W Is for Wasted

thinking the two might be linked. This isn’t a gig you see much these days. One spouse spying on the other? We live in the land of no-fault divorce, so it struck me as odd.”
    “Why’d you take the job?”
    “It sounded like fun. I can’t remember the last time I was asked to skulk around a hotel taking pictures with a telephoto lens. I did a damn fine job of it even if I say so myself. Then the guy who hired me gets shot to death and I don’t like it so much.”
    “Just because one event follows another doesn’t mean the first
caused
the second,” I said.
    “I get that and I hope you’re right, but as long as I’m here I’d like to satisfy myself.”
    “Tell me about the surveillance again. When you talked about it last night I was feeling so defensive I didn’t hear a word you said.”
    “I was tailing a woman named Mary Lee Bryce and her boss, a doctor named Dr. Linton Reed. Both work at a local research institute. Apparently, they knew each other years ago and were involved in a romance of some kind. I have no idea if it was serious or not. The point is, her current husband was worried about the two of them in Reno staying in the same hotel.”
    “Why’d they go to Reno?”
    “They attended a conference over the long holiday weekend.”
    “And was she having an affair with him?”
    “Not that I picked up on. The two barely spoke.”
    “Might be camouflage.”
    “I considered that. They ignore one another in public and bang away in private. Problem is they had no personal contact at all. I’d be willing to swear to it.”
    “Didn’t you say she met with an old high school friend?”
    “Now, see, you were listening,” he said with a smile. “You’re right. A fellow named Owen Pensky, an investigative journalist. I ran a background check on him. Big scandal in his past.”
    “What kind?”
    “He was fired from the
New York Times
for plagiarizing someone else’s work.”
    “What was he doing in Reno?”
    “He lives there. He picked up a job at one of the Reno papers.”
    “You think her relationship with him was business or personal?”
    “I have no idea. She and Pensky met twice, but I couldn’t get audio. Place was too heavily populated. If I’d known in advance where they were meeting, I’d have planted a bug. I guarantee they didn’t go to his room or hers.”
    “But she
could
have been having an affair with him.”
    “If so, the two of them did a flawless job of keeping it under wraps.”
    “How did you frame it in your report?”
    “I was careful. I drew no inferences and I didn’t offer my unsolicited opinion. Nice neutral language not meant to inflame.”
    “What are the ethics in a situation like this? With Pete dead, can you talk to her husband about whether the bill was paid?”
    “I’ll have to. I doubt the wife has any idea Pete hired me to keep an eye on her. I tip her off and the situation could turn ugly.”
    “I still don’t see what this has to do with Pete’s death. Feels like a fishing expedition.”
    “Sure it is, but why not? Somebody owes me.”
    “Pete could have collected and just not paid you.”
    “In which case, I’m probably out of luck. Meanwhile, I don’t like thinking the guy got killed because of me. If there’s no link, then fine. If I manage to collect my money, it’s better yet.”
    “You have a plan?”
    “I’m hoping I can talk Pete’s wife into letting us have a look at his accounts. Meanwhile, what’s on your plate?”
    “I have to get the Mustang over to the service station. Some asshole drove a roofing nail into my sidewall tire,” I said. “What about you?”
    “I thought I’d pay Con Dolan a visit and see what he knows. Maybe the cops have a suspect in sight, or one already in jail. If so, I’ll quit worrying the job was in any way linked to his departure from the planet Earth.”
    “You know where Con lives?”
    “I do and it shouldn’t take me long. After that, if you’re free, I’ll treat you to dinner at Emile’s.”
    “Sounds good. You want me to check with Henry?”
    “We’ll save that for another occasion.”
    “How long will you be here?”
    “Don’t know yet,” he said.
    After breakfast, we reclaimed our respective vehicles from the parking valet and then he set off for Con Dolan’s house while I continued on to the nearest gas station, where I dropped off my tire. The service bays were closed, but the two mechanics would be in Monday morning, and the fellow manning the pumps said