Page 53 of Mann Hunt
They drove on in silence for a few more minutes.
“I’m getting dizzy with hunger.”
“Hold on. I have a place in mind.”
Declan pulled into a restaurant parking lot. It was a breakfast place and the lot was fairly empty.
“Breakfast for lunch okay for you?” Declan asked.
“Perfect. My body has no idea what time it is.”
Declan moved to the booth farthest from the door, and sat facing the rest of the patrons. Charlie plunked himself across from him and browsed the menu on the paper placemat. What he craved was eggs Benedict, but he quickly discovered why the restaurant was called ‘No Poaching’. They appeared to prepare eggs any way but.
A waitress approached the table. She wore a black skirt, white blouse, pink apron and a baseball cap. Her name tag said “Doreen”.
“Coffees?” she asked, leaning in and smiling at Declan.
“You bet. Thanks,” he replied, and gave her a heart-melting smile. “And I’ll have the egg-white omelette, please. Doreen.”
The waitress finished writing up his order and continued to stare at Declan.
Charlie interrupted her reverie, “And I’ll have the eggs over easy with peameal bacon, rye toast…and home fries.”
She jotted down Charlie’s order and walked away without looking at him.
Charlie looked at him. “Do you have that effect on everyone?”
Declan grinned. “Yup. So, let’s look at what we’ve got. A man has been found dead. He disappeared after leaving a secret party—one that, if it became publicly known, could potentially have done him, and others, a lot of harm, both socially and in business. His wife