around two until five when he drove home, walked into his kitchen, and discovered his mother on his kitchen floor.”
“How do you know he didn’t walk in the house and find his mother alive and kill her?”
“Because she wasn’t killed in his kitchen.”
“What?” It was a possibility Susan hadn’t even considered.
“Definitely. She was killed someplace else and carried into the kitchen.”
“You’re sure?”