Killer Calories

the one he tried to brain in the avocado grove.”
    “Brain? Someone tried to hurt you?”
    “Yeah, lock the door and sit yourself down on the bed, kiddo. We’ve got some catching up to do.”

    Savannah had barely filled Tammy in on the latest pertinent details when she received a summons, via Bernadette, from Dion.
    “He wanted me to give you this,” the redhead had said, standing at Savannah ’s and Tammy’s door with the small, folded note in her hand.
    “What does it say?” Savannah asked her.
    Bernadette’s eyes widened in a poor imitation of surprise and righteous indignation. “How would I know? He told me it was for you .”
    “Yeah, right,” Savannah had said before closing the door in her face. The Pope himself wouldn’t have been able to resist sneaking one little peek , and Savannah had a strong notion that Bernadette wasn’t even Catholic.
    After assuring Tammy that she would be fine, answering the summons in the note, Savannah had taken off for Dions cottage, flashlight in one pocket, Beretta in the other. All she needed, she decided, was a couple of sticks to rub together and she would rival the Girl Scouts for readiness.
    When Dion answered the door, she was shocked at his appearance. His eyes were red and swollen, as though he ha “ been crying, and he radiated none of the vibrancy she had found so attractive before.
    “Come in,” he told her, ushering her inside and over to a black-and-white leather chair beneath a model of the Spirit of St. Louis . “I’d offer you a drink, but I’m out of cola, and I don’t drink booze.”
    “That’s all right,” she said. “Why did you want to see me?”
    He collapsed onto a matching chair beside hers and ran his fingers through his mussed blond hair. He looked tired, anxious, and more than a little afraid.
    “You’ve been asking me a lot of questions,” he said. “In fact, you’ve been questioning everybody. So, I thought you shouldn’t mind if I asked you a few.”
    She searched his eyes for hostility, but she saw none. “Go ahead,” she said.
    “I had a long talk with Ryan Stone,” he began, “and he says you know about us.”
    “That’s right. Ryan is a close friend of mine; we share a lot of things.”
    “Did Ryan tell you first, or did you find out on your own?” She considered a couple of lies, then discarded them. She liked Dion and figured he deserved an honest answer... though not too detailed. “I uncovered your relationship with Ryan in the course of my investigation here,” she said. “And when I asked him, he confirmed it.”
    Dion took a deep breath and she could see the pain etched deeply in his face. For the first time, he looked his age; he looked like a has-been disco star.
    “What do you intend to do with this newfound information of yours, Savannah ?” he asked.
    “At the moment, nothing.”
    He looked only slightly mollified. “And later?”
    “That remains to be seen. I have no desire to betray my friend’s confidence, or to hurt someone he cares for.”
    “I see.”
    He stood and walked over to his table, where his latest model, a clipper ship, was spread out in hundreds of tiny pieces. Picking up one of the yardarms, he turned the piece over and over in his fingers, like a miniature band major’s baton.
    “If Kat was murdered,” he said, “and you think she was... there will be an in-depth investigation. Isn’t that true?”
    She could see where this was leading, but she couldn’t think of any way to head him off at the verbal pass. Besides, she had already decided to be honest with him.
    “Yes,” she said. “I suspect there will be.”
    “And whatever information you’ve uncovered... you’ll be forced to reveal it?”
    “If it’s pertinent to the case, I suppose I will.”
    He swallowed hard. “Do you think my relationship with Ryan will be of interest to the authorities?”
    “Probably not.”
    “How about my lack of interest in returning Kat’s affection... and the reasons for that?”
    Savannah shrugged. “Maybe.”
    “I can’t go through that, Savannah . I can’t. Please believe me.”
    “Please, don’t worry about it, Dion,” she said, trying to sound as convincing as possible. “Really, there’s no reason to fear the worst... not yet.”
    He turned to her with more anguish on his handsome face than she could recall seeing in a long time. Her heart went out to him... for all the good it did.
    “And are you going to tell me when it’s time to worry?”