Page 57 of Killer on the First Page
“Like the vial of blood Inez Fonio carries around her neck.”
“Blood?” said Ned, taking notice. “Whose?”
“Hers.” Though, come to think of it, Inez hadn’t been wearing it when she came downstairs with Owen, back in the bookstore. Had she tucked it inside her shapeless dress? “What color was the wax?” Miranda asked. “In the pouring device?”
“Red.”
“And no stick of red wax nearby?”
Ned pushed back his police cap and chewed on this a while. “There wasn’t. Not that I could see. I’ll check again, but nope, I didn’t see any stick of wax on the desk. The only wax was in that little pewter ladle.”
Missing wax, missing blood...
“And Kane Hamady’s room?” Miranda asked.
“It’s next door to Fairfax’s. Nothing suspicious, far as I could see.”
“Except for the fact that the rooms were next to each other,” said Miranda, “with them being sworn enemies.”
“I don’t know aboutsworn,” said Ned. “Near as I could tell, they were frosty but civil. Ignored each other, for the most part. And anyway, I don’t figure they got to pick their rooms. Would’ve been assigned.”
“You describe their interactions as frosty but essentially civil. And yet Fairfax DePoy, by all evidence, killed Kane Hamady. It would seem their literary feud took a deadly turn. Is that still your working hypothesis, Ned, that Fairfax DePoy murdered Kane and then disappeared, leaving a single footprint on the other side of the yard?”
“You’re getting as bad as Scoop, pushing me to answer questions. I already sent her home. She came around here, saying ‘Freedom of the press,’ to which I said, ‘Obstruction of justice,’ and she said, ‘Okay, but if you do find something you can share, I’ll get an exclusive, right?’ and I said, ‘Seeing as how you’re the only press in Happy Rock, I imagine anything I give you will be an exclusive,’ and she said, ‘I’m holding you to it, Ned,’ so I said, ‘When did you get so tough? It’s usually just bake sales and walk-a-thons with you,’ and she said, ‘Exactly!’ Meaning, I suppose, she’s looking for something meatier. Long story short, anything comes up, she gets an exclusive.”
“That was most considerate of you,” said Miranda. “Now. A follow-up question...”
“I’m not answering any more questions, not from you, not from Scoop. This is an active police investigation and”—he pulled up his belt in an assertive gesture—“I will not be commenting further.”
“My question is unrelated to the investigation,” Miranda assured him.
Ned was dubious. “Really?”
“Yes. A question about fishing, nothing more.”
His shoulders relaxed. He smiled. “Hey, I didn’t know you were interested in fishing. Sure thing, ask away.”
“When one goes out and about on the Nestucca River, does one typically employ a harpoon gun?”
Ned’s gaze hardened. “Harpoon gun? Why do I feel this is related to the investigation?”
“I’m curious. Does one fish for trout with a harpoon gun? Mr. Hamady mentioned he had been to the Nestucca before, had fished for trout, and I imagine a harpoon gun could be converted readily enough so that it shoots an arrow. As I recall from a certain episode ofPastor Fran Investigates—”
“‘The Scuba of Suspense’!” Andrew shouted. “I remember that episode. You shot a harpoon through the villain’s oxygen tank! That was really smart of you. My mom cheered.”
“We filmed that in Lake Tahoe; the water was freezing cold. My lips were so blue by the end of it, they had to add extra waterproof lipstick to bring back the color.Mild hypothermia, the doctor on set concluded.Mild,the producers noted, and we kept on filming. I ended up in the hospital with not-so-mild pneumonia, but that’s beside the point. The harpoon gun we used for that episode was quite small. And light. Aluminum, I believe. It was, in fact, a real harpoon gun with the trigger removed. I recall the prop man arriving with foam-tipped arrows for it, and they had the feather fletchings trimmed down to fit inside the barrel. Viewers complained, of course. ‘You don’t use feathers underwater. It’s not aerodynamic.’ The fact that I wrestled an enormous rubber octopus in the same episode didn’t bother them, but the fletchings on the arrows did.”
Ned stopped her with a raised hand. “Are you suggesting that Kane Hamady was killed by a converted harpoon gun?”
“Kane Hamady had been fishing on the Nestucca River,” said Miranda. “Fairfax DePoy has also been fishing on the Nestucca. Theywere both there when the cutthroat record was set. A strange sort of coincidence, don’t you think, the two of them on the same river at the same time?”
“Coincidences are always strange, Miranda. That’s sort of the point of coincidences. And, to answer your question, nobody fishes on the Nestucca River with harpoon guns. I mean, it’s probably against some sort of bylaw. As much as I would like to continue discussing local fishing regulations, I need to confer with my officer about this little matter of a murder that we are investigating, so if you’ll excuse me...” He left to speak with Officer Holly on an under-the-breath “Sheesh.”
Miranda now sought out the ever-poised Penny Fenland. “Penny, dear. You mentioned the name of the company behind this writers festival—Middlemist. Why?”
“The name of a flower, isn’t it?” said Penny, smiling down at Miranda (she was a head taller at least). “The Middlemist’s red camellia is the rarest flower in the world. Only two in existence.”
“And?”
