“Don’t offer unless you’re willing to let me take you up on it,” I said.
“Suzanne, nothing would make me happier,” he said.
We were still alone, and Emma was in back washing dishes. There was no doubt in my mind that her music was cranked up to a volume high enough to completely block out our conversation.
“Okay, here goes,” I said, and I started to bring him up to date on what Grace and I had learned so far.
After I listed my suspects and my reasons for suspecting them, George whistled softly under his breath. “Wow, I didn’t realize so many people around here had a reason to kill Jude Williams. The chief must be going crazy tracking down leads.”
“I haven’t seen much of him lately,” I admitted. “Momma hasn’t, either, so you know he must be busy.”
“I wonder how your two lists compare,” George said.
“We’ll probably never know, since we don’t always compare notes.”
George looked surprised by that. “I thought that you two had hammered out some kind of way to investigate without stepping on each other’s toes.”
“What makes you think that?” I asked him.
“Isn’t it true?”
“That’s beside the point. Have you been keeping tabs on me, George?”
He shrugged. “I might have asked a question or two around the precinct,” he admitted. When he saw me staring at him, George was quick to add, “Suzanne, are you really all that surprised?”
“No,” I said, and then added a laugh. “You just can’t help yourself, can you?”
“Apparently not. So, where do you go from here?”
“Grace and I are going to keep digging until we uncover something that points toward a killer.”
“And you’re sure that you don’t need my help?” George asked.
“Don’t you have your hands full running April Springs?”
He scratched his chin. “Ordinarily I’d say that it runs itself, but with Polly gone, I’m up to my eyebrows in work. I don’t know how she does it.”
“Maybe you should give her a raise when she gets back,” I suggested.
“Maybe you’re right.”
“So, do you have any advice for me, George?”
“Just be careful, Suzanne. There’s a killer on that list of yours; you can be sure of it. I wouldn’t be alone with any of them, and that includes Gabby.”
“Do you honestly think that she might have killed her own nephew?” I asked. I couldn’t fathom the circumstances that it could be true. I knew Gabby, and she wasn’t a killer.
“If folks knew how many homicides were committed by family members, they’d never be able to sleep at night,” he said.
“Okay. I’ll be careful.”
“And not just around Gabby. You need to watch your back with all of them, including Max.”
I was surprised yet again. “There you’re way off base, George. My ex-husband is many things, but he’s no murderer. I would swear to that under oath.”
“Suzanne, what does Max want more than anything in the world right now?” George asked me.
I didn’t even have to think about it. “He wants to marry Emily.” It didn’t bother me to say it. I was well and truly over my ex-husband, and as a matter of fact, I was happy that he’d been able to find someone he cared about the way that I cared about Jake.
“And what would he do if someone tried to stop that from happening? Don’t answer me; just think about it,” George said as he finished his donut and emptied his coffee.
“I honestly don’t know. I suppose it depended on how desperate he was.”
“That a girl. Now you’re thinking like a cop.”
“I sure hope not,” I said. “No offense intended.”
“None taken,” the mayor said with a shrug. “Out of curiosity, why would that be such a bad thing?”
“The police are already working on the case. The only thing I bring to the table is coming at the investigation from a completely different perspective. If I lose that, then I’m going to stop investigating murder and leave it to the professionals.”
“What are the odds of that happening?” he asked with a grin.
“Not very good,” I admitted. “How about another donut and a refill?” I asked him as I reached for the coffee pot.
“I’d better not,” he said as he patted his stomach.
“I’m impressed,” I said as I put the coffee pot back.
“Don’t be. I promised Polly that I’d behave myself, so I’m going to fight off all of the temptation that comes my way.”