Officer Holly glared at Lachlan. “But if you haven’t paid your motel bill by tomorrow, you will be evicted and held.”
“Lachlan, dear, if you need money...” said Miranda.
His eyes flashed with anger. “A handout? From Pastor Fran? Forget it. I made you! I’m not going to come to you, hat in hand, asking for scraps from your table. Look, if I’m not welcome here—”
“Stay or go,” said Officer Holly. “Doesn’t matter to me. But don’t even think about entering Kane’s room or Fairfax DePoy’s. They’re sealed. We have investigators coming in from Portland tomorrow to help, and I’m not going to have them rouse you from the deceased’s bed.”
Complaining that Holly was “tape happy,” Lachlan stormed off—or attempted to. The effect was lost as he struggled into his too-big jacket and pulled on his too-big fur-lined cap.
Geri, distraught, said, “Would you like me to run you down there, Mr. Todd?”
Head held high, he said, “I’m fine! I don’t need your charity.”
“But it’s a forty-minute walk, at least, to the other side of town,” Geri fretted. “And there are bears.”
Lachlan’s bravado faltered, but having committed himself, he said, “Bears? Ha. I fear nothing except the betrayal of others!” It was a line fromPastor Fran Investigates, Miranda was sure.
With that, he left. A billow of cold air accompanied his departure.
“Are there really bears in Happy Rock?” Miranda asked.
Officer Holly was dubious. “I’ve never seen any in town. There’s plenty up the Nestucca, especially during the salmon run. But here in Tillamook Bay? Chances are slim he’ll get eaten. Mind you, ifhis nickname really is ‘Luckless,’ I imagine anyone runs into a bear, it’ll be him. With that jacket and hat, they’ll probably let him pass, though, figuring he’s one of theirs.”
Miranda slid the paper she’d been writing on across to Andrew. It looked like the fight card for a boxing tournament.
“It’s a list of the various feuds at play,” she explained. “Kane vs. Fairfax was far from the only one.”
Andrew read it out loud:
Inez Foniovs.Penny Fenland
Ray Valentinevs.Lachlan Todd
Wanda Stobolvs.the world
“Penny and Inez? Really?” said Andrew.
“The macabre vs. the cozy. Granted, it’s one-sided, but Inez has contempt for Penny, and I’ve witnessed Wanda snap at everyone at some point. As for Ray Valentine of the police procedural, he exhibited immense disdain for Lachlan’s outlandish plots, insisting that his own writing was grounded in ‘the real world,’ whatever that is.”
From across the room, Officer Holly snorted. “Ray Valentine? That guy? I can tell you one thing: he’s no cop. At least, not the way he claims.”
This raised an eyebrow from Miranda. “Do tell.”
“I was fingerprinting everyone. Usual procedure, have them clean the end of their fingers with an alcohol wipe, make sure there’s no grit or obstructions. You’d be surprised. Once, on a vandalism charge, I had a guy try to give his prints with a bandage covering his fingers. Sort of defeats the purpose, I told him.”
“Vandalism!” said Miranda. “Here in Happy Rock??” The double question mark of disbelief was evident in her voice.
“A pair of rival fly fishers. One of ’em was convinced the other guyhad loaded his trout with weights to win the Spring Fling Fishing Jamboree. A scuffle ensued. The guy later removed the trophy from the case when no one was looking, wroteCHEATacross it in marker, and put it back in the club display. He cut himself on the edge while doing it, hence the bandages. This was before your time, Miranda. It made the papers. Or rather, paper.The Weekly Picayuneran a front-page exposé, laying the blame squarely on the local fishing commissioner. The fact that the local fishing commissioner is the ex-wife ofThe Picayune’s editor did not enter into it, I’m sure.”
“Scandalous!” said Miranda.
“It was. As for Mr. Valentine, when I was taking his prints, he tried to pressdownon the card, like he was stamping it, rather than rolling his thumb and fingers over it. I hadn’t explained it to him, ’cause I figured anyone who’s ever done any sort of criminal work knows how to take prints.”
“But he flashed his badge.”
“Yeah,flashedit. Didn’t show it. You get a good look at it?”
Miranda admitted she hadn’t. Her thoughts went back to the Q&A earlier in the evening, when the clammy-lipped man who worked at the Opera House had unnerved Ray Valentine.
