But Hendrick’s face was completely blank. Which meant he was a good faker. I hoped. I mean, I had just accused him of murder.
Officer Nelson held up his hand, all calm and like a cucumber. “Now, Miss Cartwright, I’m going to have to ask you to take a deep breath and settle down.”
“Settle down my eye! He certainly had motive to harm Madam Zoltar. Did you ask him about how he was trying to pressure her son into getting his mother to sell the store to him? Did you?”
Officer Nelson closed his eyes, likely asking whoever was in charge up there for patience, before he popped them back open and pointed to the parlor. “I’ll ask one more time, Miss Cartwright. Please wait for me in the other room, or I’ll be forced to cuff you.”
“Cuff this!” I shouted up at him, but I inched my way out toward the parlor. Handcuffs weren’t a part of my plans today. They’d mess up my date with Forrest.
I left the room with a squinty-eyed glare at Officer Nelson and Hendrick Von Jerk, just to let them know I meant business.
Huffing, I stopped at the reception desk, where Sally gave me stink-eye.
I openly sighed. “Okay, I’m sorry. I tricked you and I suck for doing it, but I really needed to talk to him. I just want to know who’d hurt Madam Zoltar. I just want to help.”
I don’t know why I was telling Sally my tale of woe—if it was a way of explaining my desperation or if I just needed a “poor baby.”
“You don’t have a paralyzed dog named Belfry, do you?”
My eyes fell to the floor in guilt. Sometimes, when I’m in the zone, I do whatever it takes to get the answer I want to hear, and collateral damage is inevitable. “No. No dog. But I’ve been accused of murder. So there’s that hanging over my head.”
Sally tapped my arm, her gaze softer. “Oh yeah. You’re the lady everyone’s calling a murderer.”
Yeah. That’s me. “I did not hurt Madam Zoltar.”
Sally nodded her sandy-blonde head. “Oh, I totally believe you. I’d believe that creep did it before I’d ever consider you a suspect. He’s so rude. Treats us all like we’re his indentured slaves, barking orders, demanding we do all sorts of stuff.”
Grrr. If I could only use my power one more time, I’d use it to whack that Hendrick so hard, his brain would spill out of his ears. But then a thought occurred to me.
“Do you know where he was when Madam Zoltar was killed? Was he here at the inn?”
She paused in thought then her eyes shone with disappointment. “You know, as much as I’d like him to spend a few centuries in jail, he really was here that morning. Up early, too. I remember because he was aggravated I’d spent so much time talking to the man who was checking out. But gosh, he smelled so good and he was so cute. He was chatting with me and looking for a place to grab some fish and chips, and I was recommending that amazing food truck next to Tito’s, The Deep Sea Diver, all while Mr. Von Adams rolled his eyes and huffed at me.”
Fish and chips…
“Fish and chips!” Win barked.
I tried to contain my excitement. This had to mean something. No way could fish and chips come up this often without it meaning something.
“Fish and chips? Yum! One of my favorites. There’s a truck that serves them next to Tito’s? How did I miss that?”
“He kind of comes and goes to avoid permit-violation fines. Guy who owns the truck’s name is Jacob. He doesn’t want to pay for the permit to have the truck parked. Sort of a rage-against-the-man kinda hipster dude. But if you know Marvin Wexler, from the town inspections office, you know what a by-the-book kind of guy he is. He’s a total stickler for the rules. It’s sorta become a joke to see how long Jacob can avoid Marvin before he catches him.”
“Do you remember who the guy was that wanted the fish and chips? What his name was?”
Now she rolled her eyes at me. “Aw, c’mon. I think you know I can’t tell you that. I’m already in enough trouble, don’t you think?” She hitched her jaw toward the kitchen, where the police were still talking with Hendrick The Horror. “I can’t afford to get fired, Miss Cartwright. I need this job, and Coraline’s a great boss, but she’s going to get some serious flack for what I did for you because you can bet your cute purse, that monster in there will make her miserable.”
I gave her my best sad-panda face. “I get it. I just hope he wasn’t the one to hurt Madam Zoltar, because that would be just awful. And the way things are going for me, I need all the suspects I can get. I figure it couldn’t hurt to ask him a few questions, you know? Anyway, speaking of, you must be Liza’s friend, right? She mentioned you worked here…”
Guilt shone brightly in Sally’s eyes. “It’s so awful what happened to her nana. She really was tight with her. Super close. Mrs. Martoni was a great lady. I feel so horrible”