She was definitely standing inside his circle of friendship and he edged a little closer and said, 'So was I-I mean, enjoying the talk, but, hell, Signy…'
'I know,' she said, her eyes resigned. 'The woman got murdered. So, maybe sometime…'
Virgil eased a bit closer and leaned over and kissed her on the lips and she pushed into him enough that he felt authorized to give her butt a squeeze, and what a glorious appendage it seemed to be…
She pushed off and said, 'Goddamnit, your own self. Go see her. Maybe you could call me tomorrow. If you want…'
'I want, definitely,' Virgil said. He looked around, checking to see if there were any excuses flying through the air that he might grab and use to avoid going to Zoe's, but there were none. 'I'll call you,' he said.
Signy had been wearing a sweet-tasting lipstick, and a little perfume, and Virgil could taste and smell her halfway over to Zoe's.
ZOE WAS WAITING in her living room, anxious, a twisted sheet of paper in her hand. Virgil thought she might have been pacing, rehearsing whatever she was going to say.
'Virgil, I'm sorry. I didn't really think it was important enough-'
'You're smarter than that,' Virgil snapped. 'So don't give me any bullshit. Tell me what happened.'
'I didn't know exactly, but I went online and found an article in the Cedar Rapids Gazette. She was from Swanson, Iowa, near Iowa City. Between Iowa City and Cedar Rapids, anyway… I got the article.'
She handed Virgil the sheet of paper and he unrolled it.
Sept. 29-Forty-nine-year-old Swanson restaurant owner Constance Lifry was found strangled Saturday night in the parking lot behind Honey's, 640 Main in Swanson, Johnson County Sheriff Gerald Limbaugh said Sunday.
Lifry was a well-known civic activist and a member of several local gardening clubs, and an expert on heritage roses.
Limbaugh said that Lifry was last seen alive by two cleaning women who worked at the restaurant. The women said that Lifry had worked in her office until about 10 P.M. Saturday night, after the 9 P.M. closing, and they found her body when one of the women went outside to smoke a cigarette.
'We are processing a good deal of crime scene information and hope we can settle this quickly,' Limbaugh said. 'I knew Constance most of my life and everyone who ever met her would tell you that she was a wonderful woman, involved with her community and with the American Heart Association, somebody who worked hard and made jobs for twenty or thirty people. This is a tragedy, and we'll be busting our butts to bring her killer to justice.'
He said that Lifry had been strangled with 'a cord of some kind, but the killer apparently took it with him.'
No witnesses to the murder have been found, he said, 'But we're talking to several people, and we're also processing videotape from Larry's Exxon across the street.'
THAT WAS THE HARD INFORMATION: the rest of the article was testimonials and history.
'That's all?' Virgil asked. 'There was never an arrest?'
'It's not in the paper. I never heard that there was.'
'When was she up here?' Virgil asked. 'She stayed at the Eagle Nest, right? Did she go to the Wild Goose? What'd she have to do with Wendy?'
Zoe shook her head; she'd been twisting her fingers and sidling around him as he read the article, and now she produced some tears and said, 'God, I feel awful about this.'
Virgil softened up a notch: 'Zoe…'
'She was here two summers ago, in August. And some other years, I think. She went to the Goose, she met Wendy, they talked,' Zoe said. 'There's this big country-western place near Iowa City, called Spodee-Odee. It's pretty important, you know, as a showcase. Lots of big bands play there. Willie Nelson used to play there and Jerry Jeff Walker. Those Texas guys.'
'Okay.'
'So she… I mean, Constance… knew the guy who owns the place, whose name is like, Jud. That's all I remember. But they were supposed to be pretty close, and she told Wendy that if Wendy wanted to do it, she'd, uh, recommend the band to Jud. Actually, she didn't like the band so much as Wendy. You know, her voice. She was right-the band back then sorta sucked, but they're a lot better now.'
'So she was going to get Wendy a gig,' Virgil said.
'More than a gig. A big deal, really. If you play Spodee-Odee, I guess, it's like a badge. You're that good,' Zoe said.
'Who would have a problem with that?' Virgil asked.
'With what?'
'With Wendy getting a gig in Iowa City?'
She shook her head. 'I don't know. Why would anybody have a problem with it? It's a good thing.'
'But now we have another woman who was going to do a good thing for Wendy, and she's also murdered,' Virgil said. 'Right?'
'Right,' she said.
'Was Lifry gay?'
'I think so,' Zoe said. 'I never met her. She was out of my age range. But, that's what I heard.'
'From who?'
'I don't know. Wendy, maybe,' she said. 'Wait: I don't want to get anybody in trouble. I don't know who I heard it from, but I remember that I heard it.'
'Okay. From what you know, then, she was right down the line, like McDill,' Virgil said, ticking the points off on his spread fingers. 'Gay, stayed at the Eagle Nest, talked to Wendy about her band, went to the Wild Goose. And was murdered.'
'Yeah, but… not murdered for quite a while after she was here,' Zoe said.
'Why didn't you tell me?' Virgil asked.
She looked up at him and misted up again: 'Because… I was afraid that this is all going to blow into the newspapers and television, as some kind of perversion thing, lesbians killing each other, and drag the Eagle Nest down. I was worried about Margery. She's worked her whole life to build up that place, and if it turns out that killers go there, or killers stalk her customers… See?'
'Not exactly,' Virgil said. 'I would have found out sooner or later, and your not telling me delayed things by a couple of days. That's all it did. Let the trail get a little colder.'
'I'm sorry,' she said. 'I'm sorry.'
VIRGIL GOT DAVENPORT, who was out for a nighttime walk with his wife. Virgil told him what had happened, and said, 'I've got to get down to Iowa City. There's no airline that will get me there faster than a car would, but it's nine hours, and I don't want to drive nine hours, and nine hours back. Can I rent a plane? It's maybe a grand.'
'Is it absolutely necessary?'
'It's pretty necessary,' Virgil said.
'Tell you what-drive down here, bag out in a motel, and I'll get Doug Wayne to fly you down first thing tomorrow. Tell me a time.'
Wayne was a highway patrolman who'd flown Virgil on other trips. Virgil glanced at his watch, did some arithmetic, and said, 'Seven o'clock tomorrow morning at St. Paul.'
'I'll call somebody right now. You're still in Grand Rapids?' Davenport asked.
'Yeah.'
'Okay, uh, you'll be here by two. Five hours of sleep. That good enough?'
'That's fine,' Virgil said. 'Listen, call the patrol and tell them I'm coming down I-35 with lights. If they'll let me roll, I can get an extra half-hour.'
'Plan on it. But I'll call you.'
ZOE SAID VIRGIL could drop the boat in her driveway, and when that was done, he headed back to the motel, told the clerk to hold his room, got his bag, and took off. Davenport called as he was pulling out of the parking lot, said, 'You're clear all the way down, but don't hit any deer or you'll be all over the place. You're not pulling a boat, are you?'
'No, I'm not pulling a boat,' Virgil said. 'Why're you always so suspicious?'
