Part 28 (1/2)

”Oh, yes.” Janie smiled wistfully. ”But I'm scared. It might be the same-old, same-old. With Fred.”

”Not if he spends his weekends in jail,” I pointed out, and wondered why Janie was telling me her troubles.

”True. But difficult. Weekends should be fun. Together.”

I was beginning to think that Janie's staccato manner of speaking would be enough to drive anybody to drink. ”I certainly don't hold Mickey's alleged witnessing of my car accident with Holly against you.”

”Good.” Her smile was more genuine, but she still kept fidgeting with the silver chains. ”Will it be in the paper?”

”At this point,” I replied, ”we'll run only a brief mention of the incident in the weekly report from the sheriff's log.”

Janie seemed relieved. ”Good,” she repeated, letting go of the necklace and standing up. ”I won't say anything. For now. Thanks.”

”Wait,” I said sharply. ”Say anything about what?”

Apparently I'd startled her. Janie had that deer-caught-in-the-headlights look. ”Mickey.” Suddenly she burst out laughing and clapped her hands. ”Yes,” she said. ”Much better. Fred out, Mickey in. 'Bye.” Still amused, she opened the door and hurried through the newsroom.

”Well?” I said as Leo entered my cubbyhole. ”Is Janie Borg nuts?”

”It could go either way,” Leo replied. ”I tried to keep her from bothering you. Frankly, I couldn't figure out why she came here. I knew we were in trouble when she took one look at Amanda and started to spout a bunch of c.r.a.p about the town s.l.u.ts.”

”Meaning Amanda and Holly?”

Leo grinned. ”I don't think she meant Vida.”

”Or me, I trust.”

”Let's a.s.sume that. Mitch told me about the pool cue that wasn't used to kill De Muth. I stopped in this afternoon to double-check the new ad for the ICT. Spike Canby got the cue back while I was there.”

”And still didn't recognize it?”

”He didn't-or so he said-but Norene Anderson did.” Leo sat on the edge of my desk. ”She was sure it came from the tavern's rack because she used it to bust up a bees' nest outside.”

”What did she do with it after bopping the bees?”

Leo's expression was wry. ”She didn't know. Norene claims she doesn't remember what happened after she got stung except for coming inside, taking a couple of allergy pills, and putting a mixture of baking soda and water on her arm. She was miserable for the rest of the evening, but toughed it out. It wasn't until the next day that she saw Doc Dewey on an emergency basis. Her arm had swollen up so much that she hardly slept that night.”

Leo's version of Norene's account matched what I already knew. ”Maybe she couldn't sleep because one of the customers got killed.” A salient omission dawned on me. ”Do you know when she got stung?”

”I gathered it was an hour or so before the brawl started,” Leo said after a pause. ”She mentioned still being groggy when Berentsen and De Muth went at it.”

I nodded. ”It sounds as if she left the cue outside. If I'd taken some whacks at a bees' nest, I would've run away as fast as I could. The pool cue would be excess baggage.”

”So you're thinking ...” Leo stopped as Vida entered my office.

”You two seem very involved in a discussion,” she said. ”Would I be wrong in suspecting that it pertains to the ICT tragedy?”

”How did you guess, d.u.c.h.ess?” Leo's manner was droll.

”It's deadline, so we have to make sure there are no loose ends,” Vida replied. ”Shouldn't Mitch be involved?”

I shrugged. ”His coverage is fine. We can only deal in facts.”

”So,” Vida asked, ”are the facts consistent with hearsay and unsubstantiated quotes from witnesses?”

Leo and I exchanged glances. ”That depends,” I finally said. ”Is Mitch still in the back shop?”

Vida looked into the newsroom. ”He just came out. Do you want him in here?”

I told her I did. Leo smiled. ”Is this an impromptu staff meeting?”

”More like brainstorming,” I said. ”Kip's got a full plate putting the paper together, and I certainly don't want Amanda in here.”

I paused as Mitch sauntered in. ”Is this somebody's birthday,” my reporter asked, ”or are we all fired?”

Vida sat down in one of the spare chairs. Leo deferred to Mitch for possession of the other visitor's spot. ”I'm not a news-hound,” he said to Mitch. ”In fact,” he went on, turning to me, ”am I needed?”

”Yes,” I a.s.sured him. ”You know a lot about this story, not to mention the people involved.”

Leo nodded. ”I'm Mr. Glad Hand, sucking up to possible revenue providers, no matter how irrational and impossible they may be.” He slid off the desk and moved over by one of my filing cabinets.

”Mitch,” I began, ”do you have hard copy on all the statements that the sheriff and his deputies took?”

”Yes,” he replied. ”Mullins let me make copies. Shall I get them?”

I pondered the question. ”Later, maybe, to compare notes with the official statements. It won't be easy since so much of what the rest of us heard wasn't taken down in writing.”

Vida lifted her chin. ”I recall everything that was told to me.”

I smiled. ”I know. You don't need notes or a tape recorder. But the rest of us do, and much of what we heard was off the cuff.”

My three staff members looked at one another and then at me. Leo was the first to speak. ”What's the point?”

”Omissions and contradictions.” I turned to Mitch. ”You must've covered courtrooms in your time.”

”Oh, yes. My first beat included circuit court cases, mostly of a criminal nature. I thought it'd be interesting, even exciting. I fell asleep twice before noon on the second day of my first case, an armed robbery involving fatalities. Voir dire is a good cure for insomniacs.”

I nodded. ”I had the same experience at The Oregonian.” I noticed that Vida and Leo looked as if they were growing impatient. ”I'm not satisfied with this homicide being so cut and dried. First, the weapon was never found, and yet everybody agrees it was a pool cue. Second, none of the cues showed any signs of being used on De Muth. Third, the cue found by those college kids had been in the river-or the creek-too long to offer any forensic evidence. Do you follow me?”

”In other words,” Vida said, ”that was the lethal cue.”

Mitch seemed skeptical. ”Why do you say that?”

Vida bridled at the question. ”Isn't it obvious? If De Muth was actually killed with a pool cue, it had to be the one that showed up later. Somehow it was removed from the tavern and thrown in the river.”

Mitch started to respond, but Leo spoke first. ”n.o.body could've walked out of the ICT with a pool cue and not be noticed. They're hard to hide up your sleeve.”

”That's my point,” I said. ”Norene was stung before the brawl.”

Vida looked pensive. ”Why would a pool cue be outside?”