all.”
“So why was he hanging around Ada?” Will pressed.
“It has to be the house,” Sunny decided. “He offered Ada money for it, and after she died, Gordie said he cut back to half of what he’d offered before.”
“So he’s being a businessman. Or …” Will drew out the word, coming up with a new inspiration. “Maybe he’s got money troubles. So he’s working on the cheap, hopingto get the house at a rock-bottom price and then flip it. Or even better, he heard about the lottery ticket and hoped to get his hands on it.”
“However short he may be on personality, Ollie has lots of money,” Sunny said, shaking her head. “Not to mention fingers in more pies around here than we could count.”
“Maybe that’s it, though,” Will suggested. “He’s overextended and short of cash. Even after taxes, six to eight million would give him a lot of liquidity.”
“Fine, fine, I’ll give you motive,” Sunny admitted, laughing. “How about opportunity?”
Will shrugged behind the wheel. “Barnstable doesn’t keep regular office hours, does he? I bet he comes and goes as he pleases.”
Sunny considered Ollie the Barnacle’s occasional office visits. “True,” she granted.
“So how would he usually spend Saturday morning?”
“I’m not that close with the guy,” Sunny protested, but then she shrugged. “Probably he’d be adorning his bed. He always talks about Saturdays as his ‘me’ time.”
“In other words his schedule could be open for anything, up to and including murder.” Will brought his voice down into the bass register to make the last words sound as threatening as possible.
Sunny laughed again. “You’re making me afraid to go in to work tomorrow,” she kidded. “I can hardly wait to see what you’re going to do with means.”
“That’s the easiest,” Will told her. “Ollie’s a pretty big guy—”
“Mainly fat,” Sunny put in.
But Will shook his head. “Most people don’t realize that you need a fair amount of muscle to move that fat,” he said, “so don’t rule him out on that account.”
He paused for a second. “I’ll rephrase the comment. He’s a pretty solid guy. If he tried to block Ada from running out of the pantry and she just bounced off him, the force could have been enough to send her through that door.”
“No way!” Sunny laughed. They spent the rest of the ride arguing about the physics of murder.
When they reached Wild Goose Drive, Will coasted to a stop in front of Sunny’s house. “Figured I’d try a discreet approach,” he explained. “Some people get kind of upset seeing family members come home in a police car.”
Sunny agreed. “Dad doesn’t need a spike in his blood pressure right now.”
“So what’s your plan?”
Sunny patted the cash box in her lap. “First, I’m going to lock this away. We got a big advance from a client today. For the rest of the evening”—she pulled out the envelope full of printouts from her pocket—“I’m going to read through the
Crier
articles about Ada’s local feuds again.” She grimaced. “And I guess I’ll have to figure out some sort of way to get in to work.”
“Doesn’t your dad have a car?” Will asked.
“His truck’s been sitting in the garage since his heart attack. Dad’s been afraid to drive, even though the doctor says he’s okay,” Sunny said. “I don’t even know if the battery has held a charge after all this time.”
“Even if he was worried about using it, you’d think he’d let you take it out every once in a while just to keep it going.”Will paused for a moment, then added slyly, “On second thought, remembering how your driver’s-side door looked …”
“Wow, thanks for the compliment, that makes me feel a whole lot better.” But Sunny found herself smiling as she stepped out of the car.
She turned to wave, but Will Price was already on the radio, telling Dispatch that he was back on patrol.
Yeah, romance is in the air. I
“So why was he hanging around Ada?” Will pressed.
“It has to be the house,” Sunny decided. “He offered Ada money for it, and after she died, Gordie said he cut back to half of what he’d offered before.”
“So he’s being a businessman. Or …” Will drew out the word, coming up with a new inspiration. “Maybe he’s got money troubles. So he’s working on the cheap, hopingto get the house at a rock-bottom price and then flip it. Or even better, he heard about the lottery ticket and hoped to get his hands on it.”
“However short he may be on personality, Ollie has lots of money,” Sunny said, shaking her head. “Not to mention fingers in more pies around here than we could count.”
“Maybe that’s it, though,” Will suggested. “He’s overextended and short of cash. Even after taxes, six to eight million would give him a lot of liquidity.”
“Fine, fine, I’ll give you motive,” Sunny admitted, laughing. “How about opportunity?”
Will shrugged behind the wheel. “Barnstable doesn’t keep regular office hours, does he? I bet he comes and goes as he pleases.”
Sunny considered Ollie the Barnacle’s occasional office visits. “True,” she granted.
“So how would he usually spend Saturday morning?”
“I’m not that close with the guy,” Sunny protested, but then she shrugged. “Probably he’d be adorning his bed. He always talks about Saturdays as his ‘me’ time.”
“In other words his schedule could be open for anything, up to and including murder.” Will brought his voice down into the bass register to make the last words sound as threatening as possible.
Sunny laughed again. “You’re making me afraid to go in to work tomorrow,” she kidded. “I can hardly wait to see what you’re going to do with means.”
“That’s the easiest,” Will told her. “Ollie’s a pretty big guy—”
“Mainly fat,” Sunny put in.
But Will shook his head. “Most people don’t realize that you need a fair amount of muscle to move that fat,” he said, “so don’t rule him out on that account.”
He paused for a second. “I’ll rephrase the comment. He’s a pretty solid guy. If he tried to block Ada from running out of the pantry and she just bounced off him, the force could have been enough to send her through that door.”
“No way!” Sunny laughed. They spent the rest of the ride arguing about the physics of murder.
When they reached Wild Goose Drive, Will coasted to a stop in front of Sunny’s house. “Figured I’d try a discreet approach,” he explained. “Some people get kind of upset seeing family members come home in a police car.”
Sunny agreed. “Dad doesn’t need a spike in his blood pressure right now.”
“So what’s your plan?”
Sunny patted the cash box in her lap. “First, I’m going to lock this away. We got a big advance from a client today. For the rest of the evening”—she pulled out the envelope full of printouts from her pocket—“I’m going to read through the
Crier
articles about Ada’s local feuds again.” She grimaced. “And I guess I’ll have to figure out some sort of way to get in to work.”
“Doesn’t your dad have a car?” Will asked.
“His truck’s been sitting in the garage since his heart attack. Dad’s been afraid to drive, even though the doctor says he’s okay,” Sunny said. “I don’t even know if the battery has held a charge after all this time.”
“Even if he was worried about using it, you’d think he’d let you take it out every once in a while just to keep it going.”Will paused for a moment, then added slyly, “On second thought, remembering how your driver’s-side door looked …”
“Wow, thanks for the compliment, that makes me feel a whole lot better.” But Sunny found herself smiling as she stepped out of the car.
She turned to wave, but Will Price was already on the radio, telling Dispatch that he was back on patrol.
Yeah, romance is in the air. I
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