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Joe
Garrett. Here’s the phone. I’ll be downstairs.”
    “Thanks, Joan,” said Julie, taking the phone
and rubbing her eyes. “Joe?”
    “Hi, Merlin. Sorry. Guess I’m waking you up.
I got the number from Luz…you weren’t answering your cell…”
    “Oh, that’s okay. Did you find out something
else?”
    “Yes, and no. Jake said the police still
think it’s a suicide; there was no forced entry into the house. But
there’s been some artful reporting in the local papers that you may
not have seen up there. Jake said that if it became necessary, he’d
represent David Harris.”
    “David? That’s ridiculous! He loved
Marc!”
    “Julie. They found an empty syringe in Marc’s
hand. Even though the police only found Marc’s prints on the
needle, there’s a lot of speculation about David. Some have gone so
far as to suggest a ‘mercy’ killing. And of course, they’ve checked
the Key West public records about the house. The fact that David
has survivorship rights to a mortgage-free, waterfront home worth $2 million …well, that’s definitely more grist for the rumor
mill.”
    Julie was wide-awake now.
    “That’s crazy. David already owned half the
house. None of this makes sense, Joe. Marc just didn’t seem that
sick to me. Not for any of these stupid scenarios.”
    “I know. It’s only sensationalism, Julie. Key
West is a small place; the local media are trying to hang on to the
spotlight. Jake and I thought you should know, in case the story
heats up beyond Florida. And we thought you might see your friend
at the funeral…”
    Of course. Poor David, thought
Julie.
    “You’re right, Joe. I haven’t talked to David
yet. Frankly, what you’ve just told me, what they’ve suggested,
that was the furthest thing from my mind. I can’t imagine what
David must be feeling. Especially if he knows about this.”
    “Yes. Well, that was one of the reasons I
called. How are you doing?”
    “I’m doing okay, I guess. Thanks for asking.
We met up here, Marc and I. Being here is bringing back a lot of
memories.”
    “Well, concentrate on the good things.”
    I’m trying to, thought Julie.
    “Listen, Merlin. You’ve got my cell number.
Call me if you need me, all right?”
    “Okay, Joe. Thanks. I will.”
    They hung up, and Julie sat there for a
while, thinking about that. No. There are other
investigators…maybe in the Keys.
    Shaking her head with resolve, she got up and
pulled on her jeans and a sweatshirt. She twisted her hair up into
a ponytail, brushed her teeth and headed downstairs. Joan was by
herself in the kitchen, loading the dishwasher. It was a cozy room,
filled with sunshine and the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and
bacon.
    “Hey, sleepyhead, welcome up! Want some
breakfast?”
    “Maybe some coffee and toast? Guess I missed
everyone this morning.”
    “Yep. Pete’s gone to work, and the boys have
gone to school. But that’s good. We can catch up on old times.”
    “Joannie, speaking of that,” said Julie,
sliding into the breakfast nook, “it’s been a long time since I’ve
been up here. I thought I’d go for a drive later. Would you mind if
I met you and Pete at the wake?”
    “Of course not.”
    “Good. Thanks,” said Julie, accepting the
coffee Joan set in front of her.
    “So, how do you like being a stay-at-home
Mom? Do you miss work?”
    “Not at all. I haven’t worked since Pete got
transferred. Frankly, I was glad to get out of there, you know? I
just hated working for Avram Solomon when he took over our payroll
department.”
    “Why?”
    “Well, we’d expanded to two dealerships at
the time. There’s three now, of course. But there’s only one
central payroll department, Julie. It’s still at our old place, you
know? So, for one thing, my workload had doubled. And you
know Milton Solomon! He doesn’t like to spend ‘unnecessary’
money , so of course they didn’t enlarge our space, or hire
extra help. So I was really overwhelmed, you know?
    “And then