Earl Archman had slid down a few rungs on the suspect list since Kelly Quantz’s murder. Bliss was safe enough with him, especially if some of her staff were around. But she was still a target, and would remain one until he caught the killer.

He looked over at her profile. At least she didn’t jump out of the vehicle as soon as it stopped in front of her house.

Gun ready, he stood in the driveway, listening and watching. Satisfied, he opened Bliss’s door and hustled her into the house. Her docility disturbed him. Maybe she was already regretting their first-name decision.

The smell of cooking food reminded him he hadn’t eaten since breakfast. Two place settings waited on the kitchen table, and included a wineglass and a beer glass.

“There you two are. I’ve eaten already. The casserole is in the oven, still hot, and there’s a salad in the fridge.” Rae looked from one to the other. “I’m going to the gym for an hour or two. Chief, I’m parked on the street, so no need to move for me. Bye.”

Snatching her coat and purse off a hook by the door, she fled.

“You could try to put her at ease, Neil.” Bliss said this absently, like she had something else on her mind. She poured a glass of wine and sat down.

Neil took the casserole out of the oven and set the salad on the table. She stared into her glass but didn’t drink. He filled a plate for her and pushed it in front of her.

Bliss took a mouthful, swallowed, and looked at him. The area around her eyes was no longer discoloured and she hadn’t put the Egyptian-style makeup on today. Her eyes slanted the same way as her cousin’s, but while his were blue, hers were whisky-coloured. Under the harsh kitchen lights, gold flecks appeared in the irises. A casual observer would call them brown, but that didn’t come close.

“Anything to share on the investigation? Anything new?”

“We may have a few more leads.” He watched her fingers play with the stem of her glass. The cuts on her hands from the broken glass had healed except for one inflamed area on her right index finger. The light purple polish on her nails was chipped at the edges.

“Kelly Quantz was killed before I was attacked, right? You found the gun at the scene. So, the killer threw away the gun he used on both Quantzes, and used a second one on me. What calibre bullet was it?”

“We don’t have a ballistics report back yet, but it looks like another .32.”

He watched her face and suspected her brain was sorting the information stored deep in her memory.

“None of the suspects are licensed for a .32, right? He could be using a second souvenir Mauser. The only other Second World War pistol I remember that used a .32 is a Sauer 38H.”

“Your favourite.”

“Yes. Small enough for a child to use, lethal enough to kill.”

“Do you recall how many Sauers were passed back and forth at the clubhouse?”

She carefully turned over a lettuce leaf on her plate like she expected to find something moving. “A couple. I can’t remember who else had one.”

“Eat up and let’s get to bed. You have a big day tomorrow at the greenhouse.”

She looked straight at him. “You’re holding something back. How can I help if you aren’t honest with me? Don’t forget I’m involved, too.”

He made a decision. “I will tell you, but this is not for sharing. Got it? I mean it, Bliss. Don’t tell Dougal, or Rae, or dash off to Earl Archman and run it by him. That goes for Fern Brickle.”

“I got it already, Neil. Geez, have a little trust.”

“The Mauser that Dwayne found in the swamp has a partial thumbprint on the grip. Enough points that we can likely match it up if we get a comparison.”

He thought she’d be excited. Instead, she got up and dumped her food in the garbage can under the sink. “You should compare it to Desperado Dwayne’s thumb.”

“It’s not his.” He didn’t mention that checking the print against Dwayne’s was the first thing Thea did. “I wish you’d try harder to get along with Dwayne.”

“I’d get along with him fine if he didn’t try to charge my ass every time he saw me behind the wheel. Have you asked the suspects to come in voluntarily and have their prints taken for elimination purposes?”

He kept forgetting she used to be married to a lawyer and knew more about the law than the average citizen. “We did. Three of them came willingly, the fourth declined.”

“Don’t tell me. The lawyer refused because he wasn’t legally required to cooperate. He was above suspicion, et cetera, et cetera. All huffy and superior.”

“Pretty much.”

“So, were you able to eliminate anyone?” She did her best to sound off-hand, but he knew she was concerned about her friends.

“The thumbprint doesn’t belong to Fang, Chico, or Earl Archman. That’s all we can determine at this point.”

Bliss was silent for a minute. “Is it possible someone else is involved? Someone who isn’t on the suspect list?”

Neil started. How did she get there? Maybe she just didn’t want to believe Bains was a murderer. Nobody wanted to find out they had been married to a killer. “Do you have a name in mind?”

“Not yet. I’m setting my subconscious to work, though. It’s smarter than my conscious. I should have an answer for you by morning.” Her cheeky smile appeared for a brief second.

“Then I’ll sleep easy. Which reminds me, isn’t it past our bedtime?”

“Patience, Neil. You have to wait up for Rae, then check all the doors and windows are locked. Doesn’t mean we can’t get started, I guess.”

As he dropped into bed, Neil had to admit sleeping in Bliss’s warm house beat his shack in the woods. He groaned, reflecting that he would now have to pull several dozen nails from the plywood around the window and repair the lock.

He didn’t mean to ask her this, but the words fell out of his mouth before he could stop them. “Did you go out with Fang in high school?”

Her eyes barely flickered. “I told you we hung out.” She turned out her light.

“Did you date him?”

“Who’s asking, my boyfriend or a cop?”

“Boyfriend.”

“None of your business.”

“Now, I’m asking as a cop.”

She laughed and pummelled him with a pillow. “Same answer. Not relevant to the investigation. Turn your light off.”

Neil rolled over to comply, but as he reached for the switch, he caught a glimpse of something under the bed, just at the edge. His fingers closed over cold metal. What the hell? He pulled it out.

A sword? Dagger? He examined it more closely. The edges of the blade weren’t sharp enough to cut through skin. The shaft on the end would fit onto a rifle. A bayonet.

He held it aloft. Was she keeping it under the bed for protection? Was it Grandpa’s?

Bliss’s eyes followed the length of steel to its tip. He could see her weighing her options. Disclaim any knowledge, or own up? He should have known she’d produce a third choice.

She threw herself on top of him, and he swung the bayonet away from their bodies.

“Oh, mighty Odin! Before you march into battle and smite thine enemy with this enchanted sword, pray satisfy this lady’s lust. Take me now!”

CHAPTER

forty-three

The instant Rae and I entered the greenhouse, Glory hit us with her long and detailed clipboard job list. I had a feeling a lot of pain was going down before we worked our way through even half of it.

“You, Bliss. Don’t bother to take off your coat. We want our visitors to come through the back door directly into the atrium, so you need to shovel a path from the parking lot. When that’s done, nail up a couple of signs to direct people. Chico donated some tacky outdoor candy canes, didn’t he? Line the pathway from the parking lot with them. That way people can’t get lost. When that’s done, come and find me. There’s plenty more to do. Any questions?”