Death on the Diagonal - By Nero Blanc Page 0,83

I like this. It works for me.”

Al raised his voice and said, for what seemed like the hundredth time, “Yes, but who killed Ryan Collins?”

CHAPTER

32

After their meeting in Al’s office, Abe Jones returned to his forensics lab and instructed an assistant to drive out to King Wenstarin Farms and obtain a sample of Kelly Polk’s handwriting from her husband, Orlando. Rosco returned to his office and reread his entire Gudgeon file. He then phoned Gudgeon, hoping that he might be able to persuade him to identify Kelly from a lineup once she’d resurfaced in Newcastle. Walt was either not home or not picking up, so Rosco left him a message. If Kelly couldn’t be proven to have killed Jack Curry, and if Gudgeon refused to press charges against her, she’d be free as a bird, although not very welcome in Kentucky. And probably Florida, as well.

Belle made two stops on her way home. The first was to a trendy boutique pet shop where she picked up a small collection of treats for the girls, and the second was to Papyrus. Her curiosity had gotten the better of her, and she wanted to get some answers from Dawn Davis. Dawn had been unwilling to talk to her at first, but after Belle had explained everything they’d discovered about Kelly Polk, she loosened up a great deal. She admitted that someone matching Kelly’s description had stopped by for copy work several months earlier. It was soon after Dawn’s shoulder injury; the discomfort had made work difficult, and she’d been complaining about the fact. Over the next several weeks Kelly had returned with other duplication orders and had always been friendly and sympathetic. In fact, the two women had really hit it off, and during the course of the visits, Dawn had found herself confiding many details of her life—as well as information about her upcoming surgery.

The conversation ended with a slack-jawed Dawn observing, “I guess she just walked in the front door of the hospital and straight out the back, leaving poor Mr. Gudgeon in the dust. It’s amazing I didn’t run into her that day. I felt as though we’d become friends. But it all makes sense now that I know what she was doing . . . I just thought she was being nice, you know, concerned about what I was going through. There’s a laugh.”

As Belle left Papyrus and drove home to Captain’s Walk, she wondered if the Louisville police had found and arrested Kelly yet, and if they had, if they would release her to Massachusetts, or hold her in Kentucky for prosecution. She parked her car at the curb and stepped out. On the porch was a young woman with pale blond hair. She’d removed the mail from the box and was sifting through it as though she hadn’t a care in the world on this pleasant autumn day. To any of the neighbors the person would have looked like Belle; but Newcastle’s crossword sleuth knew differently. So did Kit and Gabby. They were making so much racket they sounded like a pack of dogs instead of only two. And angry ones, at that.

Belle approached the woman and said, “It’s not there, Kelly. Jack mailed it to the Crier. All the squares have been filled in.”

Kelly tossed the letters on a table and turned. Her right hand held a small revolver that was almost entirely concealed by a tan canvas jacket, while the expression on her face was attentive and polite as though she were a new neighbor stopping by for a chat.

“Just like you never checked into the hospital, you never got on the airplane, did you?” Belle continued. “You’re a smart woman, Kelly, if that’s your real name. There’s a warrant out for your arrest in Louisville. And probably also in Florida by now. You’re not going to get away with this, you know.”

Kelly waved the gun. “Open the door. Let’s go inside. I don’t like public places.”

“There are three Doberman pinschers in there. In case you didn’t happen to hear them snarling. They’re trained as attack dogs. They’re big, and they’re dangerous. They’ll rip you apart.” If it weren’t for the gun being pointed at her, Belle would have smiled at this fantasy. Nonetheless she was surprised at how calm she was, given that she was being confronted by a likely murderer. Belle wondered whether it was the fact that Kelly had made herself up to resemble her intended quarry that robbed the scene