with excitement. For the moment, she sounded young and girlish. “I’m just amazed. This certainly changes everything. This is more than I could have hoped for. It’s a really good sign, don’t you think?” She suddenly noticed that I was dawdling and flashed me an irritated look.
I gave her a cheery wave and quickly made my exit.
So Lenore had just received some very good news, I decided on the drive back to Cypress Grove. The call had been from her agent, so that meant it had something to do with her career.
I had absolutely no proof, but I just knew that somehow or other, Lenore was going to profit big-time from Guru Sanjay’s death.
Chapter 10
It was dusk when I pulled up in front of my town house, and I sat in the car for a moment with the windows wide-open, enjoying the soft evening air scented with honeysuckle and roses.
I reached into the glove box and added Lenore’s name to my notebook. I was keeping track of everyone I talked to—describing their relationship to Sanjay, why they might be involved with his death, and how they could profit from it. At the moment, all I had was a handful of names and a few suspicious comments, probably not enough to interest Martino.
My only hope of clearing Lark’s name was to connect the dots and point the cops in the direction of the real killer. I was chewing on the tip of my ballpoint, mulling over the possibilities, when I spotted Ted Rollins striding purposefully into the Seabreeze Inn next door.
“Ted!” I cried, bounding out of my car. I slammed the car door and hurried to catch up with him.
He frowned, peering into the darkness, and then his face broke into a welcoming grin. “Maggie! Come in for a night-cap.” He gave me a quick hug, wrapped his arm around my waist, and ushered me into the wide veranda of the inn. His touch felt warm and comforting, but as always, I marveled at the complete lack of chemistry between us.
Hugging Ted is a lot like hugging Pugsley, except Ted smells like breath mints and Pugsley smells like liver snacks.
“Are you busy with something? You don’t usually work in the evening.” Ted has an oceanfront condo, and he makes it a point to leave everything to the inn’s night staff once his workday is over.
“Something came up tonight,” he said lightly. “That annoying detective—”
“Martino?” I kept my voice level, but my heart did a little flip-flop just the same.
“That’s the one. He called me at home half an hour ago and asked me to save some audience evaluation forms from the conference. I figured I’d better find them and put them someplace safe before Housekeeping throws them out tomorrow. Martino’s coming by first thing in the morning to pick them up. I don’t feel like having him prowling around the hotel, so I plan on leaving them at the front desk. With any luck, I won’t have to talk to him at all.”
“Audience evaluation forms?” I was baffled. “Where did they come from? And why would Martino care about them in a murder investigation?”
“Beats me. He seems to think they’re important, though. The conference organizer passed them out with the registration packets, and then in all the confusion over the guru’s death”—he shrugged—“no one ever thought to collect them. They’re probably still up in the Magnolia Ballroom.”
He paused for a moment, gesturing to the cushy wicker gliders and rocking chairs on the wide-planked porch. It was a peaceful spot, with baskets of lush ferns hanging from the rafters and porcelain pots of primroses artfully arranged between the graceful chairs and end tables. “Want to sit out here and have some wine? It’s a nice night.”
“Sure.” I dropped gratefully into the glider, my mind whirling with possibilities, while he hurried inside to get our drinks. So Martino was coming by the Seabreeze tomorrow morning—interesting! And I’d read in a WYME news report that there was going to be a sunrise memorial service for Sanjay, right before
I gave her a cheery wave and quickly made my exit.
So Lenore had just received some very good news, I decided on the drive back to Cypress Grove. The call had been from her agent, so that meant it had something to do with her career.
I had absolutely no proof, but I just knew that somehow or other, Lenore was going to profit big-time from Guru Sanjay’s death.
Chapter 10
It was dusk when I pulled up in front of my town house, and I sat in the car for a moment with the windows wide-open, enjoying the soft evening air scented with honeysuckle and roses.
I reached into the glove box and added Lenore’s name to my notebook. I was keeping track of everyone I talked to—describing their relationship to Sanjay, why they might be involved with his death, and how they could profit from it. At the moment, all I had was a handful of names and a few suspicious comments, probably not enough to interest Martino.
My only hope of clearing Lark’s name was to connect the dots and point the cops in the direction of the real killer. I was chewing on the tip of my ballpoint, mulling over the possibilities, when I spotted Ted Rollins striding purposefully into the Seabreeze Inn next door.
“Ted!” I cried, bounding out of my car. I slammed the car door and hurried to catch up with him.
He frowned, peering into the darkness, and then his face broke into a welcoming grin. “Maggie! Come in for a night-cap.” He gave me a quick hug, wrapped his arm around my waist, and ushered me into the wide veranda of the inn. His touch felt warm and comforting, but as always, I marveled at the complete lack of chemistry between us.
Hugging Ted is a lot like hugging Pugsley, except Ted smells like breath mints and Pugsley smells like liver snacks.
“Are you busy with something? You don’t usually work in the evening.” Ted has an oceanfront condo, and he makes it a point to leave everything to the inn’s night staff once his workday is over.
“Something came up tonight,” he said lightly. “That annoying detective—”
“Martino?” I kept my voice level, but my heart did a little flip-flop just the same.
“That’s the one. He called me at home half an hour ago and asked me to save some audience evaluation forms from the conference. I figured I’d better find them and put them someplace safe before Housekeeping throws them out tomorrow. Martino’s coming by first thing in the morning to pick them up. I don’t feel like having him prowling around the hotel, so I plan on leaving them at the front desk. With any luck, I won’t have to talk to him at all.”
“Audience evaluation forms?” I was baffled. “Where did they come from? And why would Martino care about them in a murder investigation?”
“Beats me. He seems to think they’re important, though. The conference organizer passed them out with the registration packets, and then in all the confusion over the guru’s death”—he shrugged—“no one ever thought to collect them. They’re probably still up in the Magnolia Ballroom.”
He paused for a moment, gesturing to the cushy wicker gliders and rocking chairs on the wide-planked porch. It was a peaceful spot, with baskets of lush ferns hanging from the rafters and porcelain pots of primroses artfully arranged between the graceful chairs and end tables. “Want to sit out here and have some wine? It’s a nice night.”
“Sure.” I dropped gratefully into the glider, my mind whirling with possibilities, while he hurried inside to get our drinks. So Martino was coming by the Seabreeze tomorrow morning—interesting! And I’d read in a WYME news report that there was going to be a sunrise memorial service for Sanjay, right before
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