The Master Plan (2009) (10 page)

"What pool hall?" Bruno's voice boomed from behind
them and the girls jumped at the sound of it. It seemed that
Bruno's conversation with the owner had ended quickly.

"We'll talk about it on the way home," Dana told him
quickly. Then she turned to Tony and held out her hand. "It's
been a pleasure, Tony. I hope to see you again before the
wedding."

Tony took her hand and then he and Casey said their goodbyes to Bruno and thanked him again for dinner. Casey and
Dana hugged long enough for Casey to whisper an apology
for asking about the pool hall.

Bruno's car was directly in front of the restaurant while
Tony's was around the side in the parking lot. The two couples went their respective ways. Bruno's face was dark and
grim as he opened the door to his car and helped Dana inside.

The truce that Bruno and Dana had been honoring had
come to an abrupt end. He started the engine of the big black
SUV he drove for pleasure and pulled away from the curb.
Dana sat silently, waiting for him to voice his anger.

Bruno waited until he had to stop for a traffic signal before
he turned to her. "You broke your promise," he said.

"No I didn't," Dana replied. "I promised not to go into
the pool hall and I didn't go into the pool hall. I called Bob
and had him do it for me"

"It's the same thing, Dana. Bob works for you"

"It's not the same thing," she insisted. "And no matter
how angry it makes you, I can't stay out of this case. It was
assigned to me by my editor and I have to see it through."

The light changed and Bruno stepped on the gas gently, instead of stomping on it like he usually did, strangely enough,
Bruno drove more slowly and carefully when he was angry
about something.

"It wasn't a murder investigation then"

"I can't help that it turned into one," she said defensively.
"You always act like I can just abandon the people I'm trying to help when the police get involved in one of my cases. And you have to admit that my investigators and I have
provided valuable information to the police on a number of
cases"

"And that scares the hell out of me," Bruno said. "You were
almost killed because of the last case you got involved in."

"I don't need to be reminded," Dana told him. She remembered all too well being trapped in an alley with a crazed
serial killer. She had been wearing long-sleeved sweaters
and shirts ever since to cover the scar across her upper arm
that was fading slowly.

Bruno pulled into the parking lot next to Dana's building
and shut off the engine. He got out of the car and came
around to open the door for her.

"I don't think you should come up for coffee tonight,"
Dana said.

"No, you're right, but I'm coming up anyway."

Bruno took her arm and walked her to the front hallway
of the building and up the stairs to her apartment. She opened
the door and walked into the living room, taking off her
coat and scarf and throwing them across the back of the sofa.
Bruno did the same.

"So, do you want some coffee?" Dana asked.

"Yes"

The two of them went into the dark kitchen. Dana
switched on the light and headed for the coffeepot. Bruno settled himself on one of the stools at the counter. They waited
silently while the coffee brewed, both of them giving the
other a chance to calm down.

When the coffee mugs were filled, Dana sat down next to
him at the counter and waited for him to speak first.

"What did Bob find out at the pool hall?" Bruno asked.

"What did you find out at the pool hall?" Dana asked, directing his question back at him.

"I'm going to tell you what I found out," Bruno said. "Because I know you probably found out the same thing, and it
should have convinced you that Judy Porter is not the innocent, naive girl you thought she was"

Dana took a deep breath and sipped her coffee. Apparently
Bruno did get the same information from Lucas Porter's
friends at the pool hall. Lucas complained to everyone that
Judy wanted to dump him because she was having an affair
with Teddy Larson who lived across the hall from them. Lucas also said he had supported Judy for years and that now
that she was going to be a rich and famous artist, he wasn't
going to let her dump him for another guy. He was going to
stick to Judy like glue.

"Bob said most of the guys in there wouldn't make reliable
witnesses," Dana finally said. "And besides, it's just hearsay."

"I've already talked to the boyfriend, who also yelled for
a lawyer. The two suspects and their lawyer are all coming
in first thing in the morning."

"I still think Judy is innocent," Dana said stubbornly.

"She may not have done the actual deed, but she's an accessory."

Dana stood up. "Go home, Bruno. I'm too tired to continue this argument tonight."

Bruno stood up and put his arms around her. "Sorry, babe.
You can't be right all the time."

"Did you get the wineglass?" Dana asked, suddenly remembering Casey and Tony Hunter.

"One of my officers stopped there and picked it up from
the kitchen before we even left the restaurant"

"Good. Thank you," Dana said, still resting her head
against his broad chest. "I'll walk you to the door."

"So, I don't even get a second cup of coffee?" he asked,
resting his head against the top of her head.

"I'm not dropping the Judy Porter case," Dana said.

Bruno sighed and released her. He left the apartment a
few minutes later without even kissing her good-bye.

it snowed during the night and driving to the office the next
morning was an exercise in patience. The streets were icy and
the motorists were ill-tempered.

"Sam's in your office," Marianne told her as soon as she
came through the door.

"Hold my calls," she replied.

Sam was sitting in Dana's chair, looking out the window
at the icicles that were suspended from the overhang of the
building across the street. He exchanged greetings with Dana
as she came in and hung up her coat and scarf on the coat tree
in the corner of her office.

"Have you talked to Bruno this morning?" Sam asked,
relinquishing Dana's chair to her and walking around the
other side of the desk.

"No. I doubt if he would take my call."

"Sorry. What's new on the Porter case? Emily expects me
to call her with a full report this morning."

"Is she still working at the gallery?"

"No. Del came back last night. He heard about Lucas being murdered and called Emily. I guess he tried to call you
but couldn't get through."

