Constable Molly Smith 01 - In the Shadow of the Glacier

doing at the Montgomery home between four and eight forty-five, Doctor?”
    “Fucking, Sergeant. Fucking. I was far too busy to murder anyone. My wife spends most of her time worrying about whether or not she’ll ever have grandchildren, and Ellie is an open-minded, fun-loving woman.” He slammed the phone down. Spittle flew from the corners of his mouth. His face had turned bright red, and a vein pulsed in the middle of his forehead. “We fucked before and after dinner. Although in my wife’s favor I will admit that Ellie’s cooking is barely palatable. Perhaps I should have dinner at home and then go round for dessert with Ellie, eh? I’ve considered it. I’ve started taking Viagra. It does wonders for an older man’s stamina. You might want to try it, Sergeant Winters. Now unless you intend to arrest me, I have a patient waiting.”
    “What did you do after leaving the Montgomery home?” Winters asked, with no change in his tone of voice. Tyler clearly had anger-management problems, but so did a lot of people. Not all of them killers.
    Tyler fell back into his chair, the bluster leaving him as quickly as air escaping from a balloon pricked by a needle. “I went home, Sergeant. To my wife.”
    “I’ll need to confirm that with her, Doctor.”
    “You won’t…you won’t tell her where I was, will you? She thinks that I go to Dental Association meetings some nights. She…well, my wife is a highly strung woman. My marriage is important to me.”
    But not important enough to withstand the benefits of Viagra. Winters got to his feet. Hard to believe anyone could be more highly strung than the doctor himself. “Your activities prior to eight forty-five may not be relevant. If they’re not,” he leaned heavily on the word
if
, “we can probably avoid involving Mrs. Tyler in that discussion. Thank you, Doctor. We’ll see ourselves out.”
    The receptionist and the patient watched with round eyes and drooping jaws as Smith and Winters strolled though the waiting room.
    They took the stairs in silence. They both reached for sunglasses as they stepped out into the street.
    “I think,” Smith said, “it’s time to find a new dentist.”
    ***
    “I’d like to plunge head first into the story and start interviewing people around town.” Rich said to Meredith. “People who knew Montgomery. Was he married?”
    “Yes.”
    “A grieving widow makes a great story. Set up an interview, ASAP. Then we’ll tackle the peace garden angle. I’d like to meet these traitors who abandoned America when she called them. I’m counting on you to take me to them, Meredith.”
    “I’m not sure,” she said, studying her long pink fingernails. “People don’t like outsiders interfering.”
    “We’re not interfering. We’re just telling their story. I can assure you that I want to hear what everyone has to say.
Always Impartial
, that’s the motto of CNC, right, Meredith?”
    “I don’t want to take sides.”
    “Nor do I.
Always Impartial.
I can tell from the story in the morning’s paper that you’re a good reporter, top notch. You’ve got your ear to the ground. I need your help on this Meredith, do I have it?”
    Indecision moved behind her lovely dark eyes.
    He didn’t give her time to make up her mind. “We’ll make a super team. Now tell me, who’s the best person to talk to about this Commemorative Peace Garden?”
    “Lucky Smith probably.”
    “Can you set up an interview with him?”
    “Lucky’s a woman.”
    “Even better. Give Lucky a call. I guarantee she’ll be pleased to tell her side of the story to the audience of CNC. Early this evening would be good. My cameraman’ll be here by then. Tell her that I’ll have a photographer, women love that.”
    “I can talk to her, sure, but there might be a problem.”
    “Come on, Meredith, you’re a journalist. Explain to this Lucky woman how important it is that America understands what she’s trying to achieve here.”
    “It’s not that, Rich. It’s just that Lucky’s daughter, Molly, found the body.”
    “How horrible for her. She needs an outlet for her stress. We’ll interview her along with the mother. Play up the shock of discovering the deceased to add a human interest angle.”
    “That’s not it. Molly’s a cop. I thought she was just a beat cop, but she’s assisting the sergeant in charge of the investigation. I went to high school with Molly. I’m pretty sure she’ll tell her mom not to talk to anyone.”
    If Rich