“We’ll keep going,” Ten said, setting up Everly’s ball for her next shot.
Jude, Cope, and Ronan stepped over to the reporter, who wore a wry grin on his face. “Looks like a fun day.”
“It is when you’re winning,” Jude grumped.
To his credit, Ronan didn’t rub it in. “We’ve got some information to pass along and some questions of our own for you.”
Chet nodded. “Let’s grab an ice cream, and we can talk.” He headed for a nearby booth selling soft serve. He ordered himselfa bubble gum, with Ronan and Cope getting vanilla, while Jude got a twist. He’d found them a clean table and took a seat.
“Have you spoken with Cyrus Longfellow again?” Chet asked after swiping his tongue over his pink ice cream.
“I have tried to reach him,” Cope said. “He’s still refusing to tell me who killed him, which leads me to believe Cyrus is protecting someone close to him.” He pointed to the reporter.
“What?” Hines practically screeched. “I’m the one who came toyou. I wanted you to speak with him so I could write an article naming the killer, not so that you could accuse me of being the killer.” The reporter looked as if he was ready to make a run for it.
Jude found himself wishing Hines would make a break for the parking lot. He’d enjoy catching and tackling the man who’d duped him into bringing his family to Maine. “Cyrus refused to name his killer.”
“What?” Hines said again, sounding not so out of control this time. “Why won’t he tell you?”
“Don’t know.” Cope shrugged, looking as if he couldn’t care less. “Ghosts have their own agenda. Cyrus is happy in his afterlife and sees no reason to alter it.”
“Whywouldn’tyou name your killer? Who the hell does that?” Hines grabbed a notebook from his back pocket and started scribbling notes.
“You’re not going to publish that, are you?” Jude asked.
Hines looked up at Jude, wearing a look that indicated he thought the detective was nuts. “Why the hell not? This is the only news there’s been on this case in the last five years.”
“You’re going to write about a psychic speaking with the ghost of Cyrus Longfellow?” Cope asked, echoing Jude’s earlier question.
“That’s the whole reason I wanted you guys up here. I knew if anyone could speak to Cyrus, it would be you. I also know you spent the morning at the Jungle speaking with Samantha Dixon. Did she give you any information you could use to find the killer?”
Jude shook his head. “She said she was pretty messed up on drugs around the time Cyrus was killed. She didn’t know of anyone who’d had an axe to grind with him.”
“Damn,” Hines muttered. “What’s our next step?”
It was on the tip of Jude’s tongue to let the reporter know there was no next step, but he changed his mind. “What do you know about Alexandria Longfellow?”
Hines shook his head. He wore a sad look. “She’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met in my life. Just between us, she’s got cancer and only a few months left to live.”
“That’s what she told us last night,” Jude said softly. His heart went out to the grieving mother.
“You spoke with Cyrus’s mother? How did you manage that? She hasn’t given any interviews in at least a decade. I send her a letter every year asking if she’ll meet with me. This year, she wrote back and told me about her diagnosis. She wants the case solved before she dies, which is why I went to such extreme measures to get you up here.”
“I wish you’d led with that instead of tricking me,” Jude muttered, still feeling pretty salty. “Anyway, we didn’t get in touch with her; she called Jake Powell, who put us on the line with Mrs. Longfellow. She said the same thing you did, that shewanted the killer found before she died. We asked if there were any possible suspects we should speak with, and she basically told us Cyrus’s lovers were too numerous to name and that she didn’t know a lot about the people he spent time with here in Maine.”
“So, another dead end.” Hines shook his head. “Does Cyrus know that his mother doesn’t have very long left?”
“We don’t know,” Cope said. “I’ve been trying to figure out if I should reach out to him one last time. Maybe if I tell Cyrus finding his killer is his mother’s dying wish, he’d be more willing to reveal the name.”
“What if it’s someone close to him, and he doesn’t want that person prosecuted?” Chet asked.
“We thought of that as well,” Ronan said. “We also wonder if Cyrus thinks his death was karma.”
“What do you mean?” Hines looked back and forth between the detectives.
“Maybe Cyrus somehow wronged this person, and being murdered was his just rewards?” His idea sounded better in his mind. It sounded pretty thin saying it out loud.
Hines was silent for a few seconds, looking lost in his thoughts. “I get where you’re coming from, but there are so many people in this world who blame others for their problems. It would take a pretty big man to admit he got what was coming to him.”
