There was an unremarkable rather heavyset woman behind the desk that said Reception, so we approached her.
“May I help you?” she asked, her gaze never leaving the box of donuts in my hands.
“We’re here to see Reggie,” I said.
“Is Mr. Nance expecting you?” she asked.
“No, we don’t have an appointment, but this is important. My name’s Suzanne Hart, and this is Grace Gauge.”
“I know who you are,” she said as she looked up briefly from the donuts into my eyes.
“Please. It’s important,” I said.
“Let me see if Mr. Nance has time to see you.”
She left her desk, and Grace whispered to me, “Did you see the way she was eying those donuts?”
“Hey, who can blame her? They’re delicious, and she didn’t get any today. Reggie left without them, remember?”
“I’ve got a hunch they aren’t leaving with us, no matter what Reggie says.”
“Shh. She’s coming back.”
The woman came back with a frown plastered on her face. “I’m sorry, but Mr. Nance is unavailable. If you’d like me to give him something, I’d be glad to hand deliver it myself.”
“Sorry. This has to be done in person, or not at all,” Grace piped up.
The woman frowned again, and I could swear I saw storm clouds forming in her eyes. “That’s too bad.”
I couldn’t take it anymore. There was nothing to gain by holding my own donuts hostage. “Why don’t you take these anyway?” I asked her as I handed her the box.
“That’s really sweet of you,” she said with a broad smile. She took the offering and then leaned forward as she whispered, “In ten minutes, he’ll be heading to his car to get his hair cut. You can try again outside. I’m sorry, but it’s the best that I can do.”
“It’s perfect,” I whispered back. “Thank you.”
She just nodded, and Grace and I left the office, but instead of going back to my Jeep, we walked over to Reggie’s car. It was parked front and center, and the sign said, “CEO Parking Only.” For such a small office, calling yourself a CEO had to show that the man had a bit of an ego.
“Well, what do you know? Your donuts really do open doors, don’t they?”
“I wasn’t expecting her to be so cooperative. I just hate to disappoint people when they only want my treats, you know?”
“Suzanne, your good heart pays off yet again,” Grace said with a smile. “What are we going to say to Reggie now that we’ve given up our secret weapon?”
“I’m still going to apologize,” I said firmly.
“But you don’t believe that you need to,” Grace protested. “I didn’t mean to back you into doing something that you’re not comfortable with.”
“Grace, he was right. The man lost a daughter in a pretty devastating way right after losing his wife. He has to have felt pain that I can only imagine. I need to apologize.”
“I knew there was a reason that you were my best friend,” Grace said with a soft smile as she hugged me.
“I thought it was because of all the free donuts,” I said, trying to soften the seriousness of our conversation.
“Hey, I didn’t say that was the only reason,” she said, joining in with a smile of her own.
It was gone soon enough, though, as Reggie walked outside.
“I told Betty that I wasn’t interested in seeing you,” Reggie snapped as he barely hesitated upon spying us waiting by his car. “You’ve got some nerve ambushing me in the parking lot like this.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, plainly and simply.
It was enough to make Reggie stop. “About what, ambushing me?”
“About what I said about your daughter. I was wrong, and I’m sorry.”
That clearly confused him. Reggie had made up his mind to be rough on me, but I’d invoked his daughter’s name, and something changed instantly in the man. “That’s okay.”
“I mean it,” I said. “Debbie’s memory deserves better than what I gave.”
“That it does,” he said.
“I can even understand why you’d want to see vengeance for your loss,” Grace said.
“Vengeance?” Reggie asked incredulously. “Is that what you two think I’m doing? Justice is more like it. Besides, I didn’t touch Jude Williams, as much as I wanted to, and I surely didn’t pick up a pipe and hit him with it.”
“It was an iron bar,” I said. “Reggie, do you happen to have an alibi for the time of the murder?” I asked. “It would make life a great deal easier if you did.”