Read Online Formula for Murder by JUDITH MEHL - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: JUDITH MEHL
Tags: Mystery
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as she held out her bribe.
“You don’t ask much do you? It would be easier to nab the killer and clear Gerald that way.”
“So what are we waiting for? Let’s go chat with Gerald and see what he knows.”
She licked her fingers daintily, and wiped them on the napkin she swiped from another passing waiter, then wove her fingers between Nicks and tugged forward. He just grinned and followed, realizing he’d convinced her of nothing and they were back where they started—off to interrogate Gerald and Abner. As he tagged along he tried to score at least one point. “O.K. Kat, but remember, this is not an inquisition, and this is a polite, formal gathering of great significance to those who sign our paychecks. Try discreet?”
Kat didn’t honor that with a response but smiled gently at Gerald. She knew he hated to attend these affairs, but participated in his role with the campaign committee. He wasn’t a fundraiser, but he knew lots of folks, alumni as well as those in local industry, and his contacts were prized.
“You look lovely tonight,” Gerald said, bestowing a benevolent smile. He added, “What progress is there on finding Charlie’s killer?”
Nick raised an eyebrow and realized that this wasn’t the first time others expected Kat to know just about everything. He couldn’t resist asking why. Gerald explained that Burrows was an old family friend of hers. Katharine’s father had served on the police force for many years before retiring, so she supposedly had connections.
Shocked, Nick stared at Kat. “That’s friendship you two share? Could have fooled me.”
With a glass of wine in her hand, Kat laughed and turned back to Gerald. “Nope. We don’t know a thing. That’s why we came to check with you.”
Nick glanced around, and wondered if anyone else noticed Kat’s ability to have food and drink materialize wherever she stood. No one else paid attention so he focused on the matter at hand. Concentration of any kind was proving difficult. Though he felt like he was on the edge of a precipice whenever Kat was around, he enjoyed that sharpening of his senses. He was either losing it, or in love. It was time to regroup, if she ever gave him the chance.
Gerald described his actions the evening of the murder. He really hadn’t seen or heard anything out of the ordinary as far as he could remember, and that’s what he’d told the police. Yes, he’d found the body. The lights were still on in the lab when he came round to lock up so he peeked in to see who was still at work. Charlie didn’t often use the big lab for his own experiments.
At first Gerald hadn’t seen anyone, he recalled. Then he noticed the shards of broken test tubes and beakers. A step further inside brought him in sight of Charlie’s body. He’d checked for signs of life and then urged Kat to call the police.
Kat confirmed, “Yes, he was only in there a second, and I saw Charlie alive when I headed upstairs. He stood guard and waited for the police. They let him finish his rounds to lock up; then escorted him to his office where he was asked to stay in case they had more questions later.
Discouraged, Kat turned to scan the crowd for Abner, who seemed to vanish as soon as they came across Gerald. She didn’t know if it was deliberate, but she imagined it would be uncomfortable, at the least, to be suspected of murder. Until she gathered more information about Charlie’s work, and talked with Louise, there wasn’t much more to ask Abner anyway.
She waited till Nick and Gerald finished chatting about the latest extravagances in tuxedos and then reminded Nick of their appointment with Louise the following morning.
“What time is that?”
She cringed slightly, “Well, I had to make it early.”
The cringe accompanied by the crinkled smile was a dead giveaway and he dreaded to ask, “How early?”
“About 7:30?”
“You do realize it’s midnight? Maybe you better snap your fingers or pull on your ear or
“You don’t ask much do you? It would be easier to nab the killer and clear Gerald that way.”
“So what are we waiting for? Let’s go chat with Gerald and see what he knows.”
She licked her fingers daintily, and wiped them on the napkin she swiped from another passing waiter, then wove her fingers between Nicks and tugged forward. He just grinned and followed, realizing he’d convinced her of nothing and they were back where they started—off to interrogate Gerald and Abner. As he tagged along he tried to score at least one point. “O.K. Kat, but remember, this is not an inquisition, and this is a polite, formal gathering of great significance to those who sign our paychecks. Try discreet?”
Kat didn’t honor that with a response but smiled gently at Gerald. She knew he hated to attend these affairs, but participated in his role with the campaign committee. He wasn’t a fundraiser, but he knew lots of folks, alumni as well as those in local industry, and his contacts were prized.
“You look lovely tonight,” Gerald said, bestowing a benevolent smile. He added, “What progress is there on finding Charlie’s killer?”
Nick raised an eyebrow and realized that this wasn’t the first time others expected Kat to know just about everything. He couldn’t resist asking why. Gerald explained that Burrows was an old family friend of hers. Katharine’s father had served on the police force for many years before retiring, so she supposedly had connections.
Shocked, Nick stared at Kat. “That’s friendship you two share? Could have fooled me.”
With a glass of wine in her hand, Kat laughed and turned back to Gerald. “Nope. We don’t know a thing. That’s why we came to check with you.”
Nick glanced around, and wondered if anyone else noticed Kat’s ability to have food and drink materialize wherever she stood. No one else paid attention so he focused on the matter at hand. Concentration of any kind was proving difficult. Though he felt like he was on the edge of a precipice whenever Kat was around, he enjoyed that sharpening of his senses. He was either losing it, or in love. It was time to regroup, if she ever gave him the chance.
Gerald described his actions the evening of the murder. He really hadn’t seen or heard anything out of the ordinary as far as he could remember, and that’s what he’d told the police. Yes, he’d found the body. The lights were still on in the lab when he came round to lock up so he peeked in to see who was still at work. Charlie didn’t often use the big lab for his own experiments.
At first Gerald hadn’t seen anyone, he recalled. Then he noticed the shards of broken test tubes and beakers. A step further inside brought him in sight of Charlie’s body. He’d checked for signs of life and then urged Kat to call the police.
Kat confirmed, “Yes, he was only in there a second, and I saw Charlie alive when I headed upstairs. He stood guard and waited for the police. They let him finish his rounds to lock up; then escorted him to his office where he was asked to stay in case they had more questions later.
Discouraged, Kat turned to scan the crowd for Abner, who seemed to vanish as soon as they came across Gerald. She didn’t know if it was deliberate, but she imagined it would be uncomfortable, at the least, to be suspected of murder. Until she gathered more information about Charlie’s work, and talked with Louise, there wasn’t much more to ask Abner anyway.
She waited till Nick and Gerald finished chatting about the latest extravagances in tuxedos and then reminded Nick of their appointment with Louise the following morning.
“What time is that?”
She cringed slightly, “Well, I had to make it early.”
The cringe accompanied by the crinkled smile was a dead giveaway and he dreaded to ask, “How early?”
“About 7:30?”
“You do realize it’s midnight? Maybe you better snap your fingers or pull on your ear or
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