Free A Killer Column by Casey Mayes Page B

much. “I’m Savannah Stone,” I said as I offered my hand, “and that man is my husband, Zach.”
    Did Charlie seem a little relieved to know that Zach was with me? I couldn’t really tell, and I’d been looking for a reaction.
    “Sorry, I forgot to introduce you,” Jenny said.
    “You work too hard,” Charlie said.
    “How could you possibly know that?” I asked.
    “I see lights coming on late at night when she gets home,” he explained. Realizing how that must have sounded, he quickly added, “My TV room faces Jenny’s front porch. I can’t help noticing when the lights come on.”
    “It’s fine, Charlie. If you see something odd, would you do me a favor and call me? You’ve got my cell phone number, don’t you?”
    “I don’t think so,” he said.
    She reached into her pocket, pulled out a business card, and then scrawled her number on the back of it. “There you go.”
    I added, “But just call if it’s suspicious.”
    Jenny must have realized what she might be letting herself in for. “That’s right. You know me, I’m working all of the time.”
    “Don’t worry about a thing. You can trust me. I’ll be your eyes here,” he said. Inside, we could hear his telephone ringing.
    “We should be going,” I said.
    Charlie answered quickly, “It’s fine. The machine can get it.”
    Jenny said, “We do really need to be going. Thanks, Charlie.”
    “What are neighbors for?” he asked.
    As we were leaving, I said, “That was odd.”
    “Charlie’s a bit of an acquired taste,” Jenny said. “But he’s not that bad once you get to know him.”
    “I’m not talking about his behavior,” I said. “He kept calling you Jennifer. Don’t tell me you didn’t notice.”
    “Of course I noticed. He’s been doing it since I first moved in. It’s just his way.”
    “Who are the other two men who call you Jennifer?”
    She frowned, and then said, “I should learn when to keep my mouth shut, shouldn’t I?”
    “It wouldn’t be a bad trait for a lawyer to have,” I admitted. “Who are they?”
    “You’ve met one of them,” she said. “Shawn always used to call me Jennifer before we broke up.”
    “And who was the other man?”
    “I don’t want to talk about it,” she said abruptly. “It didn’t end well.”
    “All the more reason to tell me,” I said.
    “If you must know, it’s another lawyer from the firm. We dated a few times just before I went out with Shawn, but nothing ever developed between us. He wasn’t exactly thrilled when I turned him down.”
    “I need to meet this man.”
    “Honestly, Savannah, just let it go.”
    “I can’t do that, and you know it,” I said as we got in Zach’s car, an oversized SUV.
    “What are you two talking about?”
    Jenny started to tell him when I beat her to it. “There are three men in her life who call her Jennifer, but she doesn’t think that it’s significant, even given the notes she’s been getting.”
    “It could be the most important clue we’ve gotten so far. I need names,” Zach said as he took out the small notebook he always carried with him.
    “I really don’t think any of them are involved.”
    “Be that as it may, we’re not going anywhere until I get those names.”
    She sighed, and then finally said, “Shawn Murphy’s one of them, Charlie’s another, and Mason Glade is the third.”
    Zach nodded. “I know the first two, at least indirectly. Who’s the last one you mentioned?”
    “He’s from the office. He’s a partner in the firm where I work.”
    “A man she used to date,” I added.
    “I was getting around to that,” she admitted.
    “It’s so much more efficient this way though, isn’t it?”
    Zach frowned, and then instead of starting the car, he opened his door and said, “I’ll be right back.”
    Before either one of us could stop him, he started up Charlie’s steps. I wondered if the man would even open the door when my husband approached, but he did. After a brief conversation,