Puzzled to Death (37 page)

“T
HAT’S RIGHT,
” C
ORA
F
ELTON SAID. “I’VE UNCOVERED
the clue that cracks the case.”

Rick Reed was at his insinuating best. “And yet you won’t tell us who it is?”

“I’m sorry. I can’t.”

“Because you promised Chief Harper?”

“Actually, I haven’t spoken to Chief Harper.”

“Miss Felton, are you telling me you know who the killer is, but you
haven’t
told the police?”

“I have no proof. It would be unfair to accuse someone when I have no proof.”

“In other words, you
don’t
know who the killer is.”

“Oh, but I do. And I expect to get proof. It’s just a matter of time. Unfortunately, there
is
no time, on account of the tournament. After the tournament tomorrow, the witnesses will all be scattered to the four winds, and it will become impossible to prove who committed these crimes. Tomorrow morning at ten
A.M
. the seventh puzzle will be given out. It is a forty-minute puzzle. After that, the scores
will be tallied and the three finalists will be chosen. Then they’ll compete in solving the last puzzle in front of everyone, working on three giant grids.

“But before that happens, while the scores are still being tallied, I will take the microphone and tell everyone who the killer is.”

“I thought you had no proof.”

“I don’t.”

“Then why are you making this announcement?”

“As a warning to the killer. That if the killer shows up tomorrow morning, he or she will be caught.”

“Why do you say
he or she
? I thought you said you knew who the killer was.”

“I
do
. I don’t want
you
to know.” Cora Felton looked directly into the camera. Her benign face filled the screen. “Last warning. I know who you are. I know what you did. Tomorrow I’m going to get you.”

“There you have it,” Rick Reed told the camera. “The Puzzle Lady, Cora Felton, issuing a challenge, daring a killer to show up. Does she have the goods, or is she just blowing smoke? We’ll find out tomorrow morning, at town hall, at the conclusion of the seventh puzzle. You can bet most of Bakerhaven will be there, and Channel 8 will be there to bring it to you live. From Bakerhaven, this is Rick Reed, Channel 8 News.”

Cora Felton scooped up the remote control from the coffee table and put the TV on mute. “Well,” she said. “What do you think?”

“Not bad,” Sherry said. “I can hardly tell you’re bluffing. And I happen to
know
you haven’t got a thing.”

“Think we’ll get some action?” Cora said.

“You can bet on it,” Sherry said. “It’s nights like this I wish Aaron had his own place so I didn’t have to stay here.”

“Oh, sure. Like you’d really run out on me. Nights like this are not why you wish he had his own place.”

“Don’t start with me,” Sherry said.

“You’re the one who brought up the subject.”

“The subject was getting the hell out of here,” Sherry pointed out. “I’d say we should check into a motel, if they weren’t all booked solid.”

“That would defeat the whole purpose.”

“What whole purpose? Don’t bluff me, Cora. You only gave that interview so they wouldn’t run the footage of Charlotte coming out of the police station.”

“You don’t think I’m trying to trap a killer?”

“Oh, sure. But not because you know who it is. Because you haven’t the
faintest idea
who it is, and you’re desperate.”

“Thanks for your support,” Cora said dryly.

The phone rang. Sherry got up, padded into the kitchen, answered it. “Hello?”

“Get her on the phone!” Chief Harper’s roar was so loud Cora could hear him in the living room. “Get her on the phone! Now!”

Cora came through the kitchen door, took the phone from Sherry. “Hi, Chief. How’s it hangin’?”

“Are you crazy? Are you nuts?” Chief Harper bellowed. “Go on television, say you know who did it! I can’t believe you did that!”

“Why not?”

“Why not? I’ll tell you
why not
. Because it’s either the truth or it’s a colossal lie. If it’s a lie, you got no business sayin’ it, and if it’s the truth, you should have brought it to me.”

“Weren’t you listening, Chief? I was quite candid. I admitted right off that I have no proof.”

