You Have the Right to Remain Puzzled (26 page)

“Where’d he get the puzzle?”

“Same place he got the one he planted by the body. From Benny Southstreet’s briefcase. He went through it looking for the money Benny didn’t steal. When he decided to frame me, he kept a few puzzles that might come in handy.”

“Can you prove all this?”

“Practically none of it. I’m hoping Chuck Dillinger rolls over on him. Be a good move. Guy’s got a wife and kid, not to mention a law degree. I’m sure the killing wasn’t his idea. Even if he did supply the ice pick.”

“Oh. Right. That was his.”

“Paul didn’t have to tell him what it was for. Chuck’s not the moving factor. I bet a good attorney could cut a deal.”

“Is Chuck representing himself?”

“Chuck’s not a good attorney. Even if he was, you know the old saying: A lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client. I steered Becky Baldwin in his direction.”

“You didn’t.”

“She needs the work. And I gotta be a huge disappointment, not getting tried for murder, and all. Besides, it’s a good time for her to keep busy.”

“What do you mean?”

“Take her mind off the fact she’s not getting married.”

Aaron’s laugh was forced.

“What about the money?” Sherry asked, changing the subject.

“Remember what I said in the beginning? About a marriage that went sour?”

“You mean . . . ?”

“Mimi stole the money. After the office was broken into. She took it to see what her husband would say. And it’s the worst-case scenario. Because her husband says nothing. Absolutely nothing. The cops ask him what was taken, he tells them not a thing.

“That’s bad enough, but it gets worse. I find the torn corner of a hundred-dollar bill under the blotter. Sam Brogan asks her husband about it, and Chuck claims he kept a few hundreds under the blotter for emergencies, and it must be from one of them. I mention this to Mimi, and it confirms her worst fears. Chuck said there were
two
bills? And they were
real?
And he
spent
them?

“Mimi’s trying to work up the nerve to confront her husband when the roof falls in. Benny Southstreet’s murdered. And the puzzle she gave her husband is tied in to the motive. And Benny’s the odds-on favorite for the prowler who broke into her house.

“Mimi can’t believe her husband’s involved in Benny’s murder, but she doesn’t know what to think. When she finds her ice pick is missing, she’s really confused. Why would anyone steal an ice pick?

“Mimi’s freaking out. She’s sitting on five grand of illicit money that her husband won’t even acknowledge, but thinks the dead man stole. She tried to tell me about it, got cold feet. So I ran a bluff on her, and she caved right in. Once she confessed to taking the money, things fell into place.”

“How’d you get a line on Paul Fishman?”

“I have Chief Harper to thank. The chief traced the phone call Chuck Dillinger made from the service station pay phone to Fishman’s apartment.”

“How did you know about that?”

“Dennis, playing detective. He followed Chuck to the gas station, told me about the call. Actually, the jerk wanted to tell Sherry, but I headed him off at the pass.”

“You didn’t mention that,” Sherry said.

“It was on a need-to-know basis. Anyway, it was fine work on his part, and I made sure Chief Harper knew Dennis deserved the credit.” Cora shrugged her shoulders. “Of course, that meant letting the chief know Dennis was violating his restraining order, but what can I say? It was a moral dilemma.”

“Cora! You’re a wicked woman.”

“I prefer to think of myself as a wedding planner. Look how things worked out: I got that handsome Photomat guy arrested for homicide. That takes him out of the picture. I got Becky Baldwin busy defending his accomplice. And I got Dennis legally restrained. So you two can go ahead and get married.”

“Sounds like the perfect wedding,” Aaron observed.

“Trust me.” Cora smiled. “It always is.”

Nominated for the prestigious Edgar, Shamus, and Lefty awards, PARNELL HALL is the author of seven previous Puzzle Lady mysteries. He lives in New York City, where he is at work on his next Puzzle Lady mystery.

YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN PUZZLED

A Bantam Book

PUBLISHING HISTORY

Bantam hardcover edition published November 2006 Bantam mass market edition / September 2007

Published by Bantam Dell

A Division of Random House, Inc.

New York, New York

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are

the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any

resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely

coincidental.

All rights reserved

Copyright © 2006 by Parnell Hall

Puzzles edited by Ellen Ripstein

Cover illustration © Joyce Patti

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2006045755

If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that

this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed”

to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received

any payment for this “stripped book.”

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eISBN: 978-0-307-49354-5

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