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Rockdale Historical
     Society, preferring the less formal, more intimate atmosphere of a smaller club."
    "Is that how you originally met them, as well? Through the Historical Society?"
    "Rosalinda, yes, but Horatio, no. I'd known him for years. Like I said, until I retired
     in 1985, I was a loan officer at the Rockdale Bank and Trust, and Horatio's been doing
     business with that bank forever, I think. Even before I took over his and Rosalinda's
     accounts, Horatio was on the board of trustees at the bank."
    "Were you friends?"
    "Acquaintances," he said, in a manner indicating distaste. "But never friends."
    "You didn't care for him?" I asked, maintaining a casual, conversational tone.
    "No, not particularly. And I certainly didn't trust him or have a lick of respect
     for him."
    "Why's that?" I was careful to be interested, but not notably so. I knew I had a tendency
     to nail people to the backs of their chairs with my single-minded intensity if I didn't
     hold myself back.
    "Long story, but about twenty years ago I was endeavoring to purchase a large parcel
     of land in downtown St. Joseph. Perhaps you've noticed that vacant lot right on Main
     Street? I thought it'd be a good investment for my retirement. I'd made an offer and
     was waiting to see if the buyer was going to accept it or make a counter-offer. Horatio
     just happened to come into the bank that day and asked me to go to lunch. We'd had
     lunch together on several other occasions, so this was not an unusual invitation.
     During the meal, I casually mentioned my intentions, as well as the amount I'd offered
     the buyer, and the reasons I thought the property would greatly appreciate in value
     in the following few years. It would cost me nearly every dime I could scrape together,
     but I thought it would be worth the sacrifice later on.
    "To my surprise, I received a call later that day. I was told the buyer had taken
     the property off the market. Naturally, I was disappointed, but I accepted it as something
     that just wasn't meant to happen. I didn't give it a lot of thought at the time. I
     eventually invested the money in some stocks that performed well over the years and
     netted me a tidy profit."
    Robert grew silent, pausing to take a few smokeless puffs on his pipe.
    "Go on," I urged when he didn't continue speaking.
    "Well, come to find out, Horatio bought the property the very afternoon that we'd
     lunched together. Offered the buyer a few hundred bucks more than I had for the property,
     and the buyer accepted his offer. Of course, a hundred bucks went a lot further in
     those days. But the buyer hadn't actually taken it off the market. He'd just sold
     it to the highest bidder, who just happened to know exactly how much it'd take to
     outbid me."
    "Wow, that was a low blow, wasn't it?"
    "Rather unprofessional and underhanded, yes. But par for the course for Prescott,
     from what other folks have since told me. I was only one of many people who have been
     swindled or outwitted by him over the years. Even his business partner, Boris, claims
     Prescott tried to bilk him out of many thousands of dollars, his share made on some
     foreign commodities that D&P Enterprises had invested in and sold for a hefty profit.
     And it's not like I'm under any illusion that Boris Dack is a saint, either."
    "Wow, it's no wonder someone wanted to kill Mr. Prescott."
    Robert looked at me then with a curious expression, and said, "It didn't upset me
     to a degree of that magnitude, I promise you. I didn't dislike him enough to go to
     prison for killing him. In fact, I think the whole thing ruffled Ernestine's feathers
     more than mine, and she's no murderer either. It especially irked her when the property
     was recently selected as the site for the new shopping center, and Horatio was promised
     six and a half million clams for it. They are surveying the property right now, doing
     title search work, and ironing out the details of the contract."
    "Goodness sakes!