First Kill All the Lawyers by Sarah Shankman Page B

personal lives. Isn’t that why you left your earring behind?”
    Sam’s years of training stood her in good stead. She didn’t miss a beat. “No, truly, that was an accident. And I’m terribly sorry if I’ve offended you.”
    Queen stood with her head bowed just a tad. It was quite some pose, the mourning Queen, sad but imperious, perfectly coiffed and made up. Shiny as ever, the Widow Ridley was in gray silk. Had Sam caught her on her way out to a dinner party?
    “Thank you for coming by,” Queen was saying now as if she had just ended an audience. She paused at the bottom of the stairs. “I’m very tired. If you’ll excuse me.” She even managed a break in her voice on those last words, and then she floated upward.
    Sam stood there debating. Did she dare slip into the kitchen to say hello to Lona? Or upstairs to see Liza? Too risky. Queen could come back down at any second. She turned and opened the front door.
    Suddenly Oglethorpe raced past her like a black and white cannonball.
    Lona was right behind him. “Ogle! You bad dog!”
    Sam joined the chase down the front steps and across the lawn. The two of them charged along the sidewalk after the galloping dog. They caught up with him a block from Piedmont Park.
    “Oh, thank you,” Lona gasped when she had the Dalmatian, whose tongue was lolling in a silly grin, firmly by the collar.
    Then they turned and started back toward the house. Lona shook her head. Her imaginary silver bangles clanged silently. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with him now, with Mr. Ridley…” She trailed off, her lip trembling.
    So Lona had liked Forrest Ridley. Well, why wouldn’t she? As far as Sam knew, everyone had—except Herman Blanding. She made a mental note to see Blanding as soon as possible.
    “I heard what you asked Miz Queen about that surprise party,” Lona said. “Did she tell you about the note that came afterwards?”
    Sam shook her head. No, she hadn’t—Liza had.
    “They talked about it at the breakfast table,” Lona went on. “Miz Queen sure had a bee in her bonnet.”
    “And Ridley?”
    “He took it in stride, like he did everything else. He just laughed.” Her face clouded over then. “What do you think really happened up there?”
    “I think he fell over Apalachee Falls. What do you think?”
    “I think he was too smart to do anything foolish like that. I think somebody pushed him.”
    “Who?” Sam asked bluntly.
    Lona shook her head, but her face said she had her suspicions.
    Two young neighborhood boys yelled greetings at Oglethorpe as they wheeled past on their bicycles. The dog lunged against Lona’s grip, but she was stronger than she looked. He was going nowhere.
    “Now who’s gonna walk this monster all the way across the park every night?”
    “Is that where Ridley took him?”
    “I never was sure. They took off in this direction most nights. Right after supper, just as I’d be heading out. I don’t know exactly where they went.”
    “Or for how long?”
    “Nope. As I said, it was always when I was going. But Miz Queen used to say…” She paused.
    Sam waited. She knew Lona didn’t need urging. She’d gotten onto the woman’s rhythm by now. The delays were caused by her thoughtfulness; she was weighing and measuring.
    “Miz Queen used to be after Mr. Ridley all the time. Said he spent a lot more time with that dog than he did with her.”
    “Was that true?”
    “Just the two of them?” She nodded. “That’s for sure. But then”—a smile pulled at the corners of her mouth—“Ogle didn’t give him any backtalk.”
    “You know what I’d like to know, Lona? I’d really like to know where Mr. Ridley went every night with this dog. Do you think if you gave him his head, he’d go on that same walk?”
    “Looks like it to me. Every chance he gets, he heads out in this direction.”
    “Not now, because I think Queen might wonder,” Sam said. “But some other time…”
    Lona nodded. “I’ll see where