Dead Men's Tales (Olivia Grant Mysteries Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

able to get a DNA match, but it's unlikely he did."
    "Then why take it?"
    "Maybe he doesn't know if they can get fingerprints from cloth. Safer just to keep it until he can drop it in the bay."
    That made sense to me. "So, with no fingerprints, what do they do now? Who do the police suspect, besides Mrs. Hammond?"
    "Tom couldn't tell me that. They questioned everyone who attended the banquet Saturday night, and if they've narrowed it down to a few, they aren't telling."
    He swiveled his chair around absentmindedly. "Then I went to see Carl Novotny at Hammond headquarters."
    Aha, one of the suspects. "What do you think? Did he really just find the body, or could he have killed Harry?"
    Brad put his feet on his desk. "Everyone's a suspect, like Tom said, but Novotny seems like a straightforward guy. I asked him if he saw anyone enter or leave the linen room that night, but he says so many people were milling around the reception area, that anyone could have gone in there and wouldn't be noticed. However…"
    "Yes?"
    "He did see Amanda go in that direction."
    "We already know that. She brought the box with statues that Harry planned to give out during the awards ceremony." I remembered something else. "Rose says a young man carried the box for her. You'll need to find him and learn if he left immediately or stayed there."
    Brad nodded, and I leaned forward, thinking out loud. "That means that anyone who went into the linen room before Amanda couldn't have killed Harry, because the statues weren't there yet. On the other hand, if left alone with Harry for a while, Amanda could have done it."
    "True, but as you said about Debra asking me to find the murderer, it seems a little obvious for someone to wait until she brings the statues then use one to kill him." He paused. "Assuming she had a motive."
    I settled back in my chair again. "I see what you mean. Using an object everyone knows you handled isn't very smart. What about the question of passion? In the heat of the moment, during an argument, people sometimes lose control and forget what's in their own best interests."
    "Maybe, but we'd need to know if they argued and why."
    "Did you interview her today?"
    "Her secretary said she wasn't in, but I left a card and a message for her to call me."
    His answer disappointed me. I wanted to meet the harpy, that is, Amanda Dillon. I liked the idea Harry hired a woman as his administrative assistant, although I secretly thought that often became a euphemism for secretary. However, from what Rose told me, it didn't apply in her case.
    "Well, did Novotny see anyone go in the linen room after Amanda delivered the statues?"
    "No. Being in that hallway, the doorway to it couldn't be seen from the dining room."
    "Did he see anyone go in that direction? Like to the men's room?" Rose had admitted going to the ladies' room, and I didn't want Brad to think that fact incriminated her, as well as to give the other sex their shot at being under suspicion.
    "He says he didn't notice." Brad pulled his feet off his desk and swiveled his chair 180 degrees to glance out the window. I was pretty sure, though, that he could see only similar white-concrete-and-blue-glass office buildings and a piece of the bridge over the bay.
    He turned back toward me. "After I left Novotny and stood waiting for the elevator, I saw him come into the hall, and a very pretty girl came barreling up to him."
    The plot thickened. I leaned forward again. "So what happened?"
    "They argued."
    "Did you hear what they said?"
    "No, I couldn't make it out. He looked angry, but she did all the talking."
    "Perhaps accusing him of something, like murder?"
    "I don't know. The elevator doors opened and people waited for me to get on, so I did."
    I frowned. "You should have pretended to be waiting to go up instead of down and stayed there and watched."
    "Oh yeah? And let people spot me eavesdropping? Your one interview hasn't made you a detective yet, you know."
    Before I could form a