A Flicker of Doubt - Tim Myers [39]
“I’ve tried I’ve come up with a couple of leads, but nothing I can be sure of.”
April wiped the counter down, or at least pretended to. “Two weeks ago she was in here with a man it shocked me to see her with.”
“Who was it?’
“Do you know Greg Runion?”
“I’ve had the misfortune to deal with him a time or two in the past. Did they come here on a date?”
“I don’t know if you could call it a date,” she said. They were arguing about something, and she left in a huff. Funny thing is, just outside she ran into Hank Klein, and they started arguing, too.” She added, “Hang on a second. Let me get that slice for you.”
A young woman with long red hair pulled back into a ponytail approached April and asked, “You wanted to see me?”
“Hang on a second; let me take care of this customer.”
“Would you like me to ring the sale up?” she asked eagerly.
“No, it’s already taken care of.”
April slid the pizza across to me, then nudged me away from the counter with a single look.
I took the pizza, grabbed my Coke and sat at one of the tables near the jukebox. I wasn’t in the mood for music with my meal, though. As I ate the slice, I kept thinking about what an odd combination Runion and Becka made. Markum was starting to believe that it could have been Runion’s voice we’d heard on Becka’s answering machine, but I was still positive it was Klein’s.
After I ate, I had some time to kill before I went back to the candleshop, so I decided to pay a visit to Runion and see if he’d deny what April had just told me. Markum was convinced that Runion could be Becka’s secret boyfriend, but even with what April had just told me, I couldn’t see it Still, I wanted to hear his voice again in person to see if I could compare it with the man on the answering machine. I’d deal with Markum later. The last thing he needed was to lose any more sleep over this.
Runion’s secretary Jeanie was behind her desk, and she greeted me with a smile when I walked in. “If it isn’t Harrison Black. How are you this fine day?” Her Tennessee accent melted as she spoke, her voice filled with different inflections from the ones found in my part of North Carolina.
‘I’m fine, Jeanie, how are you?”
“I’m so healthy I could crow.”
“That’s good to hear. Is your boss in?”
Her smile dimmed. “Greg’s back there, but I should warn you, he’s been in a bear of a mood lately.”
I lowered my voice and asked, “Could I ask you something?”
“Anything,” Jeanie said.
“Is there a chance Runion’s had a secret girlfriend over the last few months?”
Jeanie frowned. “Do you mean just one? He fancies himself a lady’s man, and evidently there are some women attracted to the slick, greasy type.”
Runion came out of his office. “Jeanie, who are you talking to?” He spotted me and said, “Black, what are you doing here? I thought we were through talking.” It was obvious he wasn’t trying to sell me anything, or buy anything from me, either. I was getting the real Greg Runion, an ugly face he kept well hidden from the rest of the world. “If this is about buying Cyrus Walters’s land, you’re wasting your breath.”
“How do you know I didn’t come by to break Belle’s will like you asked me to?”
That got his attention. “Let’s talk, then. Come on into my office. Jeanie, hold my calls.” He paused at the door, then added, “Unless it’s Sam Ridgway.”
Runion thought a second, then added, “I’m waiting to hear from Dale James, too. You know what, I’ll take whoever calls.”
My number-one status was dropping precipitously as he walked in behind me.
He sat behind his expansive desk and said, “Now what’s it going to take to get you to break that agreement?”
“First you have to answer some of my questions, and I want the truth.”
He looked startled, but nodded. “Fire away.”
“Have you been dating Becka Lane recently?”
A cloud crossed his brow. “Harrison, I’m a single man. I date a lot of women in the course of a year.”
“I’m talking about a few weeks ago. Your memory should be clear on that.” I added, “Don’t bother denying it, someone saw you two out a few weeks ago.