Page 52 of Fish and Chip: Nine Lives One Murder
She’s throwing Vivian directly under the bus,Fish notes.Classic misdirection. Though I must admit, blackmail is a sufficiently feline approach to conflict. It’s almost admirable.
It could also be true,Chip points out.The most effective lies contain a chewy center of truth. Like those treats with medicine inside.
Fish grunts,You would fall for that.
“And then there’s Wallis Fulton.” Patty continues her gossip spillage without prompting, like a broken dam of small-town secrets. “Did the Merryweathers mention his obsession with owning the park?”
“No,” I admit, genuinely surprised by this new information and wondering what other crucial details the Merryweathers forgot to mention during my crash course in running a theme park.
“He’s been trying to buy them out for years. He claims he has some familial connection, though no one’s ever seen proof.” She sips her drink with the satisfaction of a politician dropping bombshells over cocktails. “Between you and me, I’ve heard he’sheavily leveraged. His publishing empire isn’t the gold mine it used to be before digital media turned everyone into their own travel critic. Huckleberry Hollow Wonderland represents his last chance at a stable investment.”
My mind races, connecting dots I didn’t know existed. Both Vivian and Wallis now have stronger motives than I’d imagined.
“That’s... illuminating,” I manage.
“Politics teaches you to keep tabs on the players in your orbit,” Patty says with false modesty that wouldn’t fool a mouse. “Information is currency in my world.”
“And what information do you have on me?” I ask, half-joking.
Her smile shifts as she casually recites my life story like she read my diary during lunch. Yoga-cheating husband. Two daughters in college. Zero formal theme park experience. Hired just before a homicide. “In fact, you appeared at the park the day before Ned Hollister’s murder and was hired on the spot by the Merryweathers, who have always been... let’s say impulsive in their business decisions.”
A chill runs down my spine despite the perfectly controlled temperature in the VIP lounge. “You’ve been thorough.”
“As I said, information is currency.” She leans back, perfectly at ease. “I’m sure you’re doing similar research. Like looking into the dirt Ned was digging up?”
My pulse jumps. How does she know about Ned’s investigation?
Tread carefully,Fish warns.She’s leading you somewhere.
And not toward the nut bowl,Chip adds unhelpfully.
“I’m still learning the park’s history,” I say with a sigh. “There seems to be quite a bit the Merryweathers didn’t cover in my onboarding.”
“Eddie and Edie prefer to look forward, not back,” Patty says. “Sometimes to their detriment. Ned wasn’t one to let sleeping dogs lie—or past incidentsstay buried.”
Before I can ask what she means, her phone buzzes. She checks it.
“I’m so sorry, but duty calls. Campaign drama. I have to go.” She stands and gives me a look that’s half-warning, half-dare. “Friendly advice? Be careful what you unearth. Ned dug too deep, and look where he ended up.”
She floats out through the beads like a pastel ghost.
That woman is all smoke and distraction,Fish mutters.But she knows more than she said.
And possibly keeps premium jerky in that purse,Chip adds.
I’m still processing our conversation when Ree and Georgie burst through the beaded curtain like they’re making an entrance at a Broadway show. Ree is right. Subtlety is so last season.
“There you are!” Georgie exclaims, the yeti on her hat now wearing what appears to be a plastic alien antenna stolen from one of the servers. “We were about to send a search party! Did she confess? Are we making a citizen’s arrest? I brought zipties!” She pats her purse ominously.
“Inside voices, Georgie,” Ree admonishes, looking around the upscale lounge with appreciation. “Ooh, it’s much better in here. My eardrums were filing for divorce out there.”
“She didn’t confess,” I inform them, “but she did fill me in about her former position at the park. And she threw our other suspects directly under the suspicion bus.”
I fill them in on Patty’s revelations about Vivian and Wallis, and her warning about Ned’s curiosity.
“So, what’s our next move?” Ree asks, slipping into the booth beside me.
I take one last look at where Patty had been sitting and make my decision.
