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Townsend anymore.
Whether she didn t feel safe because of her friend s murder or the threat of
continued discovery of her painful past lives, Peter had no idea. He didn t feel like
asking, either.
Instead he picked up one of the votives.  How much for one of these?
 Four dollars, she said. She swept her long, wavy hair over her shoulder.
So, forty cents to the grieving not-quite-a-widow. Peter chastised himself for his bad
grace. He bought one anyway, lit it and added it to the shrine.
Bellingham Mysteries 4: One Man s Treasure 67
He turned to go and found Jackie watching him, head put to one side, sad smile
on her face. He supposed he shouldn t be so hard on the flaky old kook. She d lost a bee
colony, a dog and her market neighbor all in the same week. And she didn t seem like
the sort of person who had a lot of friends, whether insectile, canine or human.
Probably she was just lonely.
 By the way, I m sorry to hear about your dog, Peter said.
Jackie looked up at him, at first uncomprehending, and then sadness rippled
across her fine-boned face.
Peter had the sudden awareness that he d awkwardly blundered into what, for
Jackie, might be a greater tragedy than the death of her market neighbor. He said,
 Roger mentioned it last week.
Jackie nodded and folded her hands into the pockets of her apron.  Celestia was a
beautiful dog. She had an AKC pedigree.
 Oh, what sort of dog was she?
 She was a purebred Alsatian. I got her from a rescue. She had belonged to drug
dealers before me. When they went to prison, she went to the pound. I was
volunteering there. She put her paw on my hand. Sometimes I think she was the only
person who really understood my needs.
Peter nodded and sidled slowly back into the thinning crowd. It was two thirty,
and the market would close in half an hour. He ambled back over to the Green Goddess
stand. Farmer Jenn was not there.
 I m just really interested in writing about your farm, Peter said to the lank,
skinny woman running the Green Goddess table.  Do you know when she ll be back?
 She had an appointment this afternoon, so she won t be back, but I can schedule
a farm tour if you like. Jenn does them on Sundays. The woman looked especially
hopeful. Peter wondered if she got a commission for every farm tour scheduled.
68 Nicole Kimberling
 That would be great, Peter said. He thought it was a good idea to have a look at
Margaret s property anyway.
The tour was scheduled for three o clock the next day, which was apparently quite
late in farmer time the last tour of the day.
When Nick came to give him a ride home Peter had three grocery bags full of
beautiful produce, bought more or less at random while conducting his interviews.
 Decided to become a vegetarian? Nick asked.
 I ve decided to embrace the healing power of micronutrients, Peter replied
sourly.
 Did you hear anything interesting about Roger s death?
 What makes you think I was fishing around for information about that?
 Why else would you be here? Nick shrugged his big shoulders.  Plus Officer
Patton called the house. She wants you to call her when you get home.
Curse you landline, thought Peter bitterly. Aloud he said,  I wonder what she
wants?
Apparently, his delivery was unconvincing because Nick said,  So, are you
working with the police officially or unofficially?
 Why would I be working with the police at all?
 Well, you said Officer Patton came to see you at the Hamster office, and then later
you said that you had insider knowledge about the substance used to poison Roger.
Who else would be your insider? Nick glanced over at him and flashed a crooked
smile.  You re not the only one who can play this sleuth game, you know.
 I had no idea that you would ever want to. And he hadn t. Nick s interest in the
trials and tribulations of most other human beings was limited at best.
 I like to know what my registered domestic partner is up to.
In spite of himself in spite of being busted snooping like this Peter smiled.
Bellingham Mysteries 4: One Man s Treasure 69
 Okay, yes I am trying to get information for Officer Patton, but today I struck out.
Nobody has any big ideas about who would want to kill Roger. Most of them saw him
at the big dinner on Friday night. Those that did said he looked fine, argued with no
one and seemed in good spirits. He had no enemies that anybody can remember. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]