“Of course you have no proof. You have no proof because
you haven’t got a clue. You don’t know who killed those people any more than I do.”

“Maybe not, Chief, but I
do
have a clue. That crossword puzzle you gave me.”

“What about it? Did you solve it?”

“A child of four could solve that puzzle, Chief. It’s not particularly hard.”

“And it told you who the killer is?” Harper sounded bewildered.

“That wasn’t what I meant, Chief. The puzzle’s important because, aside from us, the killer’s the only one who knows it was found on the body. Or at least was
left
on the body.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well, since we haven’t told anybody we found it, the killer doesn’t know for sure we did. As far as the killer knows, someone else came along before we got there and took that puzzle.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Maybe someone swiped it. Maybe a gust of wind blew it away, for all the killer knows. Anyway, you withheld the fact we found it, and that’s really good, because we can use that to our advantage.”

“Oh, yeah? Well, I got news for you. The crossword puzzle doesn’t mean a damn thing. In the first place, Marty Haskel had his, so there’s that theory out the window. And I got the report back from the handwriting expert. Guess what? Mrs. Roth solved her own puzzle, and the doodle was doodled by Judy Vale. The killer didn’t leave either of them.”

“Then the whole thing makes no sense.”

“No kidding. So where do you get off going on television saying you know who did it?”

“Sorry, Chief, but I figured it was our best shot. Like I
say, the killer doesn’t know what we know. The killer doesn’t know if I’m bluffing. For all the killer knows, it might be true. Unfortunately, we don’t know what the killer knows, so we just have to wait.”

“For what?”

“To see who tries to kill me.”

“A
CAR’S STOPPING IN THE ROAD,
” S
HERRY REPORTED
.

“I see it,” Cora said, peering out the crack in the curtains.

“I don’t like it. We should have let Harper come over.”

“Oh, sure,” Cora scoffed. “People are really going to come calling, with a police cruiser out front.”

“He could have had someone drop him off.”

“You like sitting in the dark with a cop all night?”

“I wouldn’t mind now. Someone’s certainly stopped on the road.”

“Yeah. Can you see him?”

“Now it’s a him?”

“Or a her. I just can’t say
him or her
all night, no matter how PC it might be.”

“Cora—”

“I have a gun. We’re in our house. I don’t think anybody’s gonna break in and strangle me before I can pop them.”

“I’m glad you’re so cocky. We’re like the nitwits in
some horror movie. Hiding in a dark house when there’s a demented killer lurking out there.”

“In that case, we got nothing to worry about,” Cora said serenely.

“How is that?”

“You’re the ingenue, and I’m the comic relief, and they always survive.”

“This isn’t a movie,” Sherry said.

The front doorknob clicked.

Cora and Sherry looked at each other.

“Didn’t you lock the front door?” Sherry hissed.

“Of course not. If I locked the front door, how could anyone break in?”

Cora fished the gun out of her purse.

The front door swung open.

A shadow filled the doorway.

Cora aimed the gun.

A voice said, “Hey, where are you?”

“Aaron?” Sherry said.

“Oh, there you are,” Aaron said. He closed the door, crept in, and joined them in the living room.

“You realize you almost got shot?” Sherry said irritably.

“Don’t be silly,” Aaron answered. “Cora wouldn’t shoot me.”

“Oh?” Sherry said. In the dim light she could see her aunt put away her gun and take out her cigarettes. “She happens to be rather excited about her little trap.”

“I don’t blame her. That was a damn good interview, Cora. If I were the killer, I’d want to do you in.”

“Well, thank you for saying so.” Cora smiled and lit her cigarette. “What a polite young man. And just how would you go about doing that?”

“I’d leave my car on the road and sneak up on the house. Which isn’t that hard to do. I just tried it. Did you see me coming?”

“We saw you stop and park your car. We didn’t see you after that.”

“No good,” Aaron said. “It means all the killer has to do is park another hundred yards down the road, and you’re dead.”

“The killer’s not coming at all, with your car parked down there.”

