Thirty-Five and a Half Conspiracies
Page 38

“As long as I’m on your good side.”
I took a step away, and the machine stopped a few seconds later.
“You let me see that cup before you do another thing to it,” Neely Kate demanded.
He brought the cup over to her, and she shook her head and tsked. “You call that sorry mess good? It’s not nearly mixed enough.”
He took a step toward the machine.
“What on earth do you think you’re doin’? Stir it by hand, or you’re gonna crush all the cookies!”
His eyes widened in dismay, and she gave him a shooing motion. “Well, go on. What’re you waiting for? Jesus to come back in all His shining glory to do it for ya? He’ll have better things to do than your job, don’t ya think?”
He looked around for something to stir the ice cream with, his hands shaking.
I continued with my line of questioning. “If you remember the guy comin’ in and talkin’ to Eric, you must remember what they did.”
The kid finally found a spoon and started stirring. “They just sat at a table in the dining room and talked for a few minutes.”
“And you said it was a few days before he died?”
“Um …” He was starting to recover. “Yeah.”
I really needed to know more about this guy. On cue, Neely Kate slammed her palms on the counter. “Are you kidding me? You’re stirring too slow!” she shouted. “Speed it up!”
Flustered, he started stirring faster.
“You said he had blond hair?” I asked.
“No, he had dark hair.”
I wanted to break out into a grin. “What was he wearing?”
“How the heck would I know?”
“Jeans? Dress pants?”
“Uh …”
Neely Kate groaned. “Oh, my word! If you stir that ice cream any slower, the spoon’s gonna freeze up in there! I’m about to make you start all over again!”
His eyes widened in panic, and his arm started spinning the spoon like a whirligig.
“Did he have on nice clothes or jeans and a T-shirt?” I pressed.
“Uh … jeans and a T-shirt … The shirt had a beer logo. One of them fancy breweries.”
The courier who posted my bail wore one too. I snuck a glance at Neely Kate and decided to take a shot at this even if it was a bust. “Did you notice a birthmark on his cheek. A faint brown spot?”
He curled his nose. “How would I know? I wasn’t checking him out. I’m into girls.”
Neely Kate put her hand on her hip. “What in the cotton-pickin’ hell are you doin’ to my ice cream? Now you’re stirring it too fast! Slow down, or you’re gonna smother those cookie pieces. Now you take a good look and see how big those pieces are.”
He looked down, and Neely Kate handed me her phone. The photo of the courier was already queued up.
“Bring that cup over here,” she said in an exasperated tone. “I wanna see it for myself.”
He walked over to her, fear in his eyes, and held the cup out at full arm’s length.
She rolled her eyes. “You’ve crushed them too small, but I don’t have time to wait.”
He looked thoroughly confused, and I decided to strike while he was still racked with indecision. I held up Neely Kate’s phone. “Is this the guy?”
“What?” He shook his head as if trying to clear it.
“The guy who came to see Eric. Is this him?”
I held it closer, and he cast a glance at Neely Kate.
“Answer the woman.”
“Uh … yeah,” he said, standing back up. “I think so.”
“I think so isn’t good enough,” Neely Kate said through clenched teeth. “Take another look and be more sure.”
His nostrils flared, but he glanced at the phone in my hand. “Yeah. That’s him.”
“You’re sure?” I asked.
“Yeah. I recognize that belt buckle.” He pointed to the screen. “It’s a winner’s buckle from the Fenton County Fair Rodeo.”
“Which year?” Neely Kate asked.
His brow lowered. “I dunno.”
She grabbed the phone from my hand and zoomed in on the buckle, then held it out to him. “Try. Again.”
Crap. If I hadn’t known she was on my side, I would’ve been scared spitless.
“Last summer. It has a star on it.”
She shoved the phone in her pocket. “Thank you, Eugene. Now where’s my ice cream?”
Poor Eugene couldn’t keep his hands steady, so he ended up drizzling chocolate on the side of the cup before he added the three cherries to the top, counting them out loud for Neely Kate’s benefit. He set it on the counter and cautiously slid it toward her.
She picked it up and gave him a hundred-megawatt smile. “Thank you,” she said in her sweetest voice. “You have a nice day now, ya hear?”
He looked like he’d just witnessed the detonation of an atom bomb. I supposed he had.
She spun around, still grinning. “Let’s go.”
I picked up my sundae and followed her out the door and into the truck, trying to process everything we’d just figured out. But first I had to address Neely Kate’s performance.
“You were … That was …”
Her eyes twinkled. “Amazing? Awesome? Awe-inspiring?”
“All of the above.”
“Any more doubts about bringing me along tonight?”