Barry,” she said to the man before her, “James says that Hamlet’s still not back yet. Do me a favor and keep an eye out for him, just in case he does head in your direction, okay?”
“Darla?”
James’s voice was soft in her ear, his tone suddenly urgent. “I’m going to ask you a question. Don’t answer anything besides yes or no. Do you understand?”
I’m going to ask you a question. Don’t answer anything besides yes or no.
Darla abruptly frowned. For the first time since she’d know him, Professor James T. James was speaking in—dare she say it?—contractions. Something serious had to be going on, indeed.
“Yes,” she replied, turning a little so that she wasn’t facing Barry.
James’s voice was still soft but direct as he asked, “You said you’re at Barry Eisen’s place. Is he by chance standing there with you?”
“Yes.”
“All right, Darla, I want you to listen very carefully. Pretend I’m talking to you about the store, and step away from him as if you need a little privacy. We can’t afford for him to overhear anything. And whatever you do, don’t react.”
“Yes?” she answered, feeling her heart rate beginning to increase as she gave Barry an apologetic shrug—Sorry, it’s business—and walked a few feet from him. Obviously, this was something very, very bad.
“Do you recall before you left the store that I found the German-English dictionary lying on the ground?”
“Yes.”
“I suspect that Hamlet must have pulled it down before he ran off. And I am embarrassed to say that I didn’t make the connection until just now, while Robert and I were looking at the other two books of Hamlet’s.”
“Yes?” she persisted, impatience and concern warring within her. Would the man just get to the point!
“The one word connecting all of Hamlet’s clues is ‘iron.’ The Man in the Iron Mask, Murders in the Rue Morgue, or rather, the song of the same name as sung by Iron Maiden. Do you know what the German word for ‘iron’ is, Darla?”
“No.”
“Eisen. The German word for iron is Eisen. Darla, I think Hamlet is trying to tell us that Barry Eisen murdered Mr. Benedetto.”
Barry a murderer!?
Darla’s grip on her cell tightened as she struggled not to physically react to the fact that her store manager had just informed her that she was standing within arm’s length of a cold-blooded killer. Assuming, of course, that James was correctly interpreting Hamlet’s clues, she faintly reminded herself. For even if Barry had killed his friend, the question remained . . . why?
“Darla, did you hear me? Darla?” came James’s voice in her ear, sounding oddly distant.
She gave herself a mental shake. Don’t go to pieces . . . not with Barry standing right there.
“Yes, James, I heard you,” she managed, assuming the tone of a serious shopkeeper who had learned that something was amiss at her store. “I’ll head back to the shop right away.
“You’re sure you can leave without his suspecting anything?” James persisted.
She glanced at the front door. The path to it was clear, and though the hinges stuck a little, she could manage it. All she needed to do was walk right out, just as she had been in process of doing.
She nodded, though of course James could not see her through the phone. “I was just telling Barry good-bye, anyhow. Try to keep everyone there happy, and I’ll be back soon.”
“I shall be timing you,” he warned, returning to his usual precise tones, “and if you are not here in a reasonable few minutes, we shall come looking for you. In the meantime, I shall notify Jake so that she can contact Detective Reese regarding the situation.”
“Sounds good, James. Bye.”
She hung up the phone and stuck it back in her coat pocket; then, with an effort, she looked up to meet Barry’s politely questioning gaze. No way he was a killer, she told herself. She’d gone out on a date with the man, had even kissed him!
Darla took a steadying breath. James—and Hamlet—had to be wrong. After all, she’d been with Barry when they’d discovered Curt’s body, and she’d seen his stunned expression at the sight of his dead friend. No one could be that good of an actor. Could they?
Guess you’ve never been to the movies, kid, she could hear Jake telling her the first time Barry’s name had come up in connection with Curt’s murder. They give out awards for that kind of thing.
Fearing she’d need to give an award-winning performance right this moment, she managed a smile.