“Really?” Karin said. “So, you’re both going into the detective business as a sideline?”
“No, but we’ve bought into Eddie’s theory that Warren knew his killer. We’re thinking he might be here, hiding in plain sight,” Rob explained.
At that moment, Eddie came over and joined them.
“See any suspicious looking characters?” Eddie asked Holly.
She gave a short laugh, “It’s Sausalito, they all look pretty suspicious.”
Chief Petersen cleared his throat as he walked up and stuck out his hand, “Rob, you did a good job up there.”
“These occasions bring people together,” Holly whispered into Karin’s ear.
“Thanks,” Rob said, as he thrust out his hand and shook Petersen’s, who in turn greeted Eddie, Karin, and Holly.
Flanking Petersen were Chris Harding and Steve Hansen.
“He was a very nice man,” Chris said, as he also shook hands with Rob and Eddie. After introductions, he nodded to Karin and Holly.
“We’re still talking about that great caramel chicken he made for us a couple of weeks back,” Hansen said. “Gosh, that was good. Not to mention some of his chocolate cherry brownies. I’m sure going to miss that guy!”
“Yeah, that man knew how to cook,” Harding added with a broad smile. "That pasta with veal, sausage, and porcini ragu was also incredible!"
Rob was tempted to point out that the only thing he did better than cook was to spread rumors about his neighbors, but he kept that thought to himself.
“I suppose you’re going to do a big piece about Warren and his death in next week’s paper,” Petersen said, causing Rob to wonder if he was fishing to see how he would approach the story.
Petersen, Rob assumed, was hoping that this would not turn into a “Sausalito Police dropped the ball once again” type of story. Or, in this particular case, dropped the body.
“You know, in a murder investigation, we’re pretty much sidelined. We don’t have the staff or the resources to handle something like this,” Petersen explained.
Hansen and Harding, who, like Petersen, were in dress blues, smiled and nodded in agreement with their chief.
“That’s why we’re thankful to get the assistance of Eddie here and the sheriff’s department,” Petersen added.
Eddie nodded and smiled, but did not comment.
After another round of handshakes, the three officers faded back into the crowd. Holly tugged Rob in close and whispered, “Hansen and Harding look healthy enough to throw Bradley over their shoulders and play dress-up with him as well.”
“I suppose you think that Warren wouldn’t cough up that caramel chicken recipe of his no matter how much they pressured him, so they murdered the old tattletale? You know Holly, you can’t place everyone who is into bodybuilding on your suspect list. Go to that Gold’s Gym up in Corte Madera that runs an ad for new members in our paper once a month, and you can arrest a couple dozen suspects on the spot.”
“Who knows? Maybe if I tied Hansen and Harding up, I could slap the truth out of them.”
“I think you’ve read one too many of those hot cop romance books you enjoy."
“A girl’s got to have some fun,” Holly pouted. “I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but the community news business can get a little dull at times.”
“What? You mean you don’t enjoy a good ‘sewer replacement project cost overrun’ story now and then?” Rob raised his brows in mock horror. “Let’s see what they have in this joint for dessert.”
“Sadly, nothing that compares with Warren’s chocolate cherry brownies,” Holly warned.
Later that afternoon, while the children were napping, Rob shared with Karin what he had learned from Eddie about Bradley's final “Heard About Town” column.
“They collected some of Warren’s things and brought them to the county crime lab for analysis. They were happy to have his laptop. If it had named who dined with him Tuesday night, they would have been a good deal happier. Unfortunately, that day’s calendar just said, ‘dinner here.’ The most interesting item on it was his next ‘Heard About Town’ column, the one he never sent. In it, he demanded Randolph’s resignation from the arts commission.”
“Wow!” Karin said.
“Eddie is wondering if he was looking for a comment from Randolph about what he was planning to write. Maybe that’s what brought Ray Sirica to his door sometime between six-thirty and seven that evening. His computer indicated that Warren made his final edits on that piece less than a half-hour earlier. But there was no mention in his column about his talking with Sirica or Randolph requesting a comment. Perhaps he intended to add that later but never got the opportunity.”
“I'm sure Eddie would love to figure out what happened in the hours between when Bradley finished that column and when he wound up on the back porch with both his hands missing."
"From what I can tell, sweetheart, that's all Eddie's been thinking about for the last four days.”
Chapter Twenty
On Sunday morning, Rob awoke with the thought that he still needed a fresh angle on the Bradley murder investigation to lead his coverage for the upcoming edition of The Sausalito Standard.
The dailies, television, and radio outlets rushed in and covered the questions of who, how, when, where, and what. Now, it was Rob’s turn to cover the story’s most important aspect: the why.
To that end, Rob called Eddie to check on a couple of facts.
Eddie, always concerned about anything said over the phone, suggested that Rob come by his place. “On your way over, pick up some bagels,” Eddie suggested. “You’re looking for an angle, and I’m looking for some food. Seems like a fair trade.”
Thirty minutes later, Sharon greeted Rob with a kiss on the cheek as he came through the door.
“There he is, the great orator himself!” Eddie announced. “You should have heard him, Sharon! He had those old ladies weeping away for their dearly departed gossiping gourmet.”
“Don’t let him tease you, Rob. I ran into Marilyn Williams last night at Mollie Stone’s Grocery. She said that all of
