Page 93 of Don't Cross Mo Ellery

“What?”

Oops, no, I’m making this worse.

“I thought I was solving Claudia’s murder.”

“Claudia was myfriend,” Benny says.

“Exactly! If I’d been at the wrong place at the wrong time with an obscene amount of money you might have had me arrested too!”

He looks lost. Which, honestly, is better than angry. “What money?”

I quickly catch him up on the investigation. The money that was in the envelope he delivered. How I thought he was the murderer, then Tond, then Merle. How I have no idea who the murderer is anymore.

“But it definitely wasn’t an accidental gas leak,” I say as gently as I can. “She figured something out, and it got her killed, whatever it was.” Something nags at the back of my mind, but I can’t quite see it. Something I’m missing.

There’s a long pause. I take a pull off my Coors Light while Benny processes all of this, and finally, he lets out a low whistle. “Holy shit.”

“Yeah. It’s a mess.”

“If the murder got pinned on me, I’d have been so screwed.” He gets a haunted, faraway look in his eyes. “Did you know, the toilet is just in the middle of the holding cell. And if you have to poop, everyone can see?”

“Did you? Have to poop?”

He turns a deep shade of red.

No more questions, Your Honor.

Benny shoots the rest of his wine and motions for me to get him another one. I suppose I owe him. When I return with his icy cold Merlot and slide back into the booth, he asks, “So who’s left on your list of suspects?”

I wince. “My list is currently a little unimpressive.” AKA nonexistent.

“Hit me.”

“Well, if we’re assuming Claudia’s garbled text is right and the alderman’s office is somehow involved, then I guess everybody who works there could be a suspect?”

He leans in, eyebrows raised.

“Except Tasha,” I say quickly. “Obviously.And Leslie. I had high hopes for Merle, but it’s not him either. So.”

He gives me a look.

“I’mworkingon it, sheesh,” I say, but I get his point. I’m chasing my tail right now. “How about... tell me everything you know about the alderman’s office. Who else is generally around? I’ve only been there a couple times, but you walk Charlie, you must know things.”

“Nothing useful. The assistants are the heart and soul of that place. Merle’s been in office so long, he kinda phones it in, and Leslie, well... chief of staff in name only. She’s only got eyes for Charlie.” He shakes his head.

“We love her,” I say firmly. I will not have two people shitting on my new friend Leslie, fellow Dog Mom Extraordinaire. Not today. “Anything else?”

“Okay. Well, Sunday morning, when I got there early to walk Charlie, Merle wasn’t around. That lady gave me the envelope to drop off at Claudia’s.”

I look up from the dregs of my Coors Light. “What lady?”

“The one in the suit.”

Thelady?In the suit?

Val. Has to be.

“Beige suit?” I say.