around.”
Will sighed. “We’re waiting to see whether she can get some reinforcements,” he admitted. “However that works out, the firm time for the new round is six-thirty.”
“I’ll be there,” Liza promised. She hesitated for a second, then hooked Will’s arm before he got away. “Er, I want you to meet a friend of mine. This is Will Singleton—”
Buck stuck out his hand. “Buck Foreman,” he said, shaking. “I was quite a fan of your crossword puzzles.”
Will cast a glance at the chaos around him. “Some days, I wonder if changing fields was a good idea. You’re not here for the tournament, Mr. Foreman?”
“No, I’m just an old colleague of Liza’s. We both worked at her agency,” Buck said smoothly. “When I heard she was going to be in town . . . or at least, close by, I figured I’d try to get down and see her.”
“That’s very nice,” Will said. “Good to meet you, Buck. Who knows? Maybe Liza can convert you to sudoku.”
“I wouldn’t bet on it,” Liza told him. “But if it’s okay with you, I’d like to show him around.”
“I’m sure he won’t be able to see us looking any worse,” Will replied. Then someone else called his name, and he was off to fight another fire.
Liza followed him with her eyes. “After doing that, I feel like a real . . .”
“Detective?” Buck asked.
“I think ‘turd’ is more the word,” she replied tartly. “Will is an old friend, and here I am—”
“Fingering him?” Mrs. H. suggested.
“Treating him like a suspect.” Liza’s words came out as an unhappy sigh. “It’s the same thing with Scottie Terhune. He may be a bit loud, but at bottom I think he’s a good guy. Roy Conklin is maybe a bit too much on the shy and quiet side, but he’s harmless enough. Ian Quirk was probably the one I wouldn’t mind giving the finger—”
“Excuse me?” Michael said.
“I mean he’s—he was —the most annoying pseudo sudokologist I ever met,” Liza tried to explain. “If I knew anything bad about him, I wouldn’t have minded ratting him out.”
She looked around in the crowd. “The next worst, at least here, would be Babs Basset, I think. Do you want me to introduce you to her, too?”
“And get the same look she gave Roche?” Buck shuddered. “Heaven forbid. If I ever have to face that particular gem of womanhood, I want to have something solid on her.”
In the end, they circulated until Liza tracked down all the other people who had some sort of motive. She even pointed out Fergus Fleming.
Finally, she looked at her watch. “I don’t know if any of this was helpful. You came all the way down here because Michelle asked you to—”
“I know,” Buck commiserated, “and I still haven’t pointed at anyone and said, ‘That’s the one who done it.’ ”
“To tell the truth, I was wondering why you came,” Michael admitted.
“For one thing, Liza is a friend,” Buck replied. “And I think you’re all off to some sort of start, although I have to admit I’m not really sure yet how to finish it. For another—well, sometimes it’s easier to do what Michelle wants.”
“No fooling,” Liza and Michael both said almost simultaneously.
“So what will you do now?” Mrs. H. asked.
“Now I’ll hit some sources and see what I can find out about these folks that isn’t on the World Wide Web,” Buck replied. “I suspect we’ll be in touch, Liza, if either of us finds out anything else interesting.”
“Right now, that seems like a big ‘if’ for us,” Liza said.
“That’s the way it always looks at the start of a case,” Buck told her. “Now I know you’ll want to do whatever it is you do to get ready for this rematch—”
“You make it sound like the World Wrestling Federation,” Liza tried to joke. “But the fact is, I do need to decompress.”
“And I have just the way to do it,” Kevin jumped in.
“And what, exactly, is that?” was Michael’s bristling response.
“A
Will sighed. “We’re waiting to see whether she can get some reinforcements,” he admitted. “However that works out, the firm time for the new round is six-thirty.”
“I’ll be there,” Liza promised. She hesitated for a second, then hooked Will’s arm before he got away. “Er, I want you to meet a friend of mine. This is Will Singleton—”
Buck stuck out his hand. “Buck Foreman,” he said, shaking. “I was quite a fan of your crossword puzzles.”
Will cast a glance at the chaos around him. “Some days, I wonder if changing fields was a good idea. You’re not here for the tournament, Mr. Foreman?”
“No, I’m just an old colleague of Liza’s. We both worked at her agency,” Buck said smoothly. “When I heard she was going to be in town . . . or at least, close by, I figured I’d try to get down and see her.”
“That’s very nice,” Will said. “Good to meet you, Buck. Who knows? Maybe Liza can convert you to sudoku.”
“I wouldn’t bet on it,” Liza told him. “But if it’s okay with you, I’d like to show him around.”
“I’m sure he won’t be able to see us looking any worse,” Will replied. Then someone else called his name, and he was off to fight another fire.
Liza followed him with her eyes. “After doing that, I feel like a real . . .”
“Detective?” Buck asked.
“I think ‘turd’ is more the word,” she replied tartly. “Will is an old friend, and here I am—”
“Fingering him?” Mrs. H. suggested.
“Treating him like a suspect.” Liza’s words came out as an unhappy sigh. “It’s the same thing with Scottie Terhune. He may be a bit loud, but at bottom I think he’s a good guy. Roy Conklin is maybe a bit too much on the shy and quiet side, but he’s harmless enough. Ian Quirk was probably the one I wouldn’t mind giving the finger—”
“Excuse me?” Michael said.
“I mean he’s—he was —the most annoying pseudo sudokologist I ever met,” Liza tried to explain. “If I knew anything bad about him, I wouldn’t have minded ratting him out.”
She looked around in the crowd. “The next worst, at least here, would be Babs Basset, I think. Do you want me to introduce you to her, too?”
“And get the same look she gave Roche?” Buck shuddered. “Heaven forbid. If I ever have to face that particular gem of womanhood, I want to have something solid on her.”
In the end, they circulated until Liza tracked down all the other people who had some sort of motive. She even pointed out Fergus Fleming.
Finally, she looked at her watch. “I don’t know if any of this was helpful. You came all the way down here because Michelle asked you to—”
“I know,” Buck commiserated, “and I still haven’t pointed at anyone and said, ‘That’s the one who done it.’ ”
“To tell the truth, I was wondering why you came,” Michael admitted.
“For one thing, Liza is a friend,” Buck replied. “And I think you’re all off to some sort of start, although I have to admit I’m not really sure yet how to finish it. For another—well, sometimes it’s easier to do what Michelle wants.”
“No fooling,” Liza and Michael both said almost simultaneously.
“So what will you do now?” Mrs. H. asked.
“Now I’ll hit some sources and see what I can find out about these folks that isn’t on the World Wide Web,” Buck replied. “I suspect we’ll be in touch, Liza, if either of us finds out anything else interesting.”
“Right now, that seems like a big ‘if’ for us,” Liza said.
“That’s the way it always looks at the start of a case,” Buck told her. “Now I know you’ll want to do whatever it is you do to get ready for this rematch—”
“You make it sound like the World Wrestling Federation,” Liza tried to joke. “But the fact is, I do need to decompress.”
“And I have just the way to do it,” Kevin jumped in.
“And what, exactly, is that?” was Michael’s bristling response.
“A
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