excitedly, “Dad, did you see this? How cool is that?”
The father smiled. “It’s very cool.” He looked at me and mouthed the words, ‘Thank
you,’ and I nodded back with a smile.
It did my heart good seeing that
kind of bond between father and son.
“Fancy seeing you here, Fred,” I
said as the understudy walked into the diner a little later. He was an average man in just about everyway
you could describe him. Average height
and weight, Fred’s hair and eye colors were both brown. I’d known the man most of my life, but if I
had to pick him out of a lineup, I wasn’t sure that I could do it. “I can’t remember the last time I saw you
eating here.”
“I agree. It’s been too long,” he
said.
“How are your car dealerships
going?”
“We’re still in business, so I
can’t complain,” he answered with a grin. I knew that Fred did well for himself, despite the poormouthing.
“What can I get for you?” I asked
him.
“I’d love a glass of your sweet
tea, and if you don’t mind, I could use some information, too,” he said with a
practiced smile.
“Well, we’ve got plenty of tea,
but I’m not sure how much news I’ve got to share with you. What did you have in mind?”
“I was kind of wondering if you’d
had any luck figuring out who killed Benny yet,” he said in a soft voice.
“What makes you think that I’m
looking into that?” I asked.
He laughed richly. “Victoria, your reputation as a crime solver
goes beyond these four walls. The entire
town knows what you and your grandfather do, and since he’s tied in so directly
with this case, you’re bound to be doing a little investigation work on your
own, so don’t bother denying it.”
“It’s true that we might have
asked a question here and there,” I admitted, “but nothing we do is ever
official. To be honest with you, I’m a
little surprised that you’re not more curious about what happened to Benny
yourself. It took you long enough to
come around today.”
“What can I say? I’ve been busy,” the car dealership owner
said as he took a healthy swallow of sweet tea. “I believe that I’m just curious enough about what happened to him. Benny and I weren’t exactly friends, but we
weren’t enemies, either. Why should I
get more involved than I am?”
“Come on. You can’t be surprised by the fact that
you’re probably on everybody’s suspect list.”
“No, I suppose that I expected as
much. Does that include your list as well?”
he asked with the hint of a smile.
“You’d better believe it,” I
said.
The smile faltered a little, and
then Fred said, “Victoria, I’m disappointed in you.”
“Are you? I can’t even begin to list the things I’m disappointed in. Fred, you own a pair of car dealerships. Let me
ask you something. Where’s my rocket
car? I read science fiction growing
up. Just about everybody led me to
believe that by now I’d be scooting around in a rocket car, so what I want to
know is, where’s mine?”
“It’s not under my area of
responsibility,” he said with a weakened grin. “I’d like to know something, Victoria. Why am I really on your list? I’m
no killer.”
“According to something that I
once read, we all are, if we’re backed far enough into a corner, or if we want
something badly enough.”
Fred said officiously, “There’s
nothing that I want, or anything that I’m afraid of.”
“Wow, it must be terrific being
you. Seriously, how did you manage
that?”
He was clearly puzzled by the
direction our conversation had taken. “We’re getting off-topic here. I
asked you a question, and I’d really like an answer.”
“Okay,” I said, “you asked for
it. Fred, everyone in seven counties
knows that you wanted the lead in that play. It must have crushed you when Benny got it.”
He shook his head. “Sure, I thought that I’d be
The father smiled. “It’s very cool.” He looked at me and mouthed the words, ‘Thank
you,’ and I nodded back with a smile.
It did my heart good seeing that
kind of bond between father and son.
“Fancy seeing you here, Fred,” I
said as the understudy walked into the diner a little later. He was an average man in just about everyway
you could describe him. Average height
and weight, Fred’s hair and eye colors were both brown. I’d known the man most of my life, but if I
had to pick him out of a lineup, I wasn’t sure that I could do it. “I can’t remember the last time I saw you
eating here.”
“I agree. It’s been too long,” he
said.
“How are your car dealerships
going?”
“We’re still in business, so I
can’t complain,” he answered with a grin. I knew that Fred did well for himself, despite the poormouthing.
“What can I get for you?” I asked
him.
“I’d love a glass of your sweet
tea, and if you don’t mind, I could use some information, too,” he said with a
practiced smile.
“Well, we’ve got plenty of tea,
but I’m not sure how much news I’ve got to share with you. What did you have in mind?”
“I was kind of wondering if you’d
had any luck figuring out who killed Benny yet,” he said in a soft voice.
“What makes you think that I’m
looking into that?” I asked.
He laughed richly. “Victoria, your reputation as a crime solver
goes beyond these four walls. The entire
town knows what you and your grandfather do, and since he’s tied in so directly
with this case, you’re bound to be doing a little investigation work on your
own, so don’t bother denying it.”
“It’s true that we might have
asked a question here and there,” I admitted, “but nothing we do is ever
official. To be honest with you, I’m a
little surprised that you’re not more curious about what happened to Benny
yourself. It took you long enough to
come around today.”
“What can I say? I’ve been busy,” the car dealership owner
said as he took a healthy swallow of sweet tea. “I believe that I’m just curious enough about what happened to him. Benny and I weren’t exactly friends, but we
weren’t enemies, either. Why should I
get more involved than I am?”
“Come on. You can’t be surprised by the fact that
you’re probably on everybody’s suspect list.”
“No, I suppose that I expected as
much. Does that include your list as well?”
he asked with the hint of a smile.
“You’d better believe it,” I
said.
The smile faltered a little, and
then Fred said, “Victoria, I’m disappointed in you.”
“Are you? I can’t even begin to list the things I’m disappointed in. Fred, you own a pair of car dealerships. Let me
ask you something. Where’s my rocket
car? I read science fiction growing
up. Just about everybody led me to
believe that by now I’d be scooting around in a rocket car, so what I want to
know is, where’s mine?”
“It’s not under my area of
responsibility,” he said with a weakened grin. “I’d like to know something, Victoria. Why am I really on your list? I’m
no killer.”
“According to something that I
once read, we all are, if we’re backed far enough into a corner, or if we want
something badly enough.”
Fred said officiously, “There’s
nothing that I want, or anything that I’m afraid of.”
“Wow, it must be terrific being
you. Seriously, how did you manage
that?”
He was clearly puzzled by the
direction our conversation had taken. “We’re getting off-topic here. I
asked you a question, and I’d really like an answer.”
“Okay,” I said, “you asked for
it. Fred, everyone in seven counties
knows that you wanted the lead in that play. It must have crushed you when Benny got it.”
He shook his head. “Sure, I thought that I’d be
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