Death Waxed Over - Tim Myers [33]
He leaned back in his chair, then said, “You haven’t said much about Pearly.”
“He couldn’t have had anything to do with this,” I said. I may have had some doubt in my mind, but I would defend him with my last breath.
Markum scowled. “If it’s not profit behind the trouble, it could be love.”
“Do you honestly think Pearly could have had anything to do with Gretel’s murder? Come on, Markum, we’re talking about our friend here.”
Markum picked up a pen from the desktop and began rolling it between his hands. “I admit it. I’ve grown to like the man myself, but whose word do we have but his own that he’s the one who broke it off with Gretel? Maybe it was the other way around. You spotted him at the fair on the morning of the murder, we can’t forget that. I’ll grant you that Pearly doesn’t appear to be the type to do something like this, but love can make you do strange things, my friend.”
I shook my head. “Not this. I’m not sure I’d believe it if Pearly told me himself.”
Markum shrugged. “So I’ll keep my doubts to myself about our handyman from now on unless I find something a little more substantial than what we’ve got so far. Is that a deal?”
“I guess so,” I said. I didn’t like the fact that Pearly was suspect in any way, but until I could prove his innocence to Markum—and to myself—I’d have to do my best to find the truth. Markum deserved all the facts if I was going to ask him to help me.
He ticked off his fingers as he spoke. “So we’ve got brother Hans, Pearly, Mrs. Jorgenson, Runion the developer, Martin Graybill and the Minnesota Mystery Man so far. Have I left anyone else out? Who else’s life has Gretel’s touched?”
“You mean besides me?” I asked.
Markum laughed. “For the purposes of this exercise, we’re exempting you, Harrison.”
“I appreciate that,” I said, “Her cousin Jubal has been working with her at the candleshop, but from what he told me, he doesn’t inherit a thing. He’s just sticking around until Hans shows up.”
“You know, maybe we should have a talk with Gretel’s lawyer. I wonder if we’re jumping to the wrong conclusion here.”
“What do you mean?”
Markum said, “We all are under the impression that Gretel left everything to her brother, but do we know that for a fact? Who’s this attorney happen to be? I just hope it’s not Cragg, though it would make things easier.”
“Come on,” I said, “Just because I have a key to his place doesn’t mean I’m going to snoop around in his office.”
“Now who said anything about you doing something like that? I was just thinking out loud.”
“Jubal told me the attorney Gretel hired was ancient, but that’s all I remember. If he told me the man’s name, it’s slipped my mind.”
Markum said, “Then you’ll have to speak with Jubal tomorrow and get that memory refreshed.”
“I’m not going to help you break in to somebody’s office, Markum.”
“Harrison, I’m shocked, absolutely shocked, by your implication.”
I started to say something, but the mock severity of his gaze made me laugh instead. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to impugn your honor,” I said.
“I’ll forgive you this time,” he said, the gleam in his eye brightening. “So it’s settled. Tomorrow you speak with Jubal and get me that name, then I’ll take it from there.” Markum’s phone rang before I could protest further, and after a moment’s consultation with his caller, he put a hand over the receiver and said, “It’s Sammie Jo from the Keys.”
“The pirates aren’t back, are they?”
Markum smiled softly. “Not with the lesson I gave them. No, it sounds like she misses me.”
“You’d better watch out, Markum, she may be getting too attached to you.”
“You worry about your problems and I’ll worry about mine,” he said with a smile. “We’ll talk again tomorrow.”
I left Markum to his telephone call, a small part of me jealous that there was someone in the world who missed him. I wasn’t seeing anyone at the moment. In fact, I barely dated, and I missed that last phone call before bed, someone to wrap up the day with. I wished Sammie Jo luck in settling Markum down as I got ready for bed, but knew