Death on a Deadline

me. “Jenna, honey, I didn’t believe it. You were always such a sweet little girl. But now I know it’s true.”
    “It’s not true!” I screamed.
    I opened my mouth to say more, but Marge was no longer Marge, but Marge’s friend, Lois, the librarian. “Shh. . . this is a library,” She held her finger to her lips.
    “It is not! This is the health club.”
    Debbie, the waitress from the diner, appeared beside her, looking bored. She peered in her handheld mirror to apply a fresh coat of red lipstick, then smacked her lips. “Homicide must run in the family. To think I trusted you.”
    “Homicide? Is someone else dead?” I ran toward the crowd. What. . .or who were they gathered around? John grabbed my arm.
    I jerked away from him and crashed between Marita and Debbie, determined to see what they were hiding.
    My pulse pounded in my throat, and I let out a low moan. My boss, Bob, in a Hawaiian shirt and khaki shorts, lay unmoving on the tile floor. My favorite swim goggles framed his unblinking eyes and strands of thin black videotape wrapped tightly around his neck.

Twelve

    “So he actually said that? That Zac might get taken back in for questioning?” Carly’s indignation came across the phone line loud and clear.
    “Would I make something like that up?” I plopped down on the couch with my coffee. I loved the health club, but weekends were definitely my favorite part of the week. Saturday mornings at home rocked. I looked out the window. Even cloudy ones.
    “Oh, I hope it’s him,” Carly growled.
    “Huh?”
    “You know, the murderer. I hope it turns out to be Byron.” Then she sighed. “That’s not fair to Mama and Daddy, though, with the cabins and all. Nothing puts a town’s tourist business in the toilet faster than the mayor being charged with murder.”
    I stroked Neuro’s back, still grappling with the fact that genteel Carly said toilet . She must be even more upset than I realized. “You’re right. Let’s hope it’s a stranger. Someone we don’t know.”
    “Not very likely, though, is it?”
    “No, ’fraid not. And we’ve got to figure it out soon. You won’t believe what I dreamed last night.”
    After I told her the morbid details of my nightmare, she laughed. “So you think you got so sick of him not selling you the business that you put your swim goggles on him and killed him with a videotape?”
    “I guess. It was bizarre. But so real that when I woke up I had to go check to be sure the tape was still where I left it.”
    “I told you to give up your dinosaur VCR and get a DVD player. Maybe this will convince you.”
    “It’s doubtful. I’ve got too many VHS tapes to switch over now. You know how I am about change.”
    “Yeah, and you call John stubborn. By the way, you never told me what he said about the pills.”
    “ Ack . I got so mad at him for laughing at me about the Dear Pru letter that I forgot to mention the pills. They’re probably nothing anyway.”
    “You’re right. Hang on, girl, I’ve got another call.”
    “Sure. ” I shoved myself to my feet and meandered into the kitchen. Mr. Persi followed me, hopefully. “Hungry, boy?” I poured dog food into his dish, and he dug into it like he hadn’t been fed for a week. I could sympathize. I nuked a leftover piece of pizza and picked up my vitamin bottle. Empty.
    I’d have to stop by the pharmacy and get some more. No wonder those empty bottles at the newspaper office were from the Lake View Pharmacy. It was the most popular drugstore in town.
    Suddenly the silence of a dead line was broken by a sob.
    “Carly? What’s wrong?”
    “That was John. He wants to bring Zac back in for more questioning.”
    Anger shot through me. “Thanks to Byron, of course.”
    “I don’t know.” Her voice shook. “He said, ‘In light of some new evidence.’ What do you think that means?”
    “It means our chief of police is on the mayor’s payroll. But I’ll take care of that. Is Zac there?” I walked back into the living room and slipped on my shoes.
    “Yes.”
    “Okay, call Alex and have him meet us there. Do you want me to pick you and Zac up?” I snatched my keys from the hook by the door.
    “No, thanks. I can drive. Besides, Daddy will want to come, too.”
    “Good. Let John and Byron see that we’re not going to let them do this to Zac. I’m going on over. See you there.”
    “Okay, thanks, Jen.”
    I may have broken the speed limit slightly on the way to the station, but I figured