“Forget about the big picture and focus on the details,” I said. “Sometimes tackling a problem from a different direction is enough to show you the way. At least that’s how it works with my more complex puzzles sometimes.”
“I don’t see how it can hurt,” he said.
Zach pulled the coffee table over to the bank of windows, and he started laying out notes on it. There was barely room for me.
“Sorry. Did you need some space, too?”
“That’s okay. I’ve got the floor, if I need to spread out,” I said.
“I can give up a little room.”
“No, honestly, I’m just dandy right here.”
I stood and decided that the small end table would give me enough space for my needs. As I started to put the lamp and the telephone on the floor, I saw that the message light was blinking.
I picked it up and dialed zero. Zach didn’t even look up.
“Hello, I have a message.”
“I’ll connect you, Ms. Stone,” the operator said.
I was expecting a computerized voice mail system, so I was surprised when Barton Lane picked up.
“Good evening, Savannah. Thank you for returning my telephone call.”
“Sorry it wasn’t sooner, but we just got back in.”
“That’s fine. There isn’t a time constraint on our conversations.”
It was odd in one way to have a multi-millionaire at my beck and call, but I didn’t have time to enjoy it. I had bigger things to deal with at the moment.
“What can I do for you?”
“I wanted to thank you again for helping me with Cindy’s things.”
“No more thanks are necessary.” At that moment, something was clicking in my brain, something I’d seen in that puzzle.
“Oh, my word; I just figured it out. I have to go,” I said, and before he even had a chance to say good- bye.
“Who was that?” Zach asked.
“Barton Lane,” I explained as I started looking through the copies Zach had made up for me.
“You realize that you just hung up on a millionaire,” he said.
“Zachary, would you please shut up for a second?”
I found the sheet I wanted, and looked at the code on it.
Only I’d remembered it wrong.
I didn’t have anything after all.
I let the copy slip out of my hands, and I stared numbly out the window.
Behind me, I heard my husband say softly, “I’m sorry if I made you lose your train of thought, Savannah.”
“It’s okay. I was wrong.”
“Don’t let me off the hook that easily,” Zach said. “I know better than to interrupt you when you’re thinking.”
“I just don’t get it,” I said. “I thought I had something there.”
The phone started to ring, so I asked Zach, “Would you get that?”
He did as I requested, but I zoned him out after that. I kept staring at the codes, trying to make some kind of sense out of them.
I finally gave up, though. I knew I couldn’t force the solution, just as I couldn’t force one of my puzzles.
“Who was that?” I asked as I finally met my husband’s gaze.
“Barton Lane. He wanted to make sure you were all right.”
“What did you tell him?” I felt bad about hanging up on the man, but when a thought comes unbidden, it’s best to grab it with both hands.
“I didn’t have to say anything. He’s coming up, so make yourself presentable.”
Oh, no. Now I’d angered our host. Was he going to evict us, even when we were on a tight deadline to solve his assistant’s murder?
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been so rude to him,” I said. “Was he really upset?”
“I’d be lying if I said he wasn’t,” Zach said.
“If we get booted out tonight, we could always go to the Motel 6.”
“Or we could share Davis’s couch. It’s not too bad.”
