Free Board Stiff (An Elliott Lisbon Mystery) by Kendel Lynn

first.”
    I walked back to my office and checked my voicemail. One message. From Matty Gannon, close friend and headmaster of the private Seabrook Preparatory School. We met on a blind date eighteen months earlier, he was handsome and sweet and rugged, but somewhere between the filet mignon and the apple brown betty, his brother joined us. After that, the night slipped from friendly to friendship, and somehow it never flipped back.
    Matty wasn’t in his office, so I left him a message in return. Then I opened my notebook to a short list of questions I’d prepared and dialed Lillie Parker at the police station. I got lucky; she was at her desk.
    “What’s the deal with Ransom?” I asked after we said hello. “They must pay a lot more in Virginia.”
    She laughed and lowered her voice. “Retired FBI, but got his money from stocks, not salary. He invested in one of those search engine sites, then sold his shares before the market tanked.”
    I doodled on a fresh page. FBI in 3D. “Retired? From the way he acted yesterday, I’d say he’s forgotten that part.”
    “Seriously. He knew a chief who knew a chief. With Sully’s retirement, Captain Finnegan brought him on board. I guess the Lieutenant wanted a slower assignment.”
    “I wonder how that’s working out. Listen, you know how I sometimes assist the community in resolving minor indiscretions?”
    “Uh-huh.”
    “With Leo being a respected member of the board, the Ballantynes have asked me to step up and include this, um, situation.”
    Silence.
    “I’ve already told Ransom. He didn’t like it, but hey, he didn’t like my hat either,” I said with a chuckle.
    More silence.
    I started talking faster. “Look, Parker. I spoke with Sully and he thought you might be my sponsor. You know I’m working toward my PI license. Maybe you could even toss me a bone from time to time. Nothing major; just a few scraps to help a girl out. Of course you know I’ll return the favor.”
    I held my breath. I added the name Parker to my doodle pad. Made a very sophisticated daisy out of the P. Added some lightning bolts to the FBI drawing.
    “Fine, I’ll talk to the Captain,” she finally said. “But you cannot withhold evidence from me. You cannot get in the way, obstruct, hinder, or hamper.”
    “Never.”
    “I’ll expect full disclosure on your end, Elliott.”
    “Absolutely. Always. You bet,” I agreed. “Now, I have just a couple of questions.”
    “Make it quick.”
    I flipped the page over and jotted notes as I spoke. “What evidence do you have against Jane?”
    “No chance. Next.”
    “Where was Bebe Saturday night?”
    “Out. Ask her yourself, she moved into the Tidewater Inn while her house is a crime scene. Princess Suite. Pretty nice digs for a grieving widow, you ask me. Next.”
    I quickly scanned my question list. “Time of death?”
    “Between eleven-thirty p.m. Saturday and twelve-thirty a.m. Sunday.”
    That explained Ransom and my alibi; I didn’t leave the Ballantyne until almost two. And why he considered Jane an option. She left around eleven.
    “How was Leo killed?”
    “It’s complicated, and I can’t share,” Parker said. “But we’re not the only department who knows the answer. We got our confirmation from somewhere, right? Now I really gotta go. Good luck,” she said and hung up.
    I knew just who she meant. Dr. Harry Fleet. He spends his mornings at the hospital and his afternoons in his office. I checked my watch: 2:05 p.m. If I timed it right, I could stop by in an hour and catch him well before dinner. If I delayed his usual mealtime, his normal grumpy mood could turn churlish. I could call, but he’d hang up on me. With Harry, if it’s important, you show up in person.
    Next I dialed the Tidewater Inn. Mrs. Bebe Hirschorn was indeed a guest, but her phone rolled to the hotel’s voicemail. This time I said the Ballantyne wanted to honor Leo with a new fund. Then I called Ocean Blooms and sent her a big bouquet of