“Why not? He parks down the road, cuts through the woods, doesn’t even see my car.”

“Nice try, but it’s no go,” Cora said. “I can’t have you screwing this up. You came to see Sherry, say what you gotta say to Sherry, then go home. My plan’s got little enough chance of workin’ without you messin’ it up.”

Aaron, put on the spot, could think of nothing to say.

Sherry didn’t help him. “You’ve embarrassed him, Cora. He didn’t come to see me. He came for the story.”

“Don’t be foolish,” Aaron said. “The paper’s gone to press.”

“So what did you come to say?”

“I didn’t come to say anything,” Aaron replied. “I just came to see you. I didn’t count on getting thrown out.”

“I don’t mean to be a killjoy,” Cora told Sherry. “If you wanna go with him, that’s fine.”

“I’m not leaving you alone,” Sherry said.

“Then I’m a killjoy. Aaron, beat it. You can talk to Sherry tomorrow. Right now, get your car off the road.” Cora put her arm around Aaron’s shoulders. “Come on, let’s go.”

Cora literally pushed him out the front door.

“Hey,” Aaron protested. “What are you doing?”

“Sorry,” Cora said. “But she’s not going with you, and you guys won’t talk in front of me, so you gotta go.”

Cora slammed the door, gestured toward the road. “Come on, I’ll walk you down to your car.”

Aaron heaved a huge sigh and set off down the drive.

Cora kept pace, peeped up at him. “I don’t know what you did to honk her off, and it’s none of my business, but if there’s any way you could fix it up, it’s probably worth the effort.”

Aaron shook his head. “I’m not entirely sure myself.”

“Well, could you give me a hint?”

“It’s stupid, but when she met my parents, I made the mistake of introducing her as your niece instead of my girlfriend.”

“Oh.”

“I know that was wrong, but her reaction was way out of proportion. I’ve apologized, but nothing seems to make it right.”

“I see.”

“I don’t. What’s going on?”

Cora stopped, looked up at Aaron. He was a nice young man. Maybe a little too young. Young, unspoiled, and idealistic. And naive enough to see things in black and white, with no shades of gray. Still, a nice young man.

As men went.

Sherry could do worse.

Cora put her hand on Aaron’s shoulder. “Let me tell you something. Sherry’s ex-husband, Dennis, was an abusive jerk.”

“I know.”

“Did you know they eloped? Her sophomore year. Ran off and got married. Just like that.”

“So?”

“She never met his parents until after the wedding. They were angry with Dennis. They disapproved.”

“So?”

“That was the first time he got drunk and hit her.”

Aaron gawked at Cora, his mouth open.

“Now get out of here. I got a killer to catch.”

Cora left Aaron standing there, went back inside.

“You took a long time,” Sherry said.

“He didn’t want to go.”

The phone rang, saving Cora from further explanation. She plodded into the kitchen, picked it up.

“Miss Felton?”

“Oh, hi, Harvey.” For once, Cora was glad to hear his voice. “What’s up?”

“I just saw you on TV. Have you lost your mind?”

“No, but it’s nice of you to ask.” Cora hit speakerphone so Sherry could hear.

“This is no laughing matter,” Harvey snapped peevishly. “I turn on the eleven o’clock news and there you are, pulling some crazy stunt. In the middle of my crossword-puzzle tournament.”

“I thought it was
our
crossword-puzzle tournament.”

“You know what I mean. You’re supposed to be doing color commentary on the finals, not pulling some grandstand play to undercut everything I’ve done.”

“You
don’t
want me to name the killer? I’m going to have trouble explaining that to the police.”

“But you don’t know who the killer is.”

“Wanna bet?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“I’ll make you a bet. If I nail the killer, you do the commentary.”

“You don’t want to do the commentary?”

“I don’t want to steal your thunder. If I’m gonna hog the spotlight discussing the murders, I wanna give you equal time.”

“Miss Felton. It seems to me you are going to great lengths to avoid talking about crossword puzzles.”