care for its own.”
The response to this was an abrupt, “We’ve got to talk, Jack.”
He shrugged. “So, talk. Who do you want to be? Cleopatra? Ghengis Khan? Jack the Ripper . . . ? No, sorry. I forgot. That part’s always reserved for me.”
“Can that stuff, alright? Last night I woke up at three in the morning. I could see that damn puzzle in my head clear as day. And you know what, Jack? I didn’t like what I saw.”
His casual, “Which one?” had a disingenuous tone. He returned his concentration to the cutting board.
“Don’t get cute. It doesn’t become you.”
“Okay, so fine, we don’t make any more word games. You told me the last one was the end for you, anyway. So be it.”
“It’s a little late for that, Jacko. The cat’s out of the bag—as you well know. Did you think I was too stupid to discover what you laid out in those dumb black and white squares? You don’t think I noticed that you were straddling both sides of the fence?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You helped make the puzzles, right? You drew ’em out with your own fingers.”
“Don’t double-cross me, Jack. I know a lot more than you think I do.”
“Goody for you.”
“Like who killed Ryan, for one thing.”
Jack’s response to this statement was to open the refrigerator door. There was no indication he’d heard a word that was said. “I know there’s cilantro in here somewhere,” he muttered to himself. “Nothing better than fresh cilantro for a nice, fresh tang . . . found it . . . good . . . Well, so, enlighten me. Who killed the lovely Ryan? Was it you? Should I be shaking in my boots?”
“Is that part of your plan? To set me up as her murderer? You’d be better off killing me, too—”
Jack reached out and pulled his guest so close their faces nearly touched. “If you don’t know what you’re talking about, you’d be well advised to keep your mouth shut.”
“I saw you, Jack. I was there.”
“Saw me? Saw me what?”
“Let me go. I can’t breathe—”
“I thought that was how you liked it.”
“Well, I don’t anymore.”
Curry released his grip; the gesture was both defiant and all-powerful. “ ‘Don’t hurt me, Jacko. I don’t like it anymore, ’ ” he mimicked as he returned to his task, but his guest’s hurried words ignored the insult.
“Sunday night. I saw you slip out the back door of the Big House. It didn’t take a brain trust to put two and two together the next morning when Ryan turned up dead.”
Jack placed the knife on the cutting board. “You’re suggesting I killed Ryan? Is that it?”
“I’m not suggesting anything. I know you did. But I don’t care. She’s gone, and we’re all happier because of it. But you’d better not buck me, or I’ll go to that Lever jerk with everything I know.”
Jack laughed. It was a hearty, self-satisfied sound. “You’re crazy. You’ve got no proof. It’s your word against mine, and we all know how much Pop C. admires me. Besides, if you saw me leave—or think you saw me leave—that places you at the murder scene, too, doesn’t it?”
“I was outside.”
“So you say. And you just admitted to being there—which I don’t.”
“You’re as low as they come—”
“Two peas out of the same pod, Jessie with an ie.” He slid the pepper into a frying pan and turned to the cilantro, holding it under running water while he grabbed a fistful of paper towel to dry it. “So, you figured out that puzzle, huh? Good for you. Very bright. But, you see, I’ve been busy, too. Doing some solo work. Working on a little insurance policy in the form of another couple of crosswords—”
“What do you mean ‘insurance policy’?”
“That’s for me to know and you to find out. It’s amazing how similar our handwriting is, especially our printing. Have you noticed that? That’ll keep Ms. Graham guessing when she sees my latest creation. But I’m an easy-goin’ guy: I’ll give you a helpful hint about what I’ve been up to: The nice people at the post office are involved.”
The response to this was a snarling, “Well, if that Graham woman figures out what you wrote in that other puzzle, I’m going straight to the cops with everything I know about your involvement.”
“Oh, I sincerely doubt that. Besides, like I said, if you turn me in, you might as well be jumping straight into this frying pan here. And