kept his eyes trained on Jimmy G.
It was obvious that Jimmy G.âs gray metal desk was purchased from Boeing Surplus and the credenza against the wall (also heaped with papers) was one of those cheap knockoffs one could buy at any furniture warehouse. The blinds on the window behind the desk were caked with dirt. There was an aquarium in whose cloudy water I could see a few rather large goldfish. The air stank of stale cigar smoke.
âWhat you really need,â I said, looking around, âis one of those desk lamps with a green shade.â
âHey, thanks!â Jimmy G. said. âYouâve got good taste, doll!â
âWhat can I say?â I responded. âIâm a stager.â Jimmy G. looked puzzled.
I was just about to explain my job, how I prep homes for sale to make them more attractive to prospective customers, when Pepe whispered in my ear, âAsk him why he sent you to the Tyler house!â
âOh, yes,â I said. The purpose for my visit. âWhy did you send me to the Tyler house?â
âBecause Rebecca Tyler called Jimmy G. and asked Jimmy G. to find her missing husband.â
Pepe whispered in my ear again. âThen why did she say she didnât know you?â
I repeated his question to Jimmy. âThen why did she say she had never heard of me?â
Jimmyâs big brown eyes got bigger, and his face turned red. âWhy do women act the way they do? Itâs a mystery to Jimmy G.â
Pepe prompted me again. âAsk him how she knew her husband was missing if she was out of town.â
âHow did Rebecca know her husband was missing if she was out of town?â
Jimmy held out his hands, as if appealing to me to be reasonable. âHow would Jimmy G. know?â he asked. I saw a stray thought cross his face. One thing I will say about Jimmy was that you could read emotions in his face more clearly than you could see fish in his aquarium. He would be a lousy poker player. âAh, the mystery is solved!â he declared. âJimmy G. wraps up another case.â
âWhat are you talking about?â
âDonât you see? Rebecca went out of town after she called Jimmy G., thus when Jimmy G. called her back to set up the appointment, and left a message on her phone informing her that a certain Miss, uh, Miss . . .â
âSullivan,â I said in as icy a voice as possible.
âMiss Sullivan would be coming to interview her, she didnât get the message, thus she denied having an appointment with said Miss Sullivan.â His face brightened.
âBut why go out of town if her husband was missing?â I asked.
âGood one, Geri,â said Pepe in my ear.
Jimmyâs face fell again, then brightened. âMaybe she was already out of town but couldnât contact him. Thus she contacted Jimmy G. to track him down.â
Unfortunately that did make sense.
âWhatâs all this about you not actually hiring me?â
Jimmyâs face fell. He looked like a school boy who was about to be scolded. âThatâs what Stewart wants me to say,â he said.
âWhy can Stewart tell you what to do?â
âHeâs my older brother,â Jimmyâs voice lost volume and confidence as he spoke. âHeâs the one who actually owns the agency.â
âAnd?â
âWell, he claims I didnât have the authority to hire you. He has to be involved in any personnel decisions.â
âWell, letâs go see him,â I said. âI want to get this cleared up right away, before the police call me in for questioning again. Do you realize they consider me a murder suspect?â
âBut if you didnât do it . . .â Jimmy squinted. âYou didnât do it, did you?â
âDonât be ridiculous,â I almost shouted. âWhy do all of you assume I would murder a complete stranger?â
âTell him the man was killed long before you came on the
Learning to Kill: Stories