A Mold For Murder by Tim Myers

did it go?” I asked, ignoring the sarcasm.
    “He was packing his things,” she said. “I managed to persuade him to hang around town a little while, and he wasn’t too happy about it.”
    “So you think he might have killed her?” I asked.
    “I’m not ruling anybody out right now,” Molly said. “I’ve got to go, Ben. I’m working late tonight.”
    And then she hung up on me, without a thank you or any indication that I’d helped her in her investigation. I wasn’t doing it for her gratitude, but I wouldn’t have minded a little acknowledgment that I’d actually been of some use. Then I realized that if Molly had thanked me, she would have tacitly been admitting that she’d needed me, and that wasn’t about to happen.
    I was going to have to be content that I’d managed to get some of the intense glare of the police’s focus off of Diana. And after all, that was exactly what I was trying to do.
    It was time to shake another branch of this tree and see what came falling out.
     
     
    I tried to track Betsy Blair down the same way I’d found Barry Hill, but I didn’t have any luck. After I’d visited all of the nearby motels in the area, I decided to give up and go back home. There was a call on my answering machine from Diana, asking me to call her, no matter how late I got in.
    “Hey, it’s me,” I said when she picked up.
    “I owe you an apology,” she said.
    “Did something happen that I missed?”
    “You know what I’m talking about. I ran you off this evening, and all you wanted to do was help. What did you end up eating for dinner?”
    I didn’t want to admit that I’d dined with Molly, but I knew Diana would find out tomorrow, given that the folks in Harper’s Landing didn’t have a whole lot to talk about other than each other. “Molly and I grabbed something at The Hound Dog.”
    “How nice for you both,” she said with a tone that shouted you’d better start explaining yourself, and fast.
    “It was business, actually,” I added. “I wanted to share my suspicions with her, and see if she’d let any information slip out about the case.”
    “How did she take your meddling?”
    “Better than I had any right to expect, actually. She seemed interested when I told her about my conversation with Sharon, the contessa’s assistant.”
    “When did you have time to talk to her? Or did you take her out, too?”
    “We did take a walk around town,” I said, realizing that Diana would probably hear about that, too. My life was getting more complicated than I liked.
    Diana sighed, then said, “Well, at least you weren’t with Kelly.”
    “She called me this evening, and I went by her office before I came to see you.”
    There was a moment’s hesitation, and I held my breath as I waited for her reaction. The laugh I got wasn’t expected at all.
    “What’s so funny?”
    She caught her breath and said, “You’re a pretty popular fellow with the ladies lately, aren’t you?”
    “You’d think so, but I didn’t have much luck with any of them, including the only one who is supposed to still be my girlfriend. Well, that’s not entirely true, either.”
    “Which part?”
    I rubbed my face with my free hand. “Can we start this conversation over?”
    “Not on your life,” she said, and I swear I could hear in her voice that she was smiling. “This is just starting to get good.”
    “I give up, then,” I said. “Would you like to hear my conclusions so far?”
    “Why not? Just one thing, though.”
    “What’s that?”
    “I don’t want to hear my name on your list of suspects.”
    “Believe me,” I said, “that might be one of Molly’s theories, but it’s not one of mine.”
    “And don’t list my aunt and uncle, either. They are no more capable of murder than I am.”
    I took a deep breath, then said, “You know, I didn’t even think about them. They certainly had a reason to want Connie Brown dead, didn’t they?”
    “Ben, that’s not even funny.