Page 69 of Murder By the Millions
Tegan laughed. “I’ve gotta get back to work.”
Lillian proceeded toward the exit.
“Lillian, hold up.” I scurried to her. “Before you go, I’ve got to ask … You know Iggie Luckenbill pretty well, right? I mean, your family does. They’ve invested in a couple of his property developments.”
“Funny you should mention him. He’s at the shop right now. What do you want to know about him?”
“Tegan’s mom said Iggie bad-mouthed a couple of people in town, in particular Stella Burberry’s brother.”
Lillian and Stella were good friends. In fact, Stella had encouraged Lillian to start volunteering at the children’s ward at the hospital, as if she didn’t already donate enough time to the community theater and had more hours to spare.
“I heard similar rumors.” Lillian clucked her tongue. “He swooped in like a hawk and outbid him. If you ask me, he’s got no couth, but I won’t turn him away. I always need customers. What does that make me?”
“A smart businesswoman.”
“Did you know Iggie was not in favor of Jason Gardner getting the historic properties?” Lillian asked. “He wanted it for his own developmental purposes.”
“I mentioned as much to Zach, but Zach isn’t taking an interest.”
“Are you sure? He holds his cards pretty close to the vest. He doesn’t reveal a whit to anyone.”
She was right. Zach hadn’t said he wasn’t interested. He’d shut down any further questioning on my part to curtail me from poking into the details of the crime. “What else do you know about Iggie?”
“He’s dogged. Determined. A bit of a dilettante.”
“How so?”
“He drinks too much. Plays too much golf. Doesn’t follow through on promises to buyers. But”—she clasped my arm— “to think he’d kill Jason to clear the way so he could bid on the properties? How cold.”
“Murder isn’t warm and fuzzy.” I heaved a sigh. “If only Zach knew Iggie’s alibi for Monday night.”
“He hasn’t asked?”
“I don’t think he suspects him.”
“Hmm. Why don’t we question Iggie? He can’t make up his mind about what to wear to theGatsbyevent. Gangster or Dapper Dan. Gangster is all the rage. Pin-striped suit. Wool fedora.” She flapped a hand. “And you know men. They want to think they’re tougher than they are. But I keep trying to tell him dressing gallantly would be—”
“Hold on. Iggie told you he’s coming to the party? He hasn’t preordered a book.”
“Why would he waste his time? He can learn everything there is to know aboutThe Great Gatsbyfrom his wife. Shayna is the reader in the family. She’s as smart as a CliffsNotes study guide.”
“She’s a reader? How come I’ve never met her?”
“She strictly borrows from the library. She came from nothing, like Finette, and refuses to ever purchase a book.Evah!” Lillian pronounced the final word with a phony accent as she flourished a hand. “Shayna can be quite dramatic.”
Also like Finette,I mused.
Lillian tugged my arm. “Come with me. Tegan and Chloe have this place under control. I’ll ask Iggie where he was Monday night.”
“You can’t ask him point-blank.”
She winked. “Watch me work my wiles.”
CHAPTER14
They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.
—Nick Carraway in F. Scott Fitzgerald’sThe Great Gatsby
