Free Hot Money by Sherryl Woods

usually the murderer who returns to the scene of the crime. Since you weren’t out of my sight until after Tessa’s body was found, I think we can rule that out.”
    Molly considered skirting the truth yet again with some song and dance about simply wanting to walk the grounds, but it was pointless. Besides, with the gates closed to the public she couldn’t even get on those grounds alone. With Michael as an ally, she had a shot at checking out the theory that had come to her in the middle of the night.
    “Have the police found the murder weapon?” she asked.
    “If you’re talking about the silver candlestick, they hadn’t when we left here last night. I haven’t bothered Detective Abrams this morning. I’m sure he has enough theories of his own to check out without dealing with advice from me.”
    Molly ignored the implied reprimand. “I can think of two places it might be. They’re so obvious, no one would ever think of looking there.”
    “You don’t give the police much credit for clarity of thought, do you?”
    “Do you honestly want me to answer that?”
    “I guess not,” he told her. “Okay. Where did the murderer dispose of the weapon?”
    “You have to promise to let me check it out with you,” she bargained.
    “Molly!”
    “Promise. This is my theory, remember.”
    “Okay, fine,” he muttered with a resigned shrug. “Just spit it out.”
    “The pantry. I’ll bet there are other candlesticks stored in there. No one would notice if the caterer’s was just stuck in the middle, right?”
    “It’s possible,” he agreed thoughtfully. “What’s the other alternative?”
    “The catering truck. Neville saw the candlestick was missing from the buffet table. We don’t know if he ever searched for it later on the truck. It would have been easy for the killer to steal the candlestick, clobber Tessa, then slip into the catering truck and put it back with the other supplies.”
    “You could be right.”
    “Does that mean we can go look?”
    “It means we can tell the officer on duty here and maybe he’ll agree to let us go along on a search.”
    “Do you ever do anything that isn’t entirely by the book?” Molly inquired grumpily.
    “Plenty, according to my superiors.”
    “Then why are you so stiff-necked with me?”
    “For one thing you’re a—”
    “Don’t you dare make some sexist comment.”
    “I intended to point out that you are a civilian.”
    “Oh,” she said, somewhat pacified. Then she was struck by a distressing possibility. “You don’t suppose they let the catering truck leave last night?”
    “I doubt it, especially when they heard about the missing candlestick. I’m sure they’d want to take another look through everything in daylight before releasing anything that was on the grounds last night.”
    Apparently Michael was particularly persuasive with the duty officer. After a minimum of badge flashing and backslapping, he allowed them access to the pantry, sticking close by to assure they didn’t disturb any evidence or make off with any of the museum’s valuables. His presence hardly mattered since there was no sign of the missing candlestick amid the supplies stored in the room’s cabinets.
    Molly barely hid her disappointment. “What about the catering truck? Is it still here?”
    “Right outside, ma’am,” the officer said. “I think it’s locked up tight, though.”
    It was indeed locked, complete with a strip of crime-scene tape across the freight doors on the back.
    “Now what?” Molly asked.
    “Now we call Detective Abrams of the Miami Police Department and share your guesswork with him,” Michael said.
    “Couldn’t we maybe pick the lock?”
    The duty officer looked horrified. Michael merely shook his head. “Not unless you want to spend Sunday afternoon in a cell.”
    “They wouldn’t arrest you, if you did it,” she grumbled.
    “I wouldn’t count on that. Come on, sweetheart. Let’s go into the Grove and have brunch. Maybe we