Inspector Pierce handed me the coffee and then sat at the desk across from me, so I didn’t have to scrunch my knees at all.
“What’s going on, Delaney?” he asked.
“Have you … Did you know?” I took a deep breath. “Did you know that Mallory used to be roommates with Lola, a woman who lives in the same apartment building?”
“Yes, we did. Why?”
“I don’t know. I just hoped you knew.”
He nodded.
“Friday night at the pub, I saw a gray-haired man…”
“Delaney…”
“No, please listen.”
“All right.”
I told Inspector Pierce about the wonky sensation I’d gotten when I saw the gray-haired man, and then I told him that I’d heard that Dr. Glenn now had gray hair. He became more interested in what I had to say.
“I don’t understand. You looked him up?”
“More than that, I’ve heard about him a couple of times now.”
“Right. Well, it’s feasible that he has gray hair, but we don’t have a current picture, of course. You think that was him at the pub?”
“I’m not sure. But, did Sophie and Rena call you in the last half hour?”
“I’ve been on the phone, talking to the police in Inverness, learning about their experiences with Glenn.” He looked at his mobile. “I see your calls.” He turned his attention back to the phone on his desk, lifting the handpiece and then punching some numbers. “Yes, Rena called. Asked me to call her back.”
“You might want to go see them in person.”
“What’s up?”
“I was just at their flat, and they told me something. Do you want me to tell you or do you want to talk to them in person?”
“I think you should tell me whatever is on your mind.”
I told him what they’d said, everything. He was less doubtful than I’d predicted he would be.
“I need to get to their flat, Delaney.” He stood up. “Is there anything else?”
“No.”
Though he was in a hurry, he did thank me for the information. Nonetheless, we were out of the office with the blue door in record time. I watched him drive away in an unmarked car that was parked on the street. I hoped he was about to zero in on a killer.
As I made my way back to The Cracked Spine, I pulled out my phone and called Conn Clacher. I didn’t get the answers from Sophie and Rena he was looking for, but I wasn’t going to tell him about Mallory and Dr. Glenn. Hopefully I could say something that would stop him from creating another scene.
Or doing something even worse.
TWENTY-FIVE
“He was a lovely man … Weel, tae me, he was. That’s what I ken of him, until he went sae coorse.” Rosie lifted Hector to her lap as I looked at her with raised eyebrows. My translator, Hamlet, was in class. “Och. Coorse means bad, wicked.” I nodded. “I feel terrible saying such things now, but he was kind tae me. We were friendly neighbors is all, not friends. I didnae have one deep conversation with the man or his lovely wife or wee daughter; neither did Paulie. If Dr. Glenn was putting on an act, something tae hide his evil side, he was guid at it.”
I’d completely forgotten to ask Inspector Pierce if he’d learned anything new regarding the scalpels. However, I’d called Inspector Winters and filled him in on everything, including Rosie’s connection to Dr. Glenn. He’d been grateful for the update, and in just as much of a hurry to follow up on all the new information as Pierce had been. I’d also left a message for Conn. I hoped he’d call me back soon. I hoped he wasn’t making bad decisions.
“Any sense of if Dr. Glenn would ever come back to town?” I asked.
“Do I think he kil’t that poor lass?”
I shrugged.
She tapped her lips with her finger as she thought. Hector whined from his position on her lap. “I didnae ken.”
“Do you think you’d recognize him?”
“Aye. He’s a tall man, and he always had a tilt tae his head. I don’t think he could do anything aboot it.” She cocked her head slightly. “I’d recognize his figure tae be sure.”
The police should maybe be looking for a tall man with a funny tilt to his head, possibly with gray hair. I guessed that narrowed it down a little bit, but not much.
I sighed and was glad to have the distraction of the front doorbell jingle.
“Joshua, hello!” I said.
Joshua bowed as he said, “Ladies.”
He greeted Rosie with a hug and a box of cookies and Hector with an ear scratch and a jerky dog treat. They would have both been happy to see him anyway, but hugs and treats were always appreciated.
I directed him to the back table as he declined Rosie’s offer of coffee or tea.
“What’s up?” I asked, having sensed immediately that he hadn’t come by only for a social visit.
He glanced in the direction of the front desk. I didn’t tell him that Rosie wouldn’t be listening, because she probably would be.
“I found something on old scalpels,” he said quietly. “You tried to be sly about asking me about them, but you weren’t. I decided to see if I could find anything else out.”
“Well, thanks for seeing through my act. What did you find?”
“Did you already know that some scalpels were stolen from the university?”
“No, when?”
“The museum gets special communication from the local police,” he began. “Well, it’s more that if artifacts, or things that might be suspected to be valuable in a historical way, I suppose, get reported as stolen or lost, we, and other museums probably, receive a communication. So we’re on the lookout.”
“That’s interesting, and makes sense.”
“Sometimes inquiries alone are supposed to be reported back to the police.” His eyebrows came together.
“You had to report me, didn’t you?”
He half-smiled. “I would never do that.”
“But you were supposed to?”
“I was, but when you asked,
