Dare to Die by Carolyn Hart Page B

right. His stepson Kevin had made the desk in a woodworking class. One leg was shorter than the others, but Annie knew Kevin’s desk would be Billy’s pride and joy as long as Billy Cameron was chief of the Broward’s Rock Police.
    Max pulled out a straight chair for Annie, took one himself. He handed a sheet of paper to Billy. “Here’s the guest list.”
    Billy scanned the list. “Did you have any no-shows?”
    It took some figuring, but they pared the list to thirty-three.
    Billy scratched through names. “I’ll add the band members and Ben Parotti’s staff.”
    Max leaned back in his chair. “I’ll bet Kevin can vouch for the band members. I remember they hung out in front of the bandstand during their break.”
    Annie remembered, too. The boys were too excited at their prominence to step out of the limelight.
    For an instant, a smile reached Billy’s eyes. “They thought they were as hot as the Jonas Brothers. We’ll interview them, but the path into the woods was behind the stage. I don’t expect they saw anything helpful. However, the catering steam tables faced the pines. Maybe we’ll get something helpful from Ben’s crew.”
    Annie pictured the steam tables. They faced the picnic area. The picnic tables were perpendicular to the woods. None of the guests looked directly at the path.
    A grim smile twisted Billy’s face. “Of course, someone not on your list may have shown up. We’ll ask. Trouble is, half the time people don’t remember anything right.” Billy put the list on the desk. He stared down at it, absently rubbed a varnish-sticky hand against his trousers. “I hope to God somebody saw something. Or maybe she talked to someone and that will give us a lead.” He glanced at a notebook. “You said Liz and Russell Montgomery and Cara Wilkes noticed Iris and Buck Carlisle talked to her. Anybody else?”
    â€œMarian Kenyon talked to Iris early on. Iris sat with Laurel at dinner.” Annie hesitated, then reluctantly said, “Buck looked kind of menacing when he walked toward Iris, but maybe that was because he’s so big. Cara saw them and frowned.”
    Billy doodled in the margin, his expression stolid.
    â€œI know.” Annie felt despairing. “It doesn’t sound like anything at all. But there was something between Buck and Iris, something more than saying hello.”
    â€œI’ll ask.” He didn’t sound encouraged. “Maybe we’ll get a lead from Iris’s cabin. If not, we’ve got a crime that occurred anytime after dinner and the end of the picnic. She was struck from behind, either stunned or knocked out. She fell forward. The killer flipped the cord under her neck, pulled it tight. Quick, silent. No mess, no noise, nothing to link up to anybody. The cord came from one of the centerpieces on the tables. There won’t be fingerprints, not with gloves handy for cracking oyster shells. Using the black rope from a table means the murder was premeditated. A guest doesn’t cram a length of line in a pocket without a reason.”
    Annie’s throat felt dry. A quick tweak and the cord had been pulled away from the hurricane lamp, ready to use. “Iris told me she came back because she had to clear something up. You said she ran away from the island. Why did she run?”
    Billy rubbed his neck as if it hurt. “I got out the old files.” He tapped an orange folder. “Ten years ago in April, Jocelyn Howard fell off Fish Haul pier. She drowned. An accident. Frankhandled it.” He was reporting a fact without any hint of criticism. “You know how careful Frank was.”
    Dyspeptic, hardworking Frank Saulter had been chief when Annie came to live on the island. He’d suspected Annie when murder occurred at Death on Demand. Annie and Max had discovered the truth, and Frank had been their good friend ever since. Frank