Free A Killer Column by Casey Mayes

just have to do.
    I wanted to get back to my husband and my best friend and see what the two of them had come up with.
    “It’s taken care of,” I said as I rejoined them.
    “That was quick,” Zach said.
    “I know everyone wants more complex puzzles, and I love this job too much to disappoint them lightly, but I’ve got to focus on this right now. As soon as things settle down, I’ll give everyone some real brainteasers. Now, what do you two evil geniuses have in mind?”
    “We’re going to go buy a little surveillance equipment,” Jenny said.
    “Excellent. Who exactly are we going to spy on?”
    Zach explained, “Jenny’s stalker is getting bolder, and I think that’s going to be his downfall. There’s a place in town where I can get some small cameras, and we’re going to hook them up to Jenny’s DVD player and record what happens. I’ve got a feeling we’ll catch this guy in twenty-four hours.”
    “I hope so,” Jenny said. “This is getting creepier by the minute. I’m really glad you two are staying with me for a while.”
    “We’ll hang around as long as you need us,” I said.
    “At least one of us, anyway,” Zach added.
    “She needs us,” I said. “That takes precedence over everything else.”
    “Not everything,” Zach said. “We still have to go after Derrick’s murderer, and I’m not going to let myself be distracted completely from that.”
    “Zachary Stone, I thought you didn’t like it when people interfered with police business.”
    My husband grinned at me. “That was when I was on the force. As things stand now, I believe Murphy could use a little nudge, and I’m not afraid to be the one to give it to him.”
    “We’re going to work on both cases,” I said firmly. “They’re equally important.”
    Zach nodded. “Let’s take care of the cameras, and then we’ll start interviewing suspects for Derrick’s murder. It’s going to all work out in the end.”
    I wasn’t sure if he actually believed it or not, but just hearing him say it was enough for me.
    When my telephone rang three minutes later, I wasn’t sure what to expect.
    That didn’t make things any easier when I heard who was on the other end of the line.

Chapter 7

    “ H ELLO, KELSEY,” I SAID.
    “Hello, Savannah. There now, that wasn’t so hard, was it?”
    Trying to keep my temper in check, I said, “I still don’t think it was necessary. It’s impossible to get new people to try my puzzles if I don’t throw in an easy one every now and then. If they’re all too hard to solve, nobody’s going to want to work them, and then where will we be?”
    There was a pause on the other end, and then she said, “You know what? You’re right.”
    “I’m sorry, there must be something wrong with our connection. What did you just say?”
    “I said you were right, and you heard me the first time. Listen, I’m sorry about the way I acted earlier. I thought I had to do business the way Derrick did, and I might have gotten a little carried away.”
    “Might have?” I asked.
    She laughed fully that time. “Okay, I admit it; I got carried away. The whole thing about power corrupting, and absolute power corrupting absolutely has a ring of truth to it, doesn’t it?”
    “It certainly can.”
    “Don’t think for one second that I didn’t realize your little snippet was aimed directly at me. I nearly called you and demanded another puzzle, but then I realized that you were probably right.”
    “So, I can keep doing easy puzzles?”
    “As long as there is a healthy mix with harder ones,” she said. “I’ll keep your first submission here, and we’ll go with that one next time. We both need to find a balance here, Savannah.”
    Kelsey was making sense, and she had given some real ground, so it was time for me to be a little more gracious than I’d been so far. “I’m more than happy to work with you until we do,” I said.
    After I hung up, Zach asked, “What was that all