Page 58 of Lost Hours
Mina took Paisley’s hand. “Now don’t jump to conclusions. We don’t know this man had anything to do with his death.”
Paisley stood staring at Mina. “But he could’ve, right?”
“Of course, he could’ve.” Mina released the server’s hand and glanced around. “I don’t suppose you have any security cameras on the property.”
Paisley shook her head. “Folks around here don’t much like them, and we respect their privacy.”
Mina let out a breath that sounded like it carried all of her frustration with it. “Would you be willing to come down to the office and describe him and the woman Mayor Sutton had lunches with so my artist can make sketches of them?”
“Of course. If you think that will help, I’m glad to do it for Ernie.” She rubbed her hands over her forearms. “I can’t believe he was murdered. Not only that it was Ernie, but that anyone was murdered in our small town. This world. What’s it coming to?”
Nolan couldn’t agree more, but didn’t go there to distract from the point of the interview.
“If you’d make your way to the office now,” Mina said. “I’ll have my deputy waiting.”
“I’m on my way.” Paisley started untying her apron.
“One more thing,” Mina said. “I need you to keep this information to yourself. No mentioning his murder to anyone. It’s important for our investigation.”
“It’ll be hard, but I can do it.” She rushed towards the swinging doors.
Nolan looked at Mina. “Do you think this man could be our killer?”
She slid out of the booth. “It never pays to jump to conclusions in this business.”
“Agreed,” he said, making strong eye contact. “But if I were a jump-to-conclusions kind of person, I sure think he’s the man we’re looking for.”
“But what about the woman?” Mina asked, taking off for the exit. “She sounds like she could be behind the Chanel N°5 we smelled at the mayor’s house.”
He hurried to keep up with her. “I suppose she could’ve killed him, but then using a gun to murder someone is not a woman’s typical way to commit murder.”
Mina looked over her shoulder at him. “You’re right. Women prefer less violent methods, and they tend to kill inside and men outside, so that fits.”
“That’s assuming the blood at Becca’s house belongs to the mayor.”
“Yes,” she said, holding the door open. “But this woman is high on my suspect list along with the man Ernie had lunch with.”
They stepped into the late afternoon, sunshine slowly fading but still adding warmth to the spring day.
“We need to check in with Abe and El,” she said. “See what progress they’ve made, and then the Veritas team too. Maybe they have something to report.”
Nolan nodded and followed her to her vehicle. He thought both teams would’ve shared any big leads they found as they located them, but he could be wrong, and it wouldn’t hurt to check in. After all, the sergeant or detective might have news. A good thing, as he and Mina would need a direction to head in after this interview with Paisley left them with more questions than answers.
16
Mina nodded a greeting at Grace, the uniformed desk clerk in her office, but didn’t take the time to introduce Nolan. She hurried straight to the small bullpen where Sergeant Abell and Detective Lyons occupied large cubicles. El investigated all crimes, and Abe was responsible for staffing and patrol schedules. Plus, he was first on scene when an unusual problem arose. Unless he was off duty—like last night—when she took charge.
He sat at his desk, his focus on his computer screen. He’d run against her in the sheriff’s election, and she’d thought it would be tough to manage him, but he’d been a team player most of the time, albeit one with an attitude. She kept her eyes open for any unrest he might start in the ranks.
El was at her desk, too, but she’d arranged her computer on the outer L of her setup so she wouldn’t have her back to people. She looked up and offered a tight smile. “Boss.”
Abe spun.
“How’s it going?” she asked stopping in the walkway between the two cubicles, Nolan posting up beside her.
“We’ve made progress,” Abe said before El could speak.
“We’ve made progress too, but then hit a brick wall,” Mina said and looked at El. “You should join in with us in case any of this information relates to Becca’s investigation.”
