and got up to drop it in. She plopped back into the chair and rubbed her eyes. âDid you see the movie Psycho? â
Susan nodded.
âWell, I wouldnât any more have had an affair with Tim Whatever than I would with that guy.â Snatching another tissue from the box, now on the table, she dabbed at her nose.
âWhy would he have been here when no one else was here?â
Caley started to get angry, then let it go, as though it required more energy than it was worth.
Susan threw questions at her and Caley simply let them hang in the air. She stuck with her story that Holiday had been in the house only twice.
Zach came to the kitchen door and glared at Susan. She told Caley to go back to bed, smiled at Zach and said, âIâm afraid you might see a lot of me until this is cleared up.â
In the pickup, Susan got out her notebook. Shankyâs Furnace and Air Conditioning was located at Tenth and Harvest. She buckled the seat belt and turned the key in the ignition. Caley claimed the victim had been in her house twice and Pauline Frankens said sheâd seen him go in at least six times. Somebody was lying, and Susan didnât think it was Pauline.
*Â Â Â *Â Â Â *
Even furnace repair wasnât immune to seasonal decorations. Silvery garland trailed around the door and licentious elves danced across the glass.
A bell tinkled as she went inside. It was dim and cramped, with cluttered shelves of odd-looking things that she assumed were either furnace or air-conditioning parts. The place smelled dusty, as though last summerâs air still hung around. In the rear was a Dutch door with the top half open and the bottom half topped by a counter. In the lighted office behind, an overweight man puddled over the edges of the desk chair he sat on. He struggled up, waddled over, and propped himself on the counter. âWhat can I do for you?â
âAre you Mr. Shanky?â
âNope. Nameâs Johnson, Fred Johnson. Bought the place from Shanky when he decided to retire and move to Florida. Thatâll be twenty-five years come March. Never bothered to change the name. Would have had to change the sign too. Itâs an old business. Customers like to come back to a place they know.â
âHow many employees do you have, Mr. Johnson?â
âGot me five. All good men. One of them been up to something I should know about?â
âYou had a call on Saturday from Caley James. She wanted someone to fix her furnace.â
He consulted a ledger on his desk. âRight as rain. Any problem?â
âTim Holiday went to fix it. Why did you send him and not someone else?â
Fred scratched his head. âYeah, I remember. He said she was a friend and sheâd be calling and give it to him.â
âHow did he know sheâd call?â
âCanât help you there. Cold as it is, weâve been having a lot of calls.â
âI need Holidayâs address.â
Fred closed the ledger, came back to the counter, and rested his arms on it. âYou mind telling me what this is all about?â
âIâm sorry to tell you, Holiday is dead.â
âGoldarn!â Johnson shook his head. âWhat a terrible thing, and right at Christmas. What happened?â
âHis address, Mr. Johnson.â
Johnson consulted another ledger and read the address out to her. She jotted it down. âHow long has he been working for you?â
âTwo months.â
âWhere had he been before?â
âThat I canât tell you right off. Got it filed away with his references.â
âDid you check the references?â
âNaw. I know a good man when I see one. A cold winter like we been having, I hired him right up and glad to have him.â
âWas he a good worker?â
âOne of my best. Never griped about after-hours jobs or weekends. Never wanted time off for this and that.â
âMs. James said he was