*
“Nothing remarkable,” Chris said in answer to my question. “We went outside. The fog had moved out, but the roads were slick. I was worried about Barry. He slid all over the place, but we made it up the hill.” Chris paused. “The moment we came over the top, past your mom’s house and the Snuggles, we could see the lights from the vehicles at the corner. Ben Kramer’s truck was still there, in the middle of the intersection, and the silver Volvo was pushed up against the telephone pole on the corner by Gordon’s Jewelry. There were two cop cars, two tow trucks, and an ambulance, all lit up. It was a mess.”
“And this was, what, more than two hours after Jamie first told us about the accident? I wonder why. . . .” I prompted. Talk about leading the witness.
“It took so long? I wondered too. But I didn’t have two seconds to think about it, because at the top of the hill, Barry took a dive. His feet went out from under him and he slid right down as if he were on a luge. Phil and I took off after him. I was afraid we’d both go ass over teakettle.”
“Oh, my gosh!”
“I know. When I caught up with them at the bottom of the hill, Phil was bent over Barry, saying, ‘Buddy, buddy, you okay?’ Barry groaned and said in a snippy tone, ‘I’m fine.’ Meanwhile, Jamie and Howland had come over and were trying to get us away from their accident scene.”
“You were that close?”
“Barry practically slid under the Volvo. I pulled him out and up onto his feet. He’s a big guy, and with the ice it wasn’t easy. No doubt his backside’s black and blue today. But he was fine, came up embarrassed and sputtering at Jamie and Howland about their incompetence, when were they going to clear the scene so he could go home, etcetera.
“Jamie took one look at Barry, smelled his breath, and told him he shouldn’t be driving in the near term regardless. Then he pulled me aside and cautioned me about overserving. I said, ‘Officer Dawes, it would be helpful to know when you expect to open the road so I know when to cut people off.’ Jamie hemmed and hawed and said there had been complications. Finally he said he’d call or come over to the restaurant when it looked like they were wrapping up. Then he repeated his warning about overserving, which just pissed both me and Barry off.
“So that was it. Phil put an arm around Barry and we all made our way, slowly and carefully, up the hill back to the restaurant. You heard us report when we got back that there’d been ‘complications’ and the cops didn’t know when the road would open.”
“You didn’t mention anything about Barry’s fall when you got back to the restaurant.”
“It didn’t seem tactful. The only thing hurting worse than Barry’s backside was his dignity. He had to be soaking wet. He must have been uncomfortable the rest of the evening.”
“Was there any sign of what the complications at the accident site were?”
“Nope. Not injuries, I don’t think, unless one ambulance had already left. The one that was there was idling. The crew stood outside it. Ben Kramer was out of his truck, walking around.”
“And the other driver?”
“Didn’t see him. Maybe he was injured. Anyway, why all this interest in the accident?”
“It seems odd to me that there was a serious accident and a guy murdered in our walk-in the same night. I think they must be connected.”
“Julia.” Chris sighed. “I can’t imagine how. And maybe, just this one time, we should let the professionals handle it?”
Chapter 8
Chris said he had to hurry and get to poker, so we signed off. I didn’t make any commitment not to get involved, nor did he expect me to. Murder had come straight to our doorstep, over our threshold, and into our home. Of course I would help out any way I could.
After we hung up, I sat on our broken-down couch and looked around the apartment. The big window framed a black sky, unbroken by stars or ambient light. The sun set early in December, especially when you were as far east in a time zone as coastal Maine. I let my thoughts wander. It had been a long, stress-filled day. Le Roi jumped up and settled beside me, purring loudly. He loved it when I was home and sitting still; it was such a rarity.
Suddenly I sat bolt upright, disturbing Le Roi, who meowed in protest. There it was. The fuzzy thing I’d felt was important but hadn’t been able to remember. All four of the couples that had come to the restaurant the night before had paid with gift certificates!