Judging by the other night, he liked his women on the rounder side.â She looked at me.
âHey,â I protested.
Kerry gave me a âget over itâ look. âFace it, everyoneâs rounder than Maud.â
âFine, Iâll do it,â I said.
âYou knew him better than the rest of us, so youâll sound more plausible,â Brooke said. âWhile youâre checking up on the WOSCersâdo you sâpose thatâs what they call themselves?âIâll see if I can find out the scoop on his nieceâs death.â
âAnd Iâll get hold of the autopsy report,â Maud said.
The three of us turned to look at her with varying degrees of surprise.
âI have sources,â she said, pleased with our reaction, but trying to act as if it was no big deal. âYou donât think I just make up the stuff on my blog, do you? I work damn hard ferreting out the truth about political shenanigans and other conspiracies in this town. No offense, Kerry.â
âNone taken,â our part-time mayor said. The way she dropped her sponge into a bucket with a soggy plop belied her words.
Maud finished rinsing the boat and turned off the hose. âIâve cultivated a lot of sources over the years. Youâd be surprised how many people want to be whistleblowers but canât afford to risk losing their jobs. People who work for the governmentâand not just the minions, either, in medicine, insurance, for nonprofits, the schools. Corruption and conspiracy are rampant in all sectors. Theyâre happy to pass info along to me so that the truth gets out there. Iâm looking into aconspiracy now involving the National Forest Service and that corporation that wants to developââ
âYouâre a public servant, Maud,â Kerry interrupted with a sour look.
I jumped in. âWhere do I find WOSC headquarters, Maud, if there is such a thing?â
After consulting her smartphone, she told me that the Web site only listed a post office box. âNo physical address,â she said. âAnd the contact e-mail isnât in anyoneâs name. Itâs just WOSC at Gmail-dot-com. Conspiracy rule number two: When people try to hide their identity, theyâve got something to hide.â
I pondered that, wondering how I could get hold of whoever was in charge of WOSC. Iâd have to send an e-mail and wait for a reply, I guessed.
âIâll ask the police chief for an update on their investigation. There are some perksâdamn fewâto being the mayor of this burg, but finding out whatâs going on with city fundsâfrom police investigations to buying a new snowplowâis one of them. Letâs get together on Monday evening to see what everyoneâs found out,â Kerry, ever the organizer, said. âWe can do it at my house. Six thirty?â
We all agreed and tramped back to our cars, a bit wetter than when we had arrived. Brooke caught up to me as I was getting into the van. âHowâs Derek holding up?â she asked, worry putting a line between her brows.
âNot so well,â I said, grateful for her concern. âHeâs worried that heâll lose the pub and end up in jail. Helooked awful this morning when I talked to him; I sent him over to Mom and Dadâs.â
âIf thereâs anything Troy or I can do . . . Troy Sr. knows some good lawyers.â
Troy Sr. had enough business irons in the fire to keep a whole herdâpack? flock? pod?âof lawyers gainfully employed.
A murder of lawyers
 . . . I liked that. âThanks, Brooke, but heâs already got a lawyer.â
She hugged me. âTell him to hang in there. No one with half a brain could think he killed Gordon. It sounds like heâd have had to stand in line to get to him, as many people as Gordon pissed off. Like Ratchett in
The Orient Express
.â
âI donât think Gordon was as
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