Death on a Deadline

it until it bled might be a little extreme. “I think it’s time for us to call it a night.” I put the ball back on the rack beside us.
    Brendan pushed to his feet, the look on his face reeking of false concern. “Jenna, honey, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, but it’s true the family is often the last to know.”
    “I guess I’m the last to know a lot of things.” I ground out the words as I changed shoes. When I’d finished, I stood, then leaned toward Brendan and spoke softly for his ears only. “Like the fact that I’d rather spend every Friday night for the rest of my life at home, painting my cat’s toenails, than to go out with you again.”
    I didn’t mind the walk home. The night air had never felt so cool and fresh. Some places were stale with bad company.

Six

    “Oomph!” Carly grunted. “That ball has it in for me.” Her racket clattered to the hardwood floor. She laughed and sank down beside it. “Forget it, Jen. Racquetball isn’t my game.”
    “You don’t know that! You haven’t even given it a chance.” I leaned against the wall and crossed my arms, giving my sister a measured glance. “Besides, it beats staying home and moping.”
    Carly rubbed an angry-looking red spot on her leg. “At least staying home wasn’t giving me bruises. Besides, have you ever tried to mope around ten-year-old twins? Let’s call Mama and ask her how much moping she’s getting done tonight.”
    “Nice try. Come on. Give it a few more minutes. If you still don’t like it, we’ll change and head to the sauna.”
    Carly got to her feet and waved her racket around over her head with a grin. “Boomerang ball? Crazy sister? Sauna at the end? Bring it on.” She resumed the stance I’d shown her—knees slightly bent.
    For the next ten minutes, she gave it her all. But when she collapsed to the floor again, gasping for air between her giggles, even I had to admit defeat.
    Celebrating the end of the game, Carly did a victory dance into the locker room, then collapsed onto the wooden bench across from the silver metal lockers. “Why couldn’t we have played something a little less strenuous?”
    “Like what? Golf?” Since finding out about the discovery of the murderous club last Friday night, Carly and I had made a list of every golfer we knew. After Carly’s meeting with Elliott on the day of Hank’s funeral, we weren’t sure where to put him on the list. On one hand, Carly said he was charming and attractive, but on the other, there was no rule saying a killer couldn’t be good-looking, was there?
    But Carly’s mother-tiger claws had come out when she heard what Brendan said about Zac, so the pharmacist’s name was at the top of the list, circled in red. Zac, Alex, and I were at the bottom. The in-between included the golf pro, Byron, Amelia, and a good portion of Lake View’s population.
    “Even a deadly sport like golf is better than racquetball,” Carly huffed.
    I couldn’t have asked for a better opening. “I’m glad you think so, because I have a plan.”
    She rolled her eyes. “Mercy, Jenna, how do you do it? You have more plans than Blue Cross.”
    “So you don’t want to hear it?”
    “You know I’ll bite. What did you have in mind?”
    “We’re going to play golf this Saturday at the country club.”
    “We? You and me?”
    I blushed. This part of my plan could be misconstrued as me having an ulterior motive. “You, me, and Alex.” I pulled my swimsuit from my locker and clicked the metal door shut. “Of course, we’ll need a fourth. So I’ve called the club and reserved their resident golf pro to play with us. That would be Elliott.”
    “Nancy Drew’s on the case again. I can see the wheels turning. You want to get to the bottom of Elliott’s fight with Hank and find out if he’s missing a golf club.”
    “That’s the plan in a nutshell.”
    “Works for me.” Carly picked up her towel. “Somehow I can’t see him as a killer, but I think we do need to get to know him a little better.”
    “Exactly.” I was so relieved that she wasn’t putting up a fight. But a little surprised.
    “Have you mentioned this to Alex?”
    “No, but he’ll go along with it.” I fiddled with my swimsuit strap.
    “Oh, my. One post-funeral lunch date and you’re pretty confident of your charms, aren’t you?” She gave me a wide grin.
    “Not really, but he did say to keep him up to date on my investigation.”
    Carly popped me with her towel. “Get outta