Free A Killer Column by Casey Mayes Page A

about?”
    “Apparently I was wrong about Kelsey,” I said. “She apologized after reading my snippet. We might just be able to work things out after all.”
    “Some harmony in your work might not be a bad thing,” Zach said.
    Jenny stood and clapped her hands. “Now that we’ve settled all that, why don’t we go get these cameras Zach keeps raving about?”
    “I’m ready,” he said.
    As we walked out and locked the front door, I glanced over to see if Charlie was still standing guard, but he was nowhere to be seen. That could explain how the stranger had slipped onto Jenny’s porch to make his deposit without Charlie seeing him. Apparently the man wasn’t there every minute of every day, which was actually something of a relief.
    As we walked to Zach’s rental car, I had a sudden thought. “We should go next door.”
    “Why?”
    “Jenny has a neighbor who likes to watch what’s happening on the street, especially over here. Maybe he’s seen something.”
    Jenny said, “Trust me, Charlie keeps me apprised of all the neighborhood happenings, like who’s walking their dog and who doesn’t mow their lawn often enough.”
    “Maybe Savannah’s right,” Zach said. “It wouldn’t hurt to talk with him before we go.”
    I pretended to clean out my ears. “Did I actually hear you say that?”
    “Hey, I admit it all the time when you’re right.”
    “Rarely,” I said with a smile.
    Jenny put a hand on Zach’s arm. “Maybe Savannah and I should talk to him without you.”
    “Why? I’ll be civil.”
    Jenny looked at him. “I know you think so, but there’s a lot of cop left in you, no matter how the circumstances may have changed. You’re likely to scare the poor man half to death. Why don’t you wait in the car? We can handle Charlie ourselves.”
    “Okay,” Zach said grudgingly, “but if you need help, remember, I’m just a shout away.”
    As we walked up Charlie’s front steps, I said, “You handled that quite well. Almost as good as I could have.”
    “I get paid to make people see my point of view, remember? I didn’t want to say anything so direct to Zach, but he can be intimidating, whether he knows it or not.”
    “You don’t have to tell me, I married the guy.” As we glanced up toward Charlie’s house, I thought I saw the curtains move on the second floor. “Do you think he’ll come out?”
    “With just us out here? I’d have to believe so. We’re not nearly as imposing as your husband.”
    “No, our talents lie in other directions. Should I let you do the talking?”
    Jenny thought about that for a moment or two, and then she nodded. “It might be for the best. Do you mind?”
    “Of course not, but I’m not promising I won’t jump in if I think of something.”
    She laughed, a sound I missed when we were apart. “Savannah, you wouldn’t be you if you did.”
    Jenny barely had to knock on the front door before Charlie threw it open. “I happened to glance out the window, and I saw you coming. Is there something I can do for you, Jennifer, I mean Jenny?”
    “I’ve told you a thousand times, Charlie, it’s Jenny.”
    “I know. I’m trying, really I am.”
    “There are only three men in the world who have ever called me Jennifer, but I’ll let it slide.”
    “Who are the other two?” Charlie asked, clearly interested in her answer.
    She started to tell him, I could see it in her eyes, and then she waved her hand in the air. “It’s not important. What really matters is whether you’ve seen someone leave something by my front door lately.”
    “The UPS man came by two days ago,” Charlie volunteered. “Didn’t you get the package he left?”
    “Yes, it was an autographed book I ordered from Poisoned Pen in Arizona,” she admitted. “Have you seen anyone else hanging around the place?”
    “No, no one who didn’t belong,” he said. “I’m assuming you don’t mean your friend here, or the man staying with you now.”
    He hadn’t missed that