not? I thought you had computers for that sort of thing. Labs? What the hell is our budget paying for these days, anyway?”
Jack grew tired. They’d had this conversation before. Nothing had changed. For a moment, Jack contemplated telling the man they’d get a lot further a lot faster if he’d shut up and leave them alone. Of course, he said no such thing. “Straight Arrow Stryker” never lost control.
“Pure potassium is readily accessible,” he intoned quietly. “All hospitals commonly administer it in a diluted form to patients recovering from surgery. According to the doctors, it’s available at all nursing stations in a hospital, and the nursing stations are unlocked and unmonitored.
“We interviewed all the hospital staff, and no one remembers noticing any potassium missing. Of course, the potassium may have come from an outside hospital. It might have been ordered directly from a medical supply store. At this point, there’s no way to know.”
“You can’t tell a brand or a batch or something like that?”
“If we had a bottle or label, maybe we could. If we had a needle, we could trace the parts, the manufacturer, maybe get prints or DNA. But we don’t. We just have a victim with a potassium level over ten mils per liter. We have a crime scene with no signs of a forced entry. There are no latent or patent prints. We have no hair, no fiber. At this point, the most likely suspect is Casper the Friendly Ghost.” Jack’s voice ended with an edge. He and Stone had the highest arrest record in Grand Springs, dammit. They were good, they were serious, they were committed. So how could they not determine who murdered such a fine woman as Olivia Stuart?
“But…but…” Hal was struggling now. Jack couldn’t tell if it was from honest emotion or just frustration. Hal wasn’t a particularly strong man, but he was hard to read. He said abruptly, “What about my mother’s last word?”
“Coal?” Stone shrugged. “To tell you the truth, we’re just not sure. My personal theory is that she was talking about the strip mining debates. She was really against strip mining in Grand Springs, just like you’re really for it….”
Hal stiffened. Now his face was definitely shuttered. He’d been taking some heat on the subject, particularly from Rio Redtree, top investigative reporter for the Grand Springs Herald. “I sold my stock in the companies. And I’ve asked Josie to look into both the advantages and disadvantages of permitting strip mining in Grand Springs. I’m a fair man.” He paused, his eyes narrowing. “Do…do you think one of those companies might have something to do with my mother’s death?”
Jack glanced at Stone. They’d argued this matter numerous times without reaching a conclusion. Jack didn’t believe a person would refer to a political debate as her last word. He also wasn’t a big fan of conspiracy theories. Stone felt the strip mining companies had enough to gain from Olivia’s death to make them likely suspects.
“It’s possible,” Jack said carefully, “but not probable. The cause of death was poison, and statistically speaking, poison is a ‘personal’ MO—we see wives murdering husbands, a jealous lover spiking a rival’s drink, that sort of thing. For poison to be used in a hit… That would be unusual.”
“Then go out and interview everyone she knew!”
“We did. We asked you for a list of associates, remember, Hal?” Jack said. “Then we talked to everyone on that list. Business associates, neighbors, friends, family. I have the interview notes right here.”
“And?”
“And we don’t have any substantial suspects. Olivia was a well-respected mayor, friend and mother. Even her political opponents thought highly of her. She was a good woman, Hal. Her loss is deeply felt.”
Hal looked away. Maybe the emotion was genuine, after all. “You know, there were no ‘intimates’ on that list, Hal,” Jack said quietly. “No past boyfriends, romantic interests. Can you think of anyone, maybe a jilted lover—”
“Olivia? Date?” Hal laughed harshly. “My mother was much too sophisticated for the men in this town. And she was tougher than all of them.”
Abruptly, Hal planted his hands on Jack’s desk. “Let me spell it out for you. I did my part. I’ve given you all the information you’ve asked for, and I’ve given you more than three months to get results. Well it’s almost the end of September, detectives, and you have nothing. I’m not impressed. The taxpayers of this town are not impressed. And the budget for the police department is about to come up for review….”
Stone’s feet dropped to the floor. He was half out of his chair before Jack pulled him back down.
“Understood. And I tell you again, Hal, there’s no one who wants to solve this case more than we do. No one.”
“Huh.” Hal’s expression was blatantly unconvinced. Jack had to dig his fingers into Stone’s arm while Hal glanced at his watch. “Thirty minutes are up. I have to get to my next meeting with Jo—”
“Mayor? Call on line one,” the receptionist interrupted.
Hal grunted and took the call. He shook his head, said he’d get to it in a minute, sighed and hung up. “Incompetence,” he muttered. “Sheer incompetence.”
Jack studied Hal for a long time. Stone had gone still beside him. “Your meeting with Jo?” he asked quietly. Was the man so dense he could not see the significance of his own words?
“Jo? Oh, Josie Reynolds. You know Josie.” Hal headed toward the door. Jack and Stone didn’t stop him.
Stone waited until the acting mayor was completely out of sight before speaking. “Josie Reynolds. Do you think…?”
“We interviewed her, right?” Jack was pawing through the notes. “She discovered the body. She called 911. The EMTs said she’d started CPR before they arrived.”
“I was the one who talked to her, I remember now. Ah, hell, I don’t know, Stryker. She was pretty broken up, you could tell she and Olivia had been close. I heard Olivia had been the one to give Josie the job as treasurer. She took Josie under her wing, made her feel at home.” Stone contemplated his thoughts. “You’ve met her, right? I’ve seen her around, at the usual places, but I’d never really spoken to her before Olivia’s death.” He grinned abruptly. “Odd, you know, for a man like me not to approach a beautiful lady. But…well, she seems to keep to herself. As much as it wounds me to admit it, I’m not sure she would have considered me her type.”
Jack nodded. He had been introduced to Josie Reynolds two years ago when she’d taken the job as town treasurer, and she wasn’t the kind of woman a man forgot. Five foot six with a cloud of blond hair and frank blue eyes, she looked more like a beauty queen than a CPA. By all accounts, however, she was good. Olivia had described her as spirited, passionate, and committed. She got her job done. That was about all Stryker knew. He had always made it a point to stay clear of Josie Reynolds, though he could never say why. And not once in the past two years, in all the times their paths had crossed, had she ever approached him. Without saying a word, they seemed to have settled upon a policy of mutually-agreed avoidances. He kept to his side of the room. She kept to hers.
Stone rose to his feet. “Hungry? I think they can hear my stomach in Wichita by now.”
Jack automatically shook his head.
Stone
