first time. She beckoned me to follow her through a different door from the one we had entered by and I wobbled out after her.
The door opened onto a short hallway that ran between the kitchen and the stairs to the basement. I peered down into the basement while we waited there a moment. From what I could see, it was a small room that housed some gardening equipment, old newspapers, and a couple of spare propane tanks of the kind used for barbecues.
A stout, elderly lady in a blue housecoat opened a door opposite the one to the basement. Behind her, I caught a glimpse of the enormous kitchen, a hive of activity in which tonight’s banquet was being prepared. She closed the door behind her and winked at Elinor as she stepped into the hall. “There you are, Miss Elinor,” she said, handing over a thermos and two large wrapped sandwiches. “And don’t you worry about Henri. He knows better than to fuss at me.”
“You’re a wonder, Mary. This is Irene Kelly. Irene, this is Mary O’Brien, who has been with our family for many years.”
“Kelly,” said Mary, “that’s a good name.”
“O’Brien’s not half bad either,” I said, and we smiled and shook hands.
Elinor thanked her and we stepped outside onto a small lighted patio. The patio held two large gas barbecues and some white patio furniture. It was surrounded by a low hedge. Pete was standing to one side, pulling nervously at his collar. I shot him a “this-had-better-be-good” look.
“Elinor Sheffield Hollingsworth, this is Detective Pete Baird.”
“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Baird. I’ve brought you some sandwiches and coffee. It’s not quite the fare Miss Kelly will be dining on this evening, but I supposed it would be better than waiting for her on an empty stomach.”
“That’s very kind of you, ma’am. I know you’re very busy here tonight and I appreciate your letting me speak with Miss Kelly.”
“Think nothing of it. Do you wish this to be a private conversation?”
“Oh, no, ma’am. It’s nothing like that.” He turned to me. “I just wanted to let you know that you don’t need to worry about Hawkeyes anymore. I got a call on my radio a little while ago. He’s dead.”
34
“WHO ON EARTH is Hawkeyes?” asked Elinor. “A man who seems to have followed us from Las Piernas to Phoenix. We think he killed two women there,” I explained. Again, that image of Elaine Tannehill came haunting me.
“Oh, yes, the story in today’s paper. What happened to him, Mr. Baird?”
“Department got a tip he was holed up in a little hotel down on Fifty-sixth. When they checked it out, he was dead. I don’t have any details yet. We might need for you to come in later and identify him as the guy you saw leaving the Tannehill place, Irene. But mainly, I just wanted you to know. Figured you’d be a little relieved.”
“A little.” In truth, I was wondering who was so thoroughly cleaning up after himself. “Thanks for telling me, Pete. I guess I’ll feel better when we know who’s really behind all of this.” I looked at him, standing there with his thermos and sandwiches. I never saw anyone look so out of place. “Aren’t you off duty?”
“Officially, yes. But I told Frank I’d keep an eye on you, and that’s what I’m gonna do.”
“I’m fine. Why don’t you go home and relax?”
“You’ll find out I can be just as hardheaded as you are. Go on and enjoy your party. Thanks for the sandwiches, Mrs. Hollingsworth. Sorry to disturb you.”
“Not at all, Mr. Baird. Good evening.”
He walked off across the gravel parking area. Elinor and I watched him in silence.
“What an amusing man,” she said after a moment. “I don’t think he came up here to tell you about this Hawkeyes fellow at all. I believe he was simply concerned about your safety.”
“I doubt that he worried I was in any danger in this crowd. He may have been checking up on me for other reasons — it’s a long story. Anyway, I suppose we should rejoin the others? Guy is probably wondering what happened to me, and I’m sure you want to spend some time with your other guests.”
“Yes,” she sighed, “I suppose so. But I’ve enjoyed myself. You must come out here sometime when there isn’t such a crowd.”
“I’d like that.”
We went back to the veranda. The others were just starting to move toward the hall, where dinner was about to be served. Elinor walked me over to Guy, who was talking with a local businessman.
“Thank you for loaning Miss Kelly to me, Guy, I’ve enjoyed her company.”
“I won’t say I haven’t missed her, but I’m sure the two of you got along famously.”
She left to go to her husband’s side and we moved to our table, which was shared by four other couples, all of them business leaders in Las Piernas. As I half-listened to their chatter about the effects of redevelopment on our downtown business district, I wondered at the net worth of the table (a fantastic sum, I’m sure), about what drew these people to these events (in a nutshell, power and influence) and if they really enjoyed them (highly doubtful).
Guy and I chatted amiably through dinner. I told him of my tour through the house. He remarked that Elinor showed very few people more than this modernized area, and that such a tour was a sign that she’d taken a great liking to me. One of the guests at our table said, “You’re Kenny O’Connor’s sister-in-law, aren’t you? I thought he mentioned his sister-in-law worked with his dad on the paper.”
Rather than going through the business about ex–sister-in-law and on-and-off reporter, I simply said yes, I was.
“Kind of surprised he’s not here tonight,” the man said. “He’s a regular booster of Hollingsworth.”
“He’s had an accident, I’m afraid. He may be out of commission for a while.”
