Serpent’s Tooth

“Two shooters,” Oliver said.

“Just what you said yesterday, Loo,” Marge said.

Oliver said, “You did?”

Decker replied, “I was looking over some of the victims’ autopsy reports. Some of the bullet trajectories were inconsistent with a one-killer theory.”

“And you didn’t like the number of bullets we recovered.”

“A lot for one shooter,” Webster said. “Even for someone using a double automatic. What did we recover? Something like two hundred bullets?”

Martinez said, “Two killers means Estelle’s was planned.”

Oliver said, “What do you mean by planned, Bert?”

“Harlan went into Estelle’s with the intention of killing someone specific. He and his cohort masked it by popping others. Like putting a bomb in an airplane to collect insurance.”

“A hit gone bad,” Marge said. “If so, next step is to figure out who the intended target was.”

Webster said, “So y’all take a look at the victims.”

Decker said, “We need to look at the victims who might have crossed paths with Harlan in other capacities.”

Marge reached into her oversized purse and pulled out a sheet of paper. “Which brings us up to date with my current assignment. Discovering which victims—if any—belonged to Greenvale Country Club.”

“What’s this?” Webster asked.

Decker filled them in on Harlan’s job at the country club, on his conversation with Barry Fine, and on yesterday’s brainstorming with Marge. “Harlan Manz worked at Greenvale about two years ago. You know how snobs can be. Treating the hired help as nonentities. I was trying to determine if Harlan had a long-standing grudge against one of the restaurant’s victims.”

Oliver said, “Deck, if a grudge from Greenvale was the motive behind Estelle’s shooting, why didn’t Harlan shoot up the club?”

“Maybe security was too tight. Look, I don’t know any more than you do. But something’s hinky here.”

Oliver asked, “So you’re thinking that one of Estelle’s victims offended Harlan at the club and at the restaurant. And that’s why he went batshit?”

Decker said, “Just trying to find a connection.”

Marge asked, “Maybe you’d like to hear if there are any connections?”

Decker laughed. “We’re going on with these flights of fancy and we don’t even have facts. What do you have?”

Marge settled herself. “Okay. Table number twenty-two: People there were from Ashman/Reynard. A Realtor named Wendy Culligan was pitching to a bunch of Japanese businessmen. Some of the businessmen were murdered, but she survived … which made my job of asking questions a lot easier. The firm is a corporate member of Greenvale. Has been for the fifteen years since the club opened.”

“Is she a member?” Oliver asked.

“Through her business. Wendy’s been at the club maybe six times … goes there for power lunches. Theoretically, she could have crossed paths with Harlan.”

Oliver said, “But she’s still alive, Margie. She obviously wasn’t the target of a hit.”

Webster said, “Or maybe Harlan missed.”

“So what does Greenvale have to do with a bunch of Japanese businessmen who probably never set foot inside its doors?” Martinez asked.

Marge shrugged. “Well, they were making deals with Ashman/Reynard, Bert. Maybe Harlan was resentful of some of the realtors. So maybe he was trying to screw up the agency or block the deal.”

Decker wrote as he spoke. “What else do we have?”

Marge said, “Then we have Walter Skinner, the actor. He was also a member of Greenvale.”

Martinez said, “Now that was a real shame. I used to love him in High Mountain. Anybody remember that show?”

“Yo,” Oliver said. “Saturday morning, ten o’clock.”

“You coulda set your watch by me, I was that loyal a viewer,” Martinez said. “Remember the stampedes? Each episode had at least one stampede. All that sand and dirt and stomping hooves. Scared the shit outta me when I was a little boy.”

“Y’all see The Lion King?” Webster asked. “Took my son to see it. They had a cartoon stampede. Scared the shit outta him. Had nightmares for weeks.”

Oliver said, “Yeah, High Mountain always had a stampede or a twister. Couple times it was both.”

“Yeah, I remember that show!” Martinez said.

“The one where the wagon train stopped in Laredo, Texas,” Decker added.

“That’s the one!” Oliver said, bringing his hands to a clap. “God, that brings back memories. Man, wind was whooshing all over the place. And there was Walter—aka Cattle Foreman Kirk Brown—riding high in the saddle, barking orders, doing a jig with his horse, trying to bring in all those raging dogies while a tornado was blowing everything to shit.”

Marge said, “Maybe we could get back to the business at hand?”

The men stared miserably at her. Decker held back a smile. “So Walter was also a member of Greenvale?”

“Yes. A founding member,” Marge said. “Both he and his companion were murdered in their seats.” She looked at Decker. “Their table was right next to the Garrisons’.”

“Ah, interesting.” Decker took notes. “I haven’t gone over their entrance and exit wounds. Be interesting to see if it matches the patterns of the Garrisons.”

“Skinner and his companion …” Webster paused. “As opposed to a wife. By any chance, is there a wife?”

Marge said. “Yes, there is. Adelaide Skinner. I haven’t talked to her yet.”

The room went quiet.

Oliver grinned. “So the old goat was stepping out on her.”

“It doesn’t mean he deserved to die,” Marge said.

“Certainly I don’t think so. But his wife may have had other ideas.”

“So she hired someone to whack him by shooting up a restaurant?” Webster made a face. “How old is she anyway?”

“Seventy-seven,” Marge answered.