“I thought the same thing. In fact, I have yet to hear you say anything that I can’t honestly say that I haven’t thought of,” Ralph said with his breakfast plate cleaned and his mug refilled with black coffee. “But I do have to say that Fay is not a suspect.”

“Why is that?”

“First of all, while I didn’t know the man, those who did tell me that he was more of a loner and a loser than an accomplice to a few murders. Second, him being all dead doesn’t help put Alexander out in Chicago. His car is still parked in his driveway. Plus, he kept a journal. And, while I am not a fan of going through a dead man’s personal thoughts, I did read his. And from what I read, he wasn’t the person who met Alexander outside of the lodge. Furthermore, you’d think that if he was scheming something that he’d at least make some mention of it in his diary. Not a peep or an innuendo about anything suspicious.”

“Okay,” Derek said after a short pause. “Your points make sense. I’ll scratch Fay off my list of suspects,” a somewhat relieved Derek said. “How do you feel about the nurse Michelle?”

“I do find it interesting that she didn’t make Alexander’s list. And when I called her and her husband, Stanley, she didn’t sound all that concerned about Alexander being on the loose. When I told her that he’d killed two doctors already, the only thing she asked me is whether or not Straus was one of the victims. I found that a bit odd.”

“Have you contacted them since?”

“Nope. Did try, though. Calls went right to voicemail.”

“As far as my client goes, I suppose that I’m just being too suspicious. It doesn’t make any sense for him to hire me if he is working with the man I am trying to stop.”

“Also a good and fair observation,” Ralph said as he folded his short, thick arms across his chest. “And what about your client’s parents?”

“Not sure. I’ve never spoke with them. If they are in the Bahamas, then they probably shouldn’t be on my list.”

“Well, I did speak with them,” Ralph said.  “And I’ll bet you dollars to donuts that he would have arranged for all them doctors to be killed if Alexander wasn’t doing it already. Boy, was that man pissed off.”

“Wouldn’t you be?”

“Yup, I sure would be. But not the type of angry that your client’s dad was, though. I’d be mad as hell, but he seemed to me the type of mad that drives people to do things they may not normally do.”

“And the mother?”

“Cried most of the time on our call. Kept saying that she should’ve known that her baby didn’t die. She sure was upset and genuinely shocked. He stayed shocked for only a minute or two before he started with that special type of anger I told you about.”

“I’ll take your word for it and keep him on my list.”

The waitress walked over and handed the check to Ralph. She gave a quick smile to Derek before returning to her spot behind the counter.

“I’ll take care of that,” Derek said.

“Take care of what?” Ralph said. “The check? Now Derek, you do insult me. I consider you to be my guest, and if my mother up in heaven is looking down on me and sees me letting a guest pay for a meal, she’d find a way to haunt me for months.”

Once Ralph paid the breakfast bill, and the two men were back driving in Derek’s rental car, Derek asked Ralph to give Stanley and Michelle Mix another call.

“I’ll tell you what,” Ralph said. “We get ourselves back to that lodge, you call your client’s father, and then I’ll give the Mixes another call. Sound fair?”

“Sounds good.”

Derek gave a quick glance at his cell phone and saw that he had received a message from his client.

“Thomas must take orders well. His text message includes his dad’s cell number and a reminder that his dad wants updates right away.”

“I’d sure like to listen quietly to that call, if you don’t mind?”

“Not at all.”

Derek and Ralph arrived back at the lodge ten minutes after breakfast was paid for. Parked in the driveway of the lodge were three New York State Trooper cars.

“Either something is about to be filtered down to me, or we have ourselves yet another problem,” Ralph said.

CHAPTER TWENTY

“Add a new officer to your team, Chief Fox?” Captain Jared Smith asked as Ralph and Derek were walking up the driveway to the lodge’s front door. Smith was a twenty-two year veteran of the state police and believed that rules and protocols were in place for damn good reasons.

“Not that my department is any of your concern,” Ralph said through a smile, “but this is Derek Cole. Good friend of mine and an experienced private detective.”

“You haven’t shared any case information have you?” Smith asked as Ralph reached the front door of the lodge. Instead of giving way, Smith stood, with arms on hips, blocking access to the inside of the lodge. “Ralph, I asked you a very simple question.”

“Now, I have not known you all that long, Captain Smith, but I have to believe that simple questions is about all you can ask.”

“I’ve been hired by Thomas O’Connell to protect him and his parents from whomever killed the men in this lodge,” Derek answered, hoping to ease the palpable tension in the air. “Chief Fox has not divulged any case information, despite my repeated requests. Perhaps you can help me with my case, Captain?”

“I don’t even want you near this scene,” Smith said to Derek though his eyes were fixed on Ralph’s. “Nothing personal, but I prefer to work with professionals, not people who pretend to be something they aren’t.”

“Well now, that attitude of yours is concerning,” Ralph said to Smith. “So concerning in fact, that I’ve changed my mind. Derek Cole,” he said to Derek while extending his hand, “as the Chief of Police of the town of Arietta, New York, I’d like to extend you an offer to become a temporary officer of my department.”

Smith stood shaking his head, clearly not impressed with Ralph’s impetuous way of managing a police force but also fully aware that his position with the state police did not give him any authority over how Ralph, or any other department chief, ran their business.