Ornaments of Death by Jane K. Cleland Page B

me.” She stood up. “I’ll settle the bill on the way out.”
    She walked out, her chin up, her back straight. I felt battered.
    The waitress hurried over, thinking she was dissatisfied with something. “Is something wrong?”
    â€œNot a bit,” I said, forcing a smile. “Could I have some more water, please?”
    I pecked away at my sandwich for a few minutes before giving up. I pushed it aside, left a big tip, and fled.
    *   *   *
    Wes called just as I reached my car.
    â€œYou were in Ian’s hotel room and you didn’t call me afterward,” he said.
    â€œHi, Wes. I’m fine. How are you?”
    â€œGood, good, so did you get any photos?”
    â€œOf course not!”
    He sighed, letting me know he was disappointed in me. “I have an info-bomb, but I’m all give and you’re all take.”
    â€œYou know I tell you everything I can, Wes. What’s your news?”
    â€œThe police have cordoned off Cable Road.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œA couple walking their dog found a man’s body.”
    My heart stopped. I knew the street. Cable Road dead-ended at the ocean. It wasn’t the kind of place anyone went in December.
    â€œTell me,” I whispered.
    His tone softened, more kid brother than tough-nosed reporter. “I’m sorry, Josie. It’s all I know. I’m en route now.”
    *   *   *
    While I waited for the engine to warm up, I called Ty. I got his voice mail.
    â€œThey found a man’s body, Ty.” I paused, thinking of what else to add, but there was nothing. “I’ll talk to you later. I love you.”
    I couldn’t think where to go or what to do. I felt muddled, as if I’d just awakened from a drug-induced sleep. I needed more information, but I couldn’t think of how to get it. Ellis never opened up. Wes had already told me the little that he knew.
    I turned on the radio to the local station, thinking maybe they’d have early details. They didn’t. I listened to the host of a local politically themed talk show discuss the need to expand library hours. The host’s name was Al Thornton. His guest, Cherie Hubbard, was a member of the school board.
    I decided to drive to my office. I knew myself: Working always helped me cope with life’s worst disappointments and losses.
    I wasn’t even out of the diner parking lot when Al interrupted Cherie, announcing that Wes Smith was on the phone with breaking news. I pulled into a parking spot and set the emergency brake.
    Listening to Wes announce that a body had been found, I understood that in all probability Ian was dead, but somehow I couldn’t process the information. I was shocked, but at the same time, I wasn’t surprised. I’d been braced for bad news for days.
    â€œWho discovered the body, Wes?” Al asked, following up on Wes’s announcement with an off-the-cuff interview.
    â€œA local couple—John and Wendy Anderson. They took their dog on a long walk because of the warm weather. If it hadn’t been such a nice day, they wouldn’t have turned onto Cable Road to look at the water, and who knows when the body would have been found.”
    â€œHow did he die, Wes?”
    â€œIt looks like he was hit by a car.”
    â€œI always think hit-and-run accidents are among the most cowardly of acts. It’s bad enough to hit someone—but to leave the scene. Come on.”
    â€œI agree,” Wes said, “but to be fair, we need to stress that the police haven’t yet revealed the cause of death.”
    â€œDo we have a time of death?”
    â€œNot yet. There are so many variables in making that determination—outside temperature, the fact that it snowed yesterday, what the person was wearing, to name a few.”
    â€œDo you know who it is?”
    I held my breath, waiting for Wes’s reply. Every muscle tensed. I clutched the