"After Bruno left, I turned off my cell and unplugged my
land line."

"Uh-oh. This sounds serious."

Dana nodded and proceeded to tell Sam what Bob found
out at the pool hall the previous afternoon. "Of course, Bruno
got the same story and immediately went after Teddy and ordered him to show up for questioning at the station this morning with Judy."

"So Bruno thinks that Judy and her boyfriend killed her
husband. What do you think?"

"I don't know. They claim to be just friends. I talked to
both of them after Bruno was done with them yesterday.
Teddy looks like a choirboy. I'm having a hard time seeing
him as a murderer. By the way, I arranged for Troy Kimball
to represent Teddy as well as Judy this morning. Another
thing Bruno will get steamed over when he finds out."

"I'd say you've done all you can, Dana. Let the police
and the lawyers handle it now."

"I may have to do that, but first I'm going to the gallery
to talk to Del."

What Dana didn't tell Sam was that Del Pitman was the
most inquisitive person she had ever met and that he just
might have some inside information to share on Judy, Teddy,
and Lucas.

Sam left and Marianne came in with some messages. One
of them was from Floyd Flannery of Flannery's Garage.

"I assume this one is about the story Casey wrote blowing the whistle on his unethical business practices," Dana
said holding the message up for Marianne to see.

"You don't have to call him back. He just called to say
he was going to sue the Globe for printing a bunch of lies."

"I assume Casey made a file with all her backup information in it."

"She always does, but she didn't leave it with me."

"Can you call her and remind her to bring it in?" Dana
asked. "If Flannery gets a lawyer, Sam will want the file immediately."

"I already tried to call her this morning, on her cell phone
and her land line. No answer either place."

"That's strange. She didn't say anything about needing the
day off. Bruno and I had dinner with her and Tony last night."

"You did? What is he like?" Marianne sat down in the one
of the brocaded chairs in front of Dana's desk. It was obvious that Marianne wasn't going to move until she got some
details from Dana.

"He looks like a perfect match for Casey-tall, slim, attractive. They were even wearing matching sweaters. We
had a nice time. They're thinking of getting married in Las
Vegas."

"That would be fun," Marianne said. "So, did you like him,
Dana?"

"I did, and he got along fine with Bruno, which isn't always easy."

"Go on. Bruno is a sweetheart"

"Sometimes," Dana said, glancing at her watch. It was still
early. Judy Porter and Teddy weren't due at the station until ten. "I'm going to take a quick walk over to the Pitman
Gallery. Sam told me that Del came back last night and I
want to talk to him."

Dana put her coat back on and wrapped her scarf around
her head. She told Marianne to keep trying to get in touch
with Casey and to call Bob too and remind them both of the
staff meeting that afternoon.

"Will do," Marianne said. "How long will you be gone?"

"Not more than an hour," Dana answered. "I've got to sort
through that mess on my desk before the meeting."

The sidewalks outside the newspaper building had been
sanded and salted and Dana was wearing her fur-lined boots
so the two-block walk to the gallery only took a few minutes.

Although the sign on the door said Closed, Del's car was
parked in the gallery's parking lot, so Dana was sure he was
inside. She tapped on the window and Del came out of his
office and opened the door for her.

"Good morning," Del said cheerfully. "It seems this is my
day for unannounced visitors."

"Who else is here?" Dana asked softly.

"The love of your life."

"I'll come back later." Dana turned to go back outside,
but she was too late. Bruno had come out of the office and
seen her.

"Don't leave on my account," he said. "I'm about to question Del about his artist and I'm sure you're here for the same
reason"

"Yes, please, Dana," Del said, "I've got a lot to catch up
on, so let's combine the two questioning sessions."

Dana pulled the scarf from her head, feeling the static that made her curls fly around her face. She unbuttoned her coat
as they all trouped into Del's office and sat down.

"Bruno already told me that Judy Porter and Teddy are being questioned this morning," Del said. "My first concern was
whether she had legal counsel and Bruno said you arranged
it, Dana. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Dana replied. She was puzzled by
Del's casual attitude. "I still want to do whatever I can to help
Judy."

"Okay," Bruno said. "Let's get down to it. Del, what do
you know about Mrs. Porter's relationship with Teddy Larson?"

"They're friends," Del said. "She brought him over here
to meet me one day and we all had lunch."

"You only met him once?"

"Yes. He's a very sweet boy, the son of Judy's neighbor,
I believe."

"Other people I've questioned claim that he and Judy were
more than friends and that Judy's husband suspected something was going on between them. What do you know about
that?"

"I know that Judy's husband was a lunkhead, but the girl
loved him madly. She was so upset when he disappeared that
she couldn't function. That's why I had to ask Dana to help
her. Listen, Bruno, if you think Judy and Teddy had something to do with her husband's death, you're wrong. Those
two are not bright enough or brave enough to kill a fly, much
less a man like Lucas"

"I agree," Dana said.

Bruno turned and looked at her with a scowl, but said
nothing. Dana glared back at him. Del got upset.

"Oh, my darlings," Del said. "Don't tell me you two are
fighting again. I will never forgive myself if my asking
Dana to help my artist drives a wedge between the two of
you"

"I love Dana," Bruno said, still scowling. "I'd walk
through fire for her, but sometimes I think she's only using
me to get information and help on her cases. Her career
means more to her than I do"

"This is still a pretty small town," Dana told him. "It's only
natural that we'd become involved in the same cases. If it
hadn't been for my career, we'd never have met in the first
place."