I’ll throw in the olive oil free of charge.” Jack grabbed the onion, cut it in half, then nicked the tip of his finger as he began dicing. He emitted a crude curse, followed by a tight-lipped, “Damn, that smarts. New knives, they’re like horses and women: ya gotta break ’em in.” He stuck his finger into his mouth and licked at the drop of blood that had formed on the end. “Hand me a bandage, will you? There’s some in that top drawer there.”
His visitor pulled the box of bandages from the drawer and tossed it to him. “Where’d you learn how to chop onions anyway? You do it like a scared old lady. Here, give me that knife. I’ll show you why I bought it for you.”
“So it’s kiss and make up? We’re back to Bonnie and Clyde again? Boy, you sure do like bein’ unpredictable.”
“This time I’ll be Clyde.”
“Gonna get kinky, are we? Well, take off your gloves. How clean are they?”
“They’re clean. I don’t want to get onion juice in my blisters. It’ll sting like crazy. Do you want me to dice up that thing for you or not?”
“Does this mean you’re sticking around for supper? That would surely get certain people talking, wouldn’t it?” He chuckled, handed over the knife and proceeded to open the bandage and fold it over his fingertip. He then opened a second bandage to hold the first in place. Another laugh escaped from his lips. “It’s a good thing I trust you. All of a sudden that knife looks awfully big in your hands.”
“Never trust anyone, Bonnie,” was the terse reply as the knife was plunged through Curry’s ribcage and into his heart.
Jack Curry only had time to create a surprised and quizzical glance before he sank in a heap onto the ceramic floor. His killer regarded the bulky, inert form for a second, then stepped over it in order to rinse the blood from the gloves and knife before walking into the living room and dropping the blade on the floor. There, Clyde stood for a long moment, pondering what the dead man had meant by “insurance policy.” Opting not to take any chances, Clyde began a search of Tulip House in earnest. But it only lasted for a few minutes, because a knock at the door and another voice calling Curry’s name brought the pursuit to an immediate halt. At that point nothing had been found.
Across
1. Tempe campus; abbr.
4. Existed
7. That guy’s
10. Question
13. Shadow
14. Malady
16. Middle grade
17. M for M thought, part 1
19. Jerry Lewis link?
20. ___ Na-Na
21. Taxi
22. Gravy problem
23. M for M thought, part 3
27. Marshal of Napoleon, and family
29. Exist
30. Calif. neighbor
31. Turkeys
35. Storage box
36. Music man, Coward
39. Following
40. ___ de Pascua
42. Vitamin jar letters
43. Singer, Turner
44. M for M thought, part 4
49. 7-Across, in Paris
50. Morning drop
51. Donkeys
53. Salty
55. M for M thought, part 5
58. Buck tail?
59. Turf
62. June honorees
64. Scooted
65. M for M thought, part 6
69. Stare at
70. California road
71. Maker of 68-Down
72. NASDAQ competitor
73. Explosive letters
74. Comedian, Louis
75. Absolutely
Down
1. “Much ___ About Nothing”
2. Scatter seed
3. Sound of disgust
4. M for M thought, part 2
5. Wine label
6. Hearst grp.
7. Bodybuilder
8. Port __ _, TX
9. Tax form info
10. Watchdog agcy.
11. Appear
12. Hold on to
15. Manhattan; abbr.
18. Bat wood
22. Letters on a Lucky pack
23. Rote
24. Notre Dame
25. ___ Park, CA
26. Portuguese city
28. Cheer
32. Elevator company
33. Hawaiian bird
34. Spanish women; abbr.
37. Author, Millay
38. Drops back
41. Sound track
45. Mil. rank
46. 70-Across; abbr.
47. Inner; comb.
48. Author, Deighton
52. Norms; abbr.
53. Chatter from 51-Across
54. Actress, Blakely
56. “The ___ Ape”
57. Singer, Fisher
58. Space
MEASURE FOR MEASURE
59. Editor’s mark
60. Be in debt
61. Time for 50-Across
63. Tennis segments
65. Many times, for M for M penner
66. Coffeepot
67. Singer, Charles
68. Coloring agent
CHAPTER
27
“I’ll tell ya, they surely do like their puncture wounds up there at Wenstarin Farms,” Lieutenant Lever observed with his customarily dry delivery. “It doesn’t make life easy for their cleaning woman.” He leaned back in his battered swivel chair as he spoke and would have hoisted his big feet onto his desktop if it weren’t for Belle’s presence. Abe and Rosco, who were also in the homicide detective’s office, shared a look. The next thing you know, the glance said, Lever’s going to push aside his overfull ashtray and pretend lighting up never entered his mind.
“At least this victim only got punched once,” Al continued with a grumbling sigh. “I must say Curry looked pretty peaceful lying there. Surprised, of course, and not real happy that someone had taken a major poke at him