The KenKen Killings Part 13

It bothered her that she'd looked.

CHAPTER.

19.

There were three police cars out front. In the Bakerhaven police force, that const.i.tuted a quorum.

Officer Sam Brogan was stringing up crime scene ribbon with studied indifference. The cranky officer stroked his mustache, popped his gum.

"What have we got here, Sam?"

"We've got a murder in the middle of the night. Some people have no consideration."

"Don't take it personally."

"Oh, no? Were you happy getting the phone call?"

"Where's Dan?"

"Upstairs with the chief. We're still waiting on the doc."

The flashing lights of an ambulance came up the road. That wouldn't be the medical examiner, just an EMS team. They'd have to wait on the doctor as well.

Cora ducked under the crime scene ribbon.

"Sure, sure, just barge right in like I wasn't here," Sam said.

"The chief called me."

"Just bustin' your chops. Go on up."

"Where is it?"

"In the bedroom."

Cora went upstairs, looked in.

Randolph was in bed. It didn't take a medical examiner to tell he wasn't sleeping. He was lying diagonally with his feet on the pillow and his head at the foot of the bed. His eyes were wide open, staring. Blood drained from a wound in his temple.

Dan Finley was snapping pictures of the body from every conceivable angle. He waved hi and went on with his work.

Chief Harper came in from the bathroom. He'd just splashed water on his face, was wiping it with a towel. He grinned. "Well, you didn't waste any time."

"You called me."

"I didn't ask you to come here."

"You thought I wouldn't?"

"I knew you would. That's why I didn't ask you."

"Huh?"

"If I asked you down here, you'd figure I had a puzzle I wanted you to solve, and you wouldn't want to do it. If I didn't ask you down here, you'd figure I didn't, and you'd want to. So I didn't and you did. You even beat the doc."

"It's three in the morning. I'm not sure what you just said. What have we got here?"

"Like I said on the phone. Gunshot wound to the head."

"And you know it wasn't self-inflicted because...?"

"No gun. Kind of a dead giveaway. Suicides rarely dispose of the gun."

"You're making jokes, Chief?"

"Just antic.i.p.ating yours. Someone shot him. I have no idea why. Or who. Or when. The only thing I know is where. Unless you think the body was dumped here."

Cora peered at the body. "From the amount of blood on the bed I would say you could rule that out. So you have no idea when."

"The body's cold. The beginning of rigor. The medical examiner can pin it down, but he's been dead a while."

"How's the body get found at three in the morning?"

"Actually, it was found at two. Neighbor got up to go to the bathroom. Saw the lights were on and the car in the driveway. David Harstein. Nosy old coot. Has a reputation for b.u.t.ting into other people's business. Knew Randolph wouldn't be up at that hour. Figured something was wrong."

"And?"

"Called the cops."

"And?"

Harper made a face. "Sam was on duty. By the time he got through bawling David out for waking him up on a d.a.m.n fool errand-"

"Sam wasn't asleep," Dan put in. "He was wide awake, ever vigilant."

"Right. Anyway, Sam took a ride over, found the front door open, went in."

"The neighbor a suspect?"

"I can't imagine. I suppose stranger things have happened."

"Why the h.e.l.l would anyone want to kill the banker?"

"He testified against you yesterday, didn't he."

"Right. And then made me so angry I came over here and killed him."

"You do get angry."

"My gun's in my purse. Wanna check it? I didn't kill him, Chief."

"I'm sure you didn't. If I check your purse, I'll be able to attest to that fact."

"I could have used another gun."

"Cora."

"I got one gun in my purse. Mine. Fully loaded. Hasn't been fired. Here. Take a look."

Harper gave the gun a cursory look. He didn't even bother to sniff the barrel.

Cora stuck it back in her purse.

There were footsteps on the stairs, and Barney Nathan came in. Even at three in the morning he wore a bow tie. Cora wondered if it was a clip-on.

"Okay. Let's p.r.o.nounce him and get him out of here."

A EMS team had followed the doctor up the stairs and were waiting in the doorway. Largely for their benefit, the doctor made a show of feeling for a pulse. "Okay, he's dead. Probably a good twelve hours. And if it wasn't from that bullet wound to the head, I'd be very much surprised. All right, guys, take him away."

As the EMS team loaded the body onto a gurney, Cora noticed one of them was a woman. She sighed, said, "Aw, h.e.l.l."

Harper said, "What?"

Cora jerked her thumb. "Girl on the gurney. Isn't very big. As she's loading him up, I'm wondering if she could carry the banker. Which is s.e.xist. I'm thinking I was a lot happier before political correctness made me be so G.o.dd.a.m.ned careful."

"You really want to be politically correct, you probably shouldn't call her a girl."

"Oh, for chrissakes. Okay, Chief. You lured, tricked, enticed me into coming out here. For no conceivable reason that I can think of. You wanna tell me what's up?"

"Only if you don't get mad."

"Why would I get mad?"

"I don't know why you do half the things you do."

"Chief."

"It's late. I didn't want to get into everything on the phone."

"Everything?"

"Every little detail. After all, you just woke up."

"Chief, I'm going to strangle you in a moment. What are you holding back?"

"There was something on the bed beside the body."

"Don't tell me."

"Okay."

Cora's face flushed. "d.a.m.n it, that's a figure of speech. What did you find?"

Dan Finley's evidence kit was on the floor. Chief Harper reached inside, pulled out a plastic evidence bag. There was a piece of paper in it. He held it up for Cora to see.

It was a KenKen.

CHAPTER.

20.

Cora was hopelessly conflicted. The KenKen was a good news/bad news scenario. The good news was it wasn't a crossword puzzle she couldn't solve, it was a number puzzle she could. The bad news was it was any puzzle at all. Because Chief Harper would want to connect it with the crime, and Cora knew d.a.m.n well there wasn't any way it would.

"So?" Harper said.

"So what?"

"Can you help me out?"

"I sure can. With some sound advice. Ignore this number puzzle and figure out who committed the crime."

"That's not what I mean, and you know it."

"Yeah, but it's the best advice I've got. Come on, Chief, you want me to solve this thing? I'll tell you what it is. It's a 6-by-6 KenKen. Which is similar to a 4-by-4 KenKen, only bigger. It will have the numbers 1 through 6, and the mathematical functions still apply. You want me to solve it, I can, but it will take a little more time than a 4-by-4."

"How much time?"

"Two to three weeks."

"What!"

"That's a slight exaggeration. I could do it right now, except it's evidence, and you don't want me to write on the paper. Fax me a copy when you get around to it."

"That won't be until tomorrow."

"Oh, my G.o.d! How awful! Someone might get some sleep first. Come on, Chief, when I solve this you know what you're gonna get? Thirty-six numbers. Six of them will be 1's, six of them will be 2's. And this guy will still be dead, and you won't know any more than you did before unless you get some other lead. So. Can I have the puzzle? I'll solve it for you right now."