“Sylvia Rubin is your agent? She’s not an easy agent to acquire.”
“That’s a story for another day and a funny one at that. Anyway, she wanted a new, professional photo of me taken and I told her I knew someone who could do that.” I smiled when Ian grinned and patted his chest. “When she found out I knew you, she somehow wormed it out of me that…” I hesitated not sure how to put it.
“We’re seeing each other,” Ian finished.
I nodded, glad he confirmed what I hadn’t been sure of, but most others thought. “She mentioned that she heard of that modeling job you’ve been offered and wanted your number. I told her I would speak to you first and that you could call her if you wanted to. That’s when she brought up Willard Hughes being a perfect fit for you, and she also told me to tell you that she could get you out of any deal you had with Martin Sands.”
“She can?” Ian asked surprised.
“I don’t think there’s anything Sylvia can’t do,” I said with a chuckle. “She knows many influential attorneys.”
“This is amazing, Pep. I’ve had offers from agents but none that can come close to Willard Hughes and to think I could be rid of Martin Sands for good is too good to be true. That aside, what do you think of the bloody knife you found?”
I loved that he was as much of a mystery buff as me. “With no blood on the knife found in the car but plenty of blood on this knife, I’d say there’s a good chance it’s the murder weapon.”
“But why put it in a plastic bag and bury it and chance having it found when it could have been thrown in the lake never to be found?” Ian asked.
“That’s a good question. Did someone hide it to guarantee his safety or for blackmail purposes, since the weapon had been concealed in a plastic bag. It took time and effort to do that since who carries a plastic bag around with them?”
Ian looked puzzled. “Are you suggesting two people are involved with the murder?”
“It seems a possibility, but we also need to consider how that knife got there. Did the person know the area well and purposely went a distance from the crime scene to avoid detection or did that someone have no idea where they were and stumbled their way out of the woods?”
“I’d go with stumbled his way out since who here in Willow Lake would want Struthers dead? He was a stranger to this area,” Ian said.
“But Struthers may have had information that someone from here wanted, which was the reason he had traveled here.”
“Aye, true enough,” Ian agreed
“It’s the motive that’s important. We need to find out why Struthers was here,” I said and turned as the door opened and my dad entered. I opened my mouth ready to bombard my dad with questions, but he silenced me with a raised hand.
“This is an ongoing investigation you have no business being part of.” He sat beside me at the island.
“But I am part of it whether you like it or not, since the murder took place not far from my home,” I said and stood to get him a glass of mango iced tea.
“Which is a good reason for you not to get involved,” my dad cautioned.
I counter-cautioned with, “Or the sensible reason for me to get involved.”
My dad took the glass of tea from me and saluted Ian with it. “Do you see what I deal with here? You would think she’d be more like her mother and comply easily.”
I burst out laughing. “You think mom complies with all you say?”
“I’m not that dumb,” my dad said. “But at least she lets me believe she does.”
Ian laughed. “I’ll have to remember that, Sheriff.”
“Sound advice, son, sound advice,” my dad said and once again saluted Ian with his glass of tea.
“If you’re not going to answer any questions about the knife I found, what about that key I gave you that was found in Struthers’s room? Find out anything about that?” I asked, having wondered over it.
My dad shook his head. “Nothing, too many smudged prints to get anything. I had Bill over at Parson Locksmith take a look at it since he collects old locks and keys. He said it’s quite old and could open anything.” He rubbed at the back of his neck. “This is a quiet town. There hasn’t been a murder here in thirty-five years and that one has gone unsolved. I won’t let another unsolved murder go on the books.”
Ian’s phone rang and a flash of annoyance showed when he saw who was calling. I was curious who it was that irritated him but didn’t want to pry.
“Excuse me, I need to take this,” Ian said.