all. You think he was down there with someone?"
"Well, there was someone else down there with him at some point," Detective Flint said, pushing his hat back further on his head. "Mr. Spender didn't bash his own head in."
I stared at him for a moment. "So you're thinking now that it wasn't an accident?"
"Mr. Walker, we've never thought it was an accident. Mr. Spender was a victim of homicide."
"I'd been thinking it was an accident," I said. Okay, maybe I'd been hoping it was an accident. I'd been telling myself it was probably an accident. That he'd tripped, bashed his head on a rock, then rolled over into the water. "You're sure?" I said.
Detective Flint poked the inside of his cheek with his tongue. His cheek bubbled out like he was Kojak eating a Tootsie Pop. "We have some experience with this kind of thing," he said.
"No, I wasn't suggesting you didn't, it's just, this isn't exactly downtown, you know? You don't expect this sort of thing around here."
"Yeah, well, sometimes we're a bit behind, but we do our best to catch up," Detective Flint said with sarcasm. "Mr. Spender was struck on the back of his skull with a blunt object with considerable force. There wasn't even any water in his lungs. He was dead before he fell into the water."
"I see."
"So you didn't see anyone at all."
"No."
"I understand from Officer Greslow that you knew the deceased."
"Not personally. But I knew who he was. That he was a naturalist, environmentalist-type person."
"You know anyone who might want to do Mr. Spender any harm?"
I half-laughed. "Of course not. Like I say, I hardly knew him, and ..." And I thought back to that day when our paths had crossed at the Valley Forest Estates offices, and I'd had to hold Don Greenway back from lunging at him.
"What?"
"It's nothing. I'm sure it's nothing."
"Why don't you let me be the judge of that?"
"Well, I don't want to go around accusing people of murder, I mean, that's pretty serious."
"Yes. It is."
"Well, you must know that he didn't have a very good relationship with the people at Valley Forest Estates. It was in the paper, letters and articles."
"Yes, we were aware of that. Do you know anything about that beyond what's been in the papers?"
I hesitated. Sure, Don Greenway was angry that day. But it's one thing to get a little hot under the collar, and another thing altogether to whack a guy in the head so hard his brains leak out. And not only that, if I sent homicide cops after Greenway, would I ever get my leaky shower fixed?
"One day," I said slowly, waving my hand in the air like it wasn't that big a deal, "when I was over at the Valley Forest Estates offices, I saw Spender and Don Greenway get into quite an argument."
"Greenway."
"He's the head of the company, I think. We bought this house from him. Our street's even named after him."
"What was this argument about?"
I told him. Flint made some notes in his book, flipped the cover over, and slipped it into his jacket.
"Do you think," I said, hesitantly, "that you could not mention that I told you this, if you're talking to Mr. Greenway? He's, uh, supposed to fix some things around the house here, and he might not be so inclined to do it if he knew I was, you know, ratting him out."
Flint's eyebrows went up a fraction of an inch. "Ratting him out," he repeated.
"Yeah. Isn't that what you call it? Or squealed? Is it squealed?"
"Ratting him out is good," said Flint, who showed himself out.
o o o
I might not have my police terminology down pat, but I knew the words to describe how I felt: freaked out.
My friend Jeff might have found a dead guy, but I'd found a dead guy who'd been murdered. Surely this beat a guy who just got his head stuck in a storm drain and drowned. And yet I didn't feel even the slightest bit full of myself. What I felt was scared.
By how long had I missed encountering Samuel Spender's killer? Just because I'd seen him have an argument with Greenway didn't mean that had anything to do with his
"Well, there was someone else down there with him at some point," Detective Flint said, pushing his hat back further on his head. "Mr. Spender didn't bash his own head in."
I stared at him for a moment. "So you're thinking now that it wasn't an accident?"
"Mr. Walker, we've never thought it was an accident. Mr. Spender was a victim of homicide."
"I'd been thinking it was an accident," I said. Okay, maybe I'd been hoping it was an accident. I'd been telling myself it was probably an accident. That he'd tripped, bashed his head on a rock, then rolled over into the water. "You're sure?" I said.
Detective Flint poked the inside of his cheek with his tongue. His cheek bubbled out like he was Kojak eating a Tootsie Pop. "We have some experience with this kind of thing," he said.
"No, I wasn't suggesting you didn't, it's just, this isn't exactly downtown, you know? You don't expect this sort of thing around here."
"Yeah, well, sometimes we're a bit behind, but we do our best to catch up," Detective Flint said with sarcasm. "Mr. Spender was struck on the back of his skull with a blunt object with considerable force. There wasn't even any water in his lungs. He was dead before he fell into the water."
"I see."
"So you didn't see anyone at all."
"No."
"I understand from Officer Greslow that you knew the deceased."
"Not personally. But I knew who he was. That he was a naturalist, environmentalist-type person."
"You know anyone who might want to do Mr. Spender any harm?"
I half-laughed. "Of course not. Like I say, I hardly knew him, and ..." And I thought back to that day when our paths had crossed at the Valley Forest Estates offices, and I'd had to hold Don Greenway back from lunging at him.
"What?"
"It's nothing. I'm sure it's nothing."
"Why don't you let me be the judge of that?"
"Well, I don't want to go around accusing people of murder, I mean, that's pretty serious."
"Yes. It is."
"Well, you must know that he didn't have a very good relationship with the people at Valley Forest Estates. It was in the paper, letters and articles."
"Yes, we were aware of that. Do you know anything about that beyond what's been in the papers?"
I hesitated. Sure, Don Greenway was angry that day. But it's one thing to get a little hot under the collar, and another thing altogether to whack a guy in the head so hard his brains leak out. And not only that, if I sent homicide cops after Greenway, would I ever get my leaky shower fixed?
"One day," I said slowly, waving my hand in the air like it wasn't that big a deal, "when I was over at the Valley Forest Estates offices, I saw Spender and Don Greenway get into quite an argument."
"Greenway."
"He's the head of the company, I think. We bought this house from him. Our street's even named after him."
"What was this argument about?"
I told him. Flint made some notes in his book, flipped the cover over, and slipped it into his jacket.
"Do you think," I said, hesitantly, "that you could not mention that I told you this, if you're talking to Mr. Greenway? He's, uh, supposed to fix some things around the house here, and he might not be so inclined to do it if he knew I was, you know, ratting him out."
Flint's eyebrows went up a fraction of an inch. "Ratting him out," he repeated.
"Yeah. Isn't that what you call it? Or squealed? Is it squealed?"
"Ratting him out is good," said Flint, who showed himself out.
o o o
I might not have my police terminology down pat, but I knew the words to describe how I felt: freaked out.
My friend Jeff might have found a dead guy, but I'd found a dead guy who'd been murdered. Surely this beat a guy who just got his head stuck in a storm drain and drowned. And yet I didn't feel even the slightest bit full of myself. What I felt was scared.
By how long had I missed encountering Samuel Spender's killer? Just because I'd seen him have an argument with Greenway didn't mean that had anything to do with his
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