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Authors: Falafel Jones
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ago when I saw her before all this current business. Why?”
“I don’t think they’re still friends.”
“Why not?”
“Has this girl been with Brenda since Fisher died?”
“No, not that I know of. What difference does that make?”
“Plenty. If Brenda had a BFF, the girl would have been at the house when you went over last night. She’d probably still be there.”
“How do you know that?”
Mariel gave me that pitying look wives gave clueless husbands all over the world. “OK, let’s go see her. Where is she?”
“She works in the family business downtown.”
We collected the car from the Business Co-op and drove down Canal Street to Dixie Freeway. A right turn and a block later, I pulled into the lot at Best Appliances. The banner in the window proclaimed, “Get your Best values here!” We entered the store and a middle-aged man in a short-sleeved white shirt and a dull brown tie approached us from in between a pair of ovens. A fringe of closely cut, blond hair sat on his balding head like a horseshoe.
“Hi, there,” he said. “Welcome to the Best appliance store. What do you need? We’ve got next day delivery on warehouse stock at no extra charge.”
I said, “We’d like to see Kimberly Best. Is she here today?”
The man looked like somebody hit him in the stomach but then quickly recovered. He stuck out his hand. “I’m Art Hingle. I can give you the same deal as Ms. Best. What are we looking for today? Oven? Fridge? We have some great buys on washers and dryers.”
“Thanks, Art but we’re not here to buy anything. We need to speak with Kimberly about something.”
Art finally seemed to realize there was no commission for him to earn and said, “Just a minute. I’ll tell her you’re here.” He disappeared through a door in the back of the store and returned a minute later followed by Kimberly Best.
As she approached, she stuck out her hand and said, “Welcome to the Best appliance store. How may I help you?”
“I’m Max Fried. This is Mariel, my wife. I’m a friend of Ed McCarthy’s and —”
Kimberly brightened, “Yes, I thought you looked familiar. We met at the McCarthy’s a couple of times. It’s so nice to see you but Art here can give you as good a price as I can. Our regular prices are so low, there’s no need for any special discounts. Shop around and you’ll see.”
“We’re not here to buy. I’d like to ask you some questions?”
“Oh, Art knows our stock better than I do.”
“I wanted to talk about Brenda.”
“Brenda?”
“Yes, you heard about the murder on that boat Friday night?”
Kimberly nodded.
“Well, Brenda was on that boat and now she’s missing. We’re worried about her. Any ideas where she might be?”
“No, I haven’t seen Brenda in, geez, I don’t know, six months?”
“How come?”
“We just sort of grew apart.”
“We’re worried that maybe an ex-boyfriend may be involved. Do you know Scott Barker?”
She bit her lower lip when I mentioned Barker’s name. “Scottie? Um, yes, why are you asking about Scottie?”
“We understand he’s got a bit of a temper and his alibi for Friday night doesn’t hold up.”
“Where did he say he was?”
“At the coffee shop.”
“He was.”
“How do you know that?”
“I was there. In the back, doing the books for him.”
“How come he didn’t tell us that?”
“Probably because I told him not to tell anyone about us. I didn’t want Brenda to know we’re seeing each other.”
“Why not?”
“I started dating him after that incident with the broken door at Brenda’s office. She insisted he was a loser and got upset with me when I told her I went out with him. I didn’t want her judging me so I told him not to tell anyone. Then after a while, Brenda and I drifted apart.”
“What time did you arrive at Thanx a latte?”
“Around 8:00. I didn’t leave until after ten.”
“See any cops come in?”
“Police? No, why?”
I didn’t answer her
“I don’t think they’re still friends.”
“Why not?”
“Has this girl been with Brenda since Fisher died?”
“No, not that I know of. What difference does that make?”
“Plenty. If Brenda had a BFF, the girl would have been at the house when you went over last night. She’d probably still be there.”
“How do you know that?”
Mariel gave me that pitying look wives gave clueless husbands all over the world. “OK, let’s go see her. Where is she?”
“She works in the family business downtown.”
We collected the car from the Business Co-op and drove down Canal Street to Dixie Freeway. A right turn and a block later, I pulled into the lot at Best Appliances. The banner in the window proclaimed, “Get your Best values here!” We entered the store and a middle-aged man in a short-sleeved white shirt and a dull brown tie approached us from in between a pair of ovens. A fringe of closely cut, blond hair sat on his balding head like a horseshoe.
“Hi, there,” he said. “Welcome to the Best appliance store. What do you need? We’ve got next day delivery on warehouse stock at no extra charge.”
I said, “We’d like to see Kimberly Best. Is she here today?”
The man looked like somebody hit him in the stomach but then quickly recovered. He stuck out his hand. “I’m Art Hingle. I can give you the same deal as Ms. Best. What are we looking for today? Oven? Fridge? We have some great buys on washers and dryers.”
“Thanks, Art but we’re not here to buy anything. We need to speak with Kimberly about something.”
Art finally seemed to realize there was no commission for him to earn and said, “Just a minute. I’ll tell her you’re here.” He disappeared through a door in the back of the store and returned a minute later followed by Kimberly Best.
As she approached, she stuck out her hand and said, “Welcome to the Best appliance store. How may I help you?”
“I’m Max Fried. This is Mariel, my wife. I’m a friend of Ed McCarthy’s and —”
Kimberly brightened, “Yes, I thought you looked familiar. We met at the McCarthy’s a couple of times. It’s so nice to see you but Art here can give you as good a price as I can. Our regular prices are so low, there’s no need for any special discounts. Shop around and you’ll see.”
“We’re not here to buy. I’d like to ask you some questions?”
“Oh, Art knows our stock better than I do.”
“I wanted to talk about Brenda.”
“Brenda?”
“Yes, you heard about the murder on that boat Friday night?”
Kimberly nodded.
“Well, Brenda was on that boat and now she’s missing. We’re worried about her. Any ideas where she might be?”
“No, I haven’t seen Brenda in, geez, I don’t know, six months?”
“How come?”
“We just sort of grew apart.”
“We’re worried that maybe an ex-boyfriend may be involved. Do you know Scott Barker?”
She bit her lower lip when I mentioned Barker’s name. “Scottie? Um, yes, why are you asking about Scottie?”
“We understand he’s got a bit of a temper and his alibi for Friday night doesn’t hold up.”
“Where did he say he was?”
“At the coffee shop.”
“He was.”
“How do you know that?”
“I was there. In the back, doing the books for him.”
“How come he didn’t tell us that?”
“Probably because I told him not to tell anyone about us. I didn’t want Brenda to know we’re seeing each other.”
“Why not?”
“I started dating him after that incident with the broken door at Brenda’s office. She insisted he was a loser and got upset with me when I told her I went out with him. I didn’t want her judging me so I told him not to tell anyone. Then after a while, Brenda and I drifted apart.”
“What time did you arrive at Thanx a latte?”
“Around 8:00. I didn’t leave until after ten.”
“See any cops come in?”
“Police? No, why?”
I didn’t answer her
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