Free Murder.com by David Deutsch

him about the email."
    Kitty was lying. It wasn't just
that I could sense the subtle change in her tone. I felt it in my
gut. Maybe Carrington and I shared the same internal organ. I was
inclined to trust mine as well .
    "Oh, Kitty, how is one supposed to
broach that subject? 'Oh hey, I saw you sent a nasty, possibly
threatening email to your colleague who, as it happens, recently
wound up murdered?' We didn't discuss it."
    Ginny walked back into the living room. Jabber was
still following her.
    "Silly me," Kitty said then added,
"What about you?"
    "What do you mean?"
    "I mean are you all right? Have
the police bothered you?"
    I wasn't sure how much I should
divulge to Kitty. There was something odd going on here. She had
just lied moments before, or at least I thought she had lied. And
it was a little odd that she cared so much about my well-being all
of a sudden.
    Until the other day, I had not spoken to Kitty in
years. Of course, I had seen her now and again at the occasional
social function. I would usually just give a wave from across the
room. And if by chance we ended up face to face, it was usually two
air kisses, a quick hello, and I would exit stage left. Minimal
contact.
    "Just the normal stuff. A couple
of questions and they were gone."
    I was going to lie. At least about
my police contact. She didn't need to know that I had become the
prime suspect in their flawed investigation. I wasn't sure, yet,
why I couldn't tell her the truth, but something, deep inside,
pushed me in that direction. My gut.
    "Well, I'm glad to hear it, Max.
They had me scared the other day. I wouldn't want to see anything
bad happen to you."
    "I appreciate your concern,
Kitty."
    "I wish I was more like you. I'm
not good with all of this police stuff. It looks like you have
everything under control."
    "I just tell the truth, Kitty. It
works wonders," I said.
    Kitty chuckled. "I'll have to
remember that. And Max, I truly am glad that you're OK, and I
really do appreciate all of your help. And Miss Whitehall's
too."
    I didn't acknowledge that
comment.
    "Dutch, you know"—she paused—"you
should really marry that girl. She's delightful. And, really,
aren't you tired of being a bachelor? Jesus, Dutch, you're forty.
You might want to try marriage once in your life before you
die."
    She had a way with words. Subtle. That was all that
I needed. Advice about my love life from Kitty.
    "I will certainly pass along your
kind words to Miss Whitehall. She'll be tickled to hear how highly
you think of her."
    Kitty thanked me again for my help and then
disconnected.
    "What was that all about?" Imogen
asked.
    "She told me that I should marry
you."
    "I'm beginning to like this
woman."

CHAPTER SIXTEEN
     
    Imogen and I had temporarily moved
into the brownstone that I owned on 63rd between Madison and Park.
The fact that Sergeant Williams felt the need to send over a
uniformed officer to check up on my safety had clinched it for me.
I'd had to move out of my house in the suburbs at least for the
time being. After my chat with Kitty, we'd packed up some stuff and
promptly relocated. Although I'd gotten a little pushback from
Ginny.
    "We can't just leave,
Max."
    "And why's that?"
    "The detective said that we
couldn't."
    "He said that we shouldn't leave
the state or disappear. And we're not. We're moving into our other
house. If he's such a good detective, let him open a phone book.
I'm sure they can use their crack investigative skills to find
us."
    I was glad that we had left. I
didn't have to sit around waiting for uniformed police officers to
drive by and check up on me. I hadn't done anything wrong. I didn't
deserve that. If keeping tabs on me was so important, let them work
for it. Who knew how long I really had before I ended up in a
cell?
    In addition to my temporary freedom, there were some
additional benefits to city living. For starters, we had unlimited
dining options. As I mentioned before, we enjoyed eating out. Also,
we were closer to the action.