Alex Harris 00 - Armed

with this new contract, things should pick up. So that’s how it all started and we haven’t looked back since.”
    “They say the economy is on an upswing. I’m sure you and your sister will do very well again.”
    “Yes, we’re lucky.”
    “I don’t think luck has a lot to do with it. I don’t know you well, but you’re definitely tenacious,” he said good-naturedly, “and you do seem to be good with people. You managed to find out a few things that I didn’t.”
    “I think most people are intimidated by the police. Maybe there’s a bit of stubbornness about it as well. You know, like they’re going to have to drag it out of me,” I said.
    “By the way, just as I arrived at your office, I thought I saw Joanne Reid walking to her car.”
    “Yes. She wants me to recommend her for Mrs. Scott’s position.”
    “Are you going to?”
    “Probably not. I don’t know why. I just don’t trust her and I think it’s very insensitive of her to be so gung-ho about it so shortly after Mrs. Scott’s death. I’m sure her skills are good, just not the personality. Though thinking of Joanne reminds me of something. You know the museum project?”
    “The one with the moving mannequins,” John asked with a smile.
    I blushed. “Yes, that’s the one. Mr. Poupée thinks someone stole the bid.”
    “Yeah, he talked to me about that.”
    “Do you think the murder and the theft are related?’
    “Could be. We checked into it a bit, but the original plans are still with the company, and of course we’ve already established there haven’t been any break-ins.”
    “That seems too easy. Maybe Mrs. Scott found out someone tipped off the competition and that’s what got her killed. And if Emmanuelle involved herself in a sales scam, wouldn’t she be a prime candidate for selling ideas to the competition as well? That would generate a lot more money than selling eyes.”
    “The timing seems off. Why wouldn’t Mrs. Scott tell Mr. Poupée right away in an attempt to put a stop to someone else using the design? Why all the secrecy?”
    It impressed me John had come to the same conclusion. I paused as I chewed a bite of bread. “I don’t really understand the selling of extra eyes. The printout showed the sales so it’s not like Emmanuelle sold them to the client on her own. They’ve been recorded as sales.”
    “Good point. I hate to say it, but again, we could be grasping at straws. Maybe the client bought a lot of the eyes because he got a good price. Or his end users asked for them. We just don’t know yet. But the fact Mrs. Scott sent a box of eyes to Mr. Absher indicates something is wrong.” John adjusted his position on the floor by the fire. “The mayor’s not happy. His office got a lot of calls, citizens wanting to know when the killer would be caught. An election’s coming up, so he wants this solved—and when the mayor is unhappy, the rest of us are unhappy.”
    “Believe it or not, I do have faith in the police department and I know this will all be over soon.
    “I hope you’re right.” He looked around my living room. “This is really nice.”
    “Thank you.”
    “Does your fish have a name?”
    “Mergitroid,” I picked up the vase containing the tiny creature. “He keeps me company. I just carry him to wherever I am.”
    John tapped on the glass. “His color goes nicely with your chairs.”
    “I think it’s very important to color coordinate your pets with your furniture,” I said, as I returned Mergi to his current place on one of the end tables.
    “I’m surprised you didn’t name him Winston.”
    “Maybe the next one. I didn’t really start reading about Winston until after I got Mergi.”
    John stretched his long legs out. “So how exactly did you come to be quoting Winston Churchill?”
    “Well…” I ran my fingers through my hair. “I grew up listening to Big Band music with my parents. And my grandmother loves old movies and I watched them with her all the time. One of our favorites is Mrs. Miniver, a war movie. I love the forties. I love the clothes, the simpler way of life. I’ve always wanted to go to Europe. I have a feeling it probably doesn’t look much different than it did then. One of these days I’ll get there. Anyway, I found some travel books; one thing led to another and I picked up a book on World War II. Then I found one about Winston and Franklin Roosevelt and just started reading.
    “Believe it or not, I grew up listening to the same