Knossos.”
When the professor was finally rescued by other alums, Ellie swooped in.
“Hey Alyssa. Last day of the reunion— how do you think it’s gone?”
“Well,” she sighed dramatically. “I have to admit I’m disappointed. No one from our group was at the dinner dance last night. It was filled with all these background people that I didn’t even know. They were probably from Landscape or Urban Design. And Will’s death on Friday put such a damper on everything.” She looked as if she might stamp her foot and shake her curls at this rude disruption of her plans. “Do you know if they’ve found out yet who did it?”
“I haven’t heard of a suspect, but I think that the police have pretty much eliminated Iris.”
“But don’t they have any ideas about who it could have been?”
“None yet that I know of. Where are C.C. and Adam?”
“She checked out thi s morning —said that she couldn’t wait to get back to the safe haven of Manhattan. Adam’s off playing squash with Arturo Herrera.” Alyssa consulted her Cartier tank watch. “He’d better get back soon so we can pack up the Bimmer . I don’t want to get stuck in weekend traffic again. Now where did I just see G.B.?”
They turned in unison and spotted Mack, off in a corner, still talking animatedly with G.B. and Jerry. As the women approached, they heard Mack explaining “… kind of muscle relaxer. It would have taken several minutes to actually kill him. It depends on a lot of factors.”
Unbelievable! Mack had gone off-message and they were pumping him for information. Ellie put on her pleasant face, silently cursing as Alyssa buttonholed G.B., leading him off to a more private location. Then she turned to Mack. “Would you get me more of that delicious quiche, dear?”
Mack snapped a look at her, then headed back to the food line. Ellie hated quiche.
“So, Jerry, did you and Norman have a nice lunch yesterday? You didn’t mention it on our bus ride.”
“ Wha — why yes, we had a nice chance to catch up. We didn’t have much opportunity to talk on Friday night.” Jerry had made a quick recovery, pasting a sphinx-like smile on his face and staring off through the room’s rear window wall to the GSD’s pocket-sized backyard. Ellie could practically hear the wheels spinning in Jerry’s brain. She weighed her options, then plunged ahead.
“Last night’s dinner got overshadowed by news of Will’s death. I’m curious about something you said after learning that the police had found him. You said it was Carey’s payback for Will giving him a drugged brownie at the graduation party.”
Jerry looked at her sharply. Ellie knew she h ad abandoned caution— just what she’d told Mack not to do. This was dangerous. But her friend was being set up as a murderer. And one of them had pushed Carey off the balcony. She was determined to shake loose some information of value and figured that, even if Jerry was the killer, he couldn’t do much to her in a public place.
He studied her face to gauge how much she knew. “Oh, I was just making a tasteless joke. I didn’t mean anything by it. Obviously Carey’s ghost didn’t return to avenge him.”
“No, no, I think you may be onto something. We all know by now that Will drugged Carey at the party.” She leaned closer in a conspiratorial pose. “Do you think that Will might have followed Carey into the bedroom and pushed him off the balcony?”
Jerry’s rigid stance relaxed an iota. He plucked at an imaginary piece of lint on his beige sports jacket. “No, Will didn’t follow him.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I saw Will go into the bathroom with Sharon Abramson. They only came out when people near the window started screaming.”
“ Aaah . That sounds like Will. I was just wondering if there could be any connection between Carey’s death and Will’s, but it sounds like there wasn’t one. Boy, you sure have a good memory, Jerry.”
As Mack returned
When the professor was finally rescued by other alums, Ellie swooped in.
“Hey Alyssa. Last day of the reunion— how do you think it’s gone?”
“Well,” she sighed dramatically. “I have to admit I’m disappointed. No one from our group was at the dinner dance last night. It was filled with all these background people that I didn’t even know. They were probably from Landscape or Urban Design. And Will’s death on Friday put such a damper on everything.” She looked as if she might stamp her foot and shake her curls at this rude disruption of her plans. “Do you know if they’ve found out yet who did it?”
“I haven’t heard of a suspect, but I think that the police have pretty much eliminated Iris.”
“But don’t they have any ideas about who it could have been?”
“None yet that I know of. Where are C.C. and Adam?”
“She checked out thi s morning —said that she couldn’t wait to get back to the safe haven of Manhattan. Adam’s off playing squash with Arturo Herrera.” Alyssa consulted her Cartier tank watch. “He’d better get back soon so we can pack up the Bimmer . I don’t want to get stuck in weekend traffic again. Now where did I just see G.B.?”
They turned in unison and spotted Mack, off in a corner, still talking animatedly with G.B. and Jerry. As the women approached, they heard Mack explaining “… kind of muscle relaxer. It would have taken several minutes to actually kill him. It depends on a lot of factors.”
Unbelievable! Mack had gone off-message and they were pumping him for information. Ellie put on her pleasant face, silently cursing as Alyssa buttonholed G.B., leading him off to a more private location. Then she turned to Mack. “Would you get me more of that delicious quiche, dear?”
Mack snapped a look at her, then headed back to the food line. Ellie hated quiche.
“So, Jerry, did you and Norman have a nice lunch yesterday? You didn’t mention it on our bus ride.”
“ Wha — why yes, we had a nice chance to catch up. We didn’t have much opportunity to talk on Friday night.” Jerry had made a quick recovery, pasting a sphinx-like smile on his face and staring off through the room’s rear window wall to the GSD’s pocket-sized backyard. Ellie could practically hear the wheels spinning in Jerry’s brain. She weighed her options, then plunged ahead.
“Last night’s dinner got overshadowed by news of Will’s death. I’m curious about something you said after learning that the police had found him. You said it was Carey’s payback for Will giving him a drugged brownie at the graduation party.”
Jerry looked at her sharply. Ellie knew she h ad abandoned caution— just what she’d told Mack not to do. This was dangerous. But her friend was being set up as a murderer. And one of them had pushed Carey off the balcony. She was determined to shake loose some information of value and figured that, even if Jerry was the killer, he couldn’t do much to her in a public place.
He studied her face to gauge how much she knew. “Oh, I was just making a tasteless joke. I didn’t mean anything by it. Obviously Carey’s ghost didn’t return to avenge him.”
“No, no, I think you may be onto something. We all know by now that Will drugged Carey at the party.” She leaned closer in a conspiratorial pose. “Do you think that Will might have followed Carey into the bedroom and pushed him off the balcony?”
Jerry’s rigid stance relaxed an iota. He plucked at an imaginary piece of lint on his beige sports jacket. “No, Will didn’t follow him.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I saw Will go into the bathroom with Sharon Abramson. They only came out when people near the window started screaming.”
“ Aaah . That sounds like Will. I was just wondering if there could be any connection between Carey’s death and Will’s, but it sounds like there wasn’t one. Boy, you sure have a good memory, Jerry.”
As Mack returned
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