"Mrs. Murphy's telling her about her narrow escape from death."
"That's the first thing I did when we got home." Mrs. Murphy sat up now and belted out the chorus from "Katie Went to Haiti."
"Jesus," Tucker moaned, flattening her ears, "you could wake the dead."
Pewter, on a Cole Porter kick, warbled, "When They Begin the Beguine."
The humans shook their heads, then returned to their conversation.
"Maybe the link is Sean's connection to Roscoe and Maury." Harry's eyes brightened. "He could easily have stuffed Roger's newspapers with the second obituary. Those kids all know one another's schedules. They must have been using Sean for something—" Her brow wrinkled; for the life of her she couldn't figure out what a teenage boy might have that both men wanted.
"Not necessarily." Fair played devil's advocate. "It really could be coincidence. Just dumb luck."
Harry shook her head, "No, I really don't think so. Sean is up to his neck in this mess."
Fair cracked his knuckles, a habit Harry had tried to forget. "Kendrick Miller stabbed Maury. Maury's murder has nothing to do with Roscoe's. And the kid liberated the BMW, so to speak, and just got carried away. Started something he didn't know how to finish."
"But Rick Shaw's guarding him in the hospital." Harry came back to that very important fact.
"You're right—but connecting him to Roscoe's murder and Maury's seems so far-fetched."
Harry leapt off the sofa. "Sorry, Murphy."
"I was so-o-o comfortable," Murphy moaned angrily. "Pewter, let's give it to them. Let's sing 'Dixie.' '
The two cats blended their voices in a rousing version of the song beloved of some folks south of the Mason-Dixon Line.
"You're a veterinarian. You shut them up," Tucker begged.
Fair shrugged, laughing at the two performers.
"Here." Harry tossed Fair a bag of treats. "I know this works." It did, and she dialed Susan. "Hey, Suz."
"Miranda's here. Why didn't you tell me!"
"I am."
"How long have you been home? Oh, Harry, you could have been barbecued."
"I've been home an hour. Fair's here."
"Tell me what happened."
"I will, Susan, tomorrow. I promise. Right now I need to talk to Brooks. Are you sending her to St. Elizabeth's tomorrow?"
"No. Although she wants to go back." Susan called her daughter to the phone.
Harry got right to the point. "Brooks, do you remember who Roscoe Fletcher offered candy to when he waited in line at the car wash?"
"Everybody."
"Try very hard to remember, Brooks."
"Uh, okay . . . when I first saw him he was almost out on Route Twenty-nine. I don't think he talked to anyone unless it was the guys at the Texaco station. I didn't notice him again until he was halfway to the entrance. Uh—" She strained to picture the event. "Mrs. Fletcher beeped her horn at him. He got out to talk to her, I think. The line was that slow. Then he got back in. Mrs. Miller talked to him. Karen walked over for a second. He called her over. Jody, when she saw him, hid back in the office. She'd been reamed out, remember, 'cause of losing her temper after the field hockey game. Uh—this is hard."
"I know, but it's extremely important."
"Roger, once Mr. Fletcher reached the port—we call it the port."
"Can you think of anyone else?"
"No. But, I was scrubbing down bumpers. Someone else could have walked over for a second and I might not have seen them."
"I realize that. You've done a good job remembering."
"Want Mom back?"
"Sure."
"What are you up to?" Susan asked.
"Narrowing down who was offered candy by Roscoe at the car wash.
Susan, recognizing Harry was obsessed, told her she would see her in the morning.
Harry then dialed Karen Jensen's number. She asked Karen the same questions and received close to the same answers, although Karen thought Jody had been off the premises of the car wash, had walked back, seen Roscoe and ducked inside Jimbo's office. She remembered both Naomi and Irene waiting in line, but she couldn't recall if they got out of their cars. She wanted to know if Sean was all right.
"I don't know."
Karen's voice thickened. "I really like Sean—even if he can be a jerk."
"Can you think of any reason why he'd take Mrs. Craycroft's car?"
"No—well, I mean, he's sort of a cutup. He would never steal it, though. He just wouldn't."
"Thanks, Karen." Harry hung up the phone. She didn't think Sean would steal a car either. Joyride, yes. Steal, no.
She called Jimbo next. He remembered talking to Roscoe himself, then going back into his office to take a phone call. Harry asked if Jody was in the office with him. He said yes, she came in shortly after he spoke to Roscoe, although he couldn't be precise as to the time.
She next tried Roger, who thought Roscoe offered candy to one of the gas jockeys at the Texaco. He had glanced up to count the cars in the line. He remembered both Naomi and Irene getting out of their cars and talking to Roscoe as opposed to Roscoe getting out to talk to his wife. He was pretty sure that was what he saw, and he affirmed that Jody emphatically did not want to talk to Roscoe. He didn't know when Jody first caught sight of Roscoe. She was supposed to be picking up their lunch, but she never made it.
The last call was to Jody. Irene reluctantly called her daughter to the phone.
"Jody, I'm sorry to disturb you."
"That's okay." Jody whispered, "How's Sean? It's all over town that he wrecked BoomBoom Craycroft's new car."
"I don't know how he is."
"Did he say anything?"
"I can't answer that."
"But you pulled him out of the vehicle. He must have said something . . . like why he did it."
"Sheriff Shaw instructed me not to say anything, Jody."
"I called the hospital. They won't tell me anything either." A note of rising panic crept into her voice.
"They always do that, Jody. It's standard procedure. If you were in there with a hangnail, they wouldn't give out information."
"But he's all right, isn't he?"
"I can't answer that. I honestly don't know." Harry paused. "You're good friends, aren't you?"
"We got close this summer, playing tennis at the club."
"Did you date?"
"Sort of. We both went out with other people." She sniffed. "He's got to be okay."
"He's young and he's strong." Harry waited a beat, then switched the subject. "I'm trying to reconstruct how many people Mr. Fletcher offered strawberry drops to since, of course, anyone might have been poisoned." Harry wasn't telling the truth of what she was thinking, although she was telling the truth, a neat trick.
"Everyone."
Harry laughed. "That's the general consensus."
"Who else have you talked to?"
"Roger, Brooks, Karen, and Jimbo. Everybody says about the same thing although the sequence is scrambled."
"Oh."
"Did Mr. Fletcher offer you candy?"
"No. I chickened out and ran into Mr. Anson's office. I was in the doghouse."
"Yeah. Well, it was still a great game, and you played superbly."
"Really?" She brightened.
"You could make All-State. That is, if St. Elizabeth's has a season. Who knows what will happen with so many people taking their kids out of there."
"School's school." Jody confidently predicted, "I'm going back, others will, too. I'd rather be there than"—she whispered again— "here."
"Uh, Jody, are your mother and father near?"
"No, but I don't trust them. Dad's truly weird now that he's out on bail. Mom could be on the extension for all I know."
"Only because she's worried about you."
"Because she's a snoop. Hear that, Mom? If you're on the line, get off!"
Harry ignored the flash of bad manners. "Jody, can you tell me specifically who Mr. Fletcher offered candy to, that is, if you were watching from Jimbo's office?"
"Mr. Anson went out to talk to him. I sat behind the desk. I didn't really notice."
"Did you see Mrs. Fletcher or your mom get out of their cars and talk to Mr. Fletcher?"