The Real Macaw: A Meg Langslow Mystery

him to track you down.”
    She blinked, then nodded weakly.
    “And if you can think of anyone else who works down at the town hall that Parker might have been trying to seduce so he could milk her for information, he’d love to hear that, so you might as well make their lives miserable, too.”
    She smiled faintly at that, and went out, shutting the door carefully behind her.
    As I watched her leave, I found myself thinking that adultery wasn’t the only reason the woman who had come to Parker’s shop might not have wanted to be seen in his company. If you worked for the mayor and had begun to figure out that Parker might be dangerous to know—
    “You’re a lifesaver,” Caroline said.
    “Poor thing,” Rose Noire said. “It must be so difficult to realize that he was only using her.”
    “You never know,” I said. “When she’s not crying, she’s rather pretty. I didn’t know Parker that well, but I don’t think it’s impossible that he could have been interested in her for her own sake.”
    “He wasn’t serious about anyone,” Caroline said.
    “I didn’t say serious, I just said interested,” I countered.
    “So you think he found out about the contract by accident?” Caroline asked.
    “Or from some other source,” I said. “She strikes me as honest. And she’s not the only person in town who would have access to it. What about that other Corsican who was dating Parker. Vivian. Where does she work?”
    “Couldn’t be her,” Rose Noire said. “She’s a nurse. Works down at Caerphilly General.”
    “Oh, right,” I said.
    “Louise is the most likely,” Caroline said. “And I don’t care how careful she thinks she was about the mayor’s office—it wouldn’t be that hard to get around her.”
    “She has a very trusting nature,” Rose Noire said.
    “Yes, she’s as sweet and innocent as a baby rabbit, and has about as many brains,” Caroline said.
    “She’s not stupid—just gullible about men,” Rose Noire said.
    “So you don’t think she could have killed Parker?” I asked.
    They looked at each other.
    “I wouldn’t go that far,” Caroline said.
    “You never know, when there’s so much negative energy in a situation,” Rose Noire said. She was wringing her hands, clearly uncomfortable with the topic. “I don’t like to … you know.”
    “You don’t like to speak ill of the dead, but you didn’t like Parker,” I finished for her.
    “I don’t like to speak ill of anyone,” she said. “And I didn’t dislike Parker. I just—”
    “You just didn’t like him hitting on you,” Caroline said.
    “He hit on you?” I asked.
    “Well, of course,” Rose Noire said. “He hit on everyone.”
    “Hell, he even flirted with me sometimes, just to keep in practice,” Caroline said. “You learned to ignore him.”
    “Sounds like a real charmer,” I said.
    “We could still find out that a jealous lover did him in,” Caroline said. “Or a jealous husband or boyfriend.”
    “But I think Meg has the right idea,” Rose Noire said. “Follow the money.”
    “What happened to cherchez la femme ?” Caroline countered.
    “I will let the chief do both,” I said, with a yawn. “I’m off to bed. Rose Noire, can you lock up?”
    “Of course,” she said.
    I headed for bed.
    Though I did stop by on the way to say a word to the chief.
    “Did Michael get a chance to tell you what he saw in Parker Blair’s furniture store?”
    “The elusive woman who didn’t want to be seen? Yes, thanks. I’m already keenly interested in any of Mr. Blair’s lady friends who might not be unattached.”
    “I can think of other reasons why the woman might have fled,” I said. “Have you talked to Louise tonight?”
    “No,” he said. “Louise who, and why should I talk to her?”
    “Dietz, “ I said. “Works in the mayor’s office. Was seeing Parker. And now thinks he was using her to get information.”
    “Was he?”
    I shrugged.
    “Rob said she was their mole in the mayor’s office,” I said. “I thought she was doing it out of conviction. Who knows? Anyway, I told her to come and talk to you, but perhaps she was too tired to do it tonight.”
    “She give him that contract you found?”
    “No idea. She says not, but even if she’s telling the truth, he could have used her to get it. And if she knew he was gunning for the mayor, she might not have wanted anyone to see her consorting with her boss’s enemies.”
    He nodded, and rubbed his eyes.
    “I’ll