Death on the Diagonal - By Nero Blanc Page 0,69

won’t venture a guess as to what she meant by that, but Palamountain apparently assumed affair is what his sis-in-law was referring to, because that’s when he joined in the shouting match.”

“But if Heather and Curry were romantically involved, why would she kill him?” Rosco continued. “The husband would have the stronger motive.”

“There’s the rub,” Al mumbled.

“And who’s to say Palamountain won’t prove to be our guilty party?” Abe tossed in. “Just because he claims he found his wife with the knife in her hand doesn’t mean she’ll wind up being guilty of murder one. It won’t be the first time NPD nabbed the wrong person.”

“And what about Orlando and Kelly?” Rosco asked. “Did they show up at Tulip House, as well?”

“No, but I had one of my officers bring them up. They didn’t have much to say. I think they were in a state of shock.”

Belle glanced up at this point. “And Angel fainted when she and Chip appeared at the scene?”

“Yup,” Al said. “Dropped like a stone. Her boyfriend didn’t even have time to catch her. Of course, he seemed half-crocked at the time. Why do you ask?”

“ANGEL is in this puzzle,” was Belle’s quiet reply. “And CHIP was in an earlier one I received. That crossword was well executed and symmetrical; but this one isn’t, nor was the one that was faxed to me at home the day before Ryan Collins was found dead. They were all constructed by the same person . . . or so I assume, as the handwriting seems to match. Or at least it’s very close. Do you have any samples of Curry’s?”

“My team is working on that,” Abe answered. “Mr. Collins has promised to get me some of Jack’s endorsed pay-checks, so I can make a comparison. But I’m not completely convinced that the handwriting on this puzzle matches the other two. And for a brainy wordsmith, Curry doesn’t seem to have put much else down on paper.”

“But these clues are printed,” she said. “Can you still make a match from a signature?”

Jones gave her one of his patented smiles. “I can do anything, my dear.” Then after a slight pause he added, “But you’re right; because everything’s printed, it makes the job a little tougher. Collins said that Curry might have drawn up some barn invoices, which would be printed.”

Belle returned his smile then tilted her head and stared at the completed puzzle. She read the step-quote aloud. “O, WHAT MAY MAN WITHIN HIM HIDE THOUGH ANGEL ON THE OUTWARD SIDE. . . . Pretty creepy when found on a corpse, wouldn’t you say?” She looked at Rosco. “The word DAWN is here, too.”

Rosco nodded, but he didn’t look happy about the revelation. “Dawn and Angel aren’t unusual words. But if we’re looking for a bogus Dawn in the Gudgeon case, Angel certainly fits the bill size-wise. Give her a wig and some high heels . . . Then again, the appearance of both names could be coincidental.”

“I thought you told me that the boys in blue didn’t believe in coincidence when it came to criminal investigations,” was her amused reply.

“We don’t,” Al blustered. “On the other hand—”

“On the other hand,” Belle continued in the same easy tone, “when a dead man is discovered with a crossword stuffed in his pocket, it’s not a bad idea to pick apart each solution and clue. Of course,” she added, “this puzzle can’t possibly refer to Curry’s murder.”

“How do you figure that?” Al asked her. “The simple fact that it was found on his body is good enough for me.”

“But if he were the constructor, that would mean he knew who was going to kill him—which makes no sense. And I’m also wondering why would he have permitted a relatively small woman like Angel to stick a knife in his chest—if, in fact, she’s the guilty party? With no signs of struggle anywhere? That’s what you said, Al, isn’t it? Even Heather would have had a difficult time attacking someone Curry’s size.”

Abe raised his hands and shook his head. “Let’s get away from worrying about how big or small our killer is. This was a straight shot to the heart. The perp was facing Jack. There were no signs of forced entry, which means he recognized the person. They were in the kitchen together, supper was on the way, he had no reason to fear for his life. The knife went in. It was over before Curry knew it. So, no, there was