jumped to her feet. “Oh, Colin! It’s great to see you again!”
“Thanks, Stella.”
“Are you back for good?”
“Just a visit. Say, is Ernie in? I need to talk to him.”
“Yes, go on back. You know the way.” She smiled and pushed a release button to buzz him through.
He wandered down the hall and stuck his head in Ernie’s doorway. “Hey, buddy.”
Ernie glanced up with a look of surprise that quickly melted into a broad smile. “Hey, yourself. Was Emily happy to see you?”
“Of course, but that’s not what I’m here to see you about. What can you tell me about the murder?” Colin asked.
“Why don’t you come in and have a seat?” he said, gesturing toward the chair across from his desk. “And be sure to close the door behind you.”
Colin shut the door and took a seat, his gaze roving across Ernie’s desk. He watched with interest as Ernie pulled a thin file off the top of a short stack of folders and laid it open. Then he clasped his large hands on top of it. “What do you want to know?”
“Why did you arrest Josh Sullivan?” Colin asked.
“Well, ol’ Pete Peterson owns the Graystone Building where Lucas Wakefield had his office. Pete is such a cheapskate, he pinches pennies ’til Lincoln bleeds,” Ernie chuckled.
“Is this story going somewhere, big guy?”
“Of course. After Evan Parker was murdered in his office there last year, the other tenants pushed Pete to put security cameras on the building for their safety. So, he did, rather than lose some of his renters.”
“If he’d done it sooner, maybe we’d know who killed Emily’s late husband,” Colin said.
“That’s right.”
“But what does that have to do with Josh?” Colin asked.
“Well, after getting the video, we found that Josh was the last one to leave the Graystone Building last night—that is, before Gloria Wakefield and Maggie and Emily came there. When one of my officers and I went to talk to Josh this morning, we found that someone had done a number on his face, and his knuckles were bloody and busted up. I asked him about it. He started to say he had gotten into an argument with Lucas until Maggie told him not to say another word until he got a lawyer. I had no choice but to bring him in. My officer waited with him while I called for an arrest warrant. While we waited, Maggie called an attorney, that guy who defended Delia McCall a few months ago.”
“Alex Martínez?”
“That’s the one. Say, isn’t that the case Emily worked on?”
“Yes. You might say that’s how our romance began.”
“Now she’s got you involved in this case,” Ernie said, shaking his head.
“You’re the one who called me, Ernie, not her.”
“I called you to give her moral support, not to poke your nose in my investigation,” Ernie scowled.
“I’m not poking my nose in your investigation,” he said, defending himself. “I’m here to help.”
Ernie’s scowl turned into a wide grin. “Gotcha!” he shouted with a fist pump and let out a thunderous laugh.
“You old coot.”
“Hey, watch it young man.”
“What else do you have?” Colin looked down at the open file.
As a seasoned detective in San Francisco, he had worked nearly a hundred murders. This was only Ernie’s second murder case. The first one he worked was as an officer aiding Colin, who at the time was Paradise Valley’s only detective. Since Colin’s departure, Ernie now held that esteemed position—the entire case rested on Ernie’s big shoulders.
“Well, since Lucas Wakefield appears to have been beaten to death, and Josh all but admitted having been in a fist fight with him, what else do I need?” Ernie asked smugly.
“Was there anyone else on the security video?” Colin questioned.
“Yes, but no one else that would have done it.”
“Tell me who was on the video around the time of the murder,” Colin pressed. “You do have a time of death don’t you?”
“Yes.” Ernie looked at the notes in the file. “Doc Walters says time of death was between six and seven last night. Around that time, the video showed Mayor Sullivan entering the building, then Josh Sullivan. Shortly after that, it shows Josh leaving, then Mrs. Wakefield, Lucas’s mother, entering, then Maggie and Emily going inside.”
“Have you questioned all of them?” Colin asked.
“Not yet, but I will. I’m working through the list, but it’s a little tricky. The mayor, the victim’s mother, the fiancée—you know what I mean?
“It’s gotta be done, Ernie.”
“Step by step, I’m working through it. Hey, did you hear Mrs.