Page 36 of Dead & Breakfast
“So you didn’t see the mayor after you left him at city hall on Thursday night?” Arthur pressed as he stooped to pick up the hat.
“No. I wasn’t even in the office that day. I met with the school board for a few hours—an absolutely inane discussion about a parent worried that teaching binary and nonbinary numbers in math class will push children onto a ‘devious path.’ ”
“That’s ridiculous!” Sal scoffed. “Math never turned anyone gay.”
Quinn blinked at Sal, her gaze betraying the slightest surprise before she recovered. “Right…well…after that, I had lunch with Hannah from Accounting, then a meeting with Public Works. I didn’t even see the mayor until the late afternoon, when he told me about your wine and cheese thing.”
“What, did you plan your entire day to avoid seeing Nora?” Sal arched a solitary eyebrow. “Not very I-don’t-know-her of you.”
“Yeah, well. It didn’t work. I saw her anyway. She was with the mayor, actually. She’d cornered him for some PowerPoint presentation or something as I was on my way out. So, if you think about it, Nora was actually the last to see him alive.” Her expression settled into a smug smile.
“Nora didn’t mention seeingyou.”
“Yes, well, she wouldn’t, would she? Whatever Nora told you about me was a lie. You can’t trust her.”
“Oh, of course. We’ll just take your word for it, shall we?” Sal pushed his aviators up, smoothing his hair back with the motion.
Arthur shifted his weight, hand fluttering by his own pair of sunglasses. He wished he’d taken them off sooner. He looked ridiculous, to be sure, but if he removed them now, it would look like he was copying Sal. Instead, he straightened the hat on his head and switched tactics. “Can you at least tell us your whereabouts for the rest of that day?”
Quinn crossed her arms and huffed. “I met with the local chamber of commerce at Sugar and Slice before heading to the Iris Inn.”
“Can anyone corroborate that?”
She ticked off her fingers as she listed names. “Theodore Park of the Big Bad Brew, Agnes Clement of Nuts and Bolts, and Trip Young of Young Family Dental. We were only there until about six. Trip had to leave early for what I now realize was Salvatore’s dentalappointment. Then I went to the Iris Inn. I trustyouremember my being there?”
Arthur nodded curtly, glad she couldn’t see his eyes behind his aviators as he glanced at Sal. If only it weren’t for the damn dentist appointment, they’d be in the clear. No. He couldn’t think like that. It wasn’t Sal’s fault the sheriff suspected them of murder. Even if it was a little bit his fault. But only just a little bit.
“And where did you go after you left the Iris Inn?”
“Home.”
“Can anyone else verify that?”
“I live alone,” Quinn snapped.
Salvatore wiggled his eyebrows. “Any nighttime callers?”
“I’m single, if you must know.”
“I certainly must! Perhaps when I’m finished with all this unsavory murder business I’ll offer matchmaking services.”
“Pardon me if I don’t avail myself of these…services.” Quinn narrowed her eyes. “I’ll say this, though. Everything in this town was running smoothly before Nora came back. The day she arrived, the mayor ended up dead, and she replaced him. I don’t know why you’re bothering with me when she clearly benefited from his death. Meanwhile, the only thing that’s changed for me is instead of fetching coffee for Mayor Roth, now I’m doing it forher.”
Without a backward glance, Quinn snatched her drink carrier and stalked off to city hall. Arthur watched her for a moment.
“Well, she’s hiding something.”
“Of course she is, darling. Aren’t we all? What is a human if not thirty thousand secrets in a trench coat?”
“Is that why you have so many trench coats?”
“Of course not. I have more secrets than that. My coats are purely decorative.”
“What could it be, though?” Arthur mused aloud.
“I just told you—trench coats were a fashion staple of 1820 and I suppose 1915 and most definitely 1970. They’ll have their day again soon, mark my words.”
“No, I mean Quinn. And Nora, too. Do you suppose they did it together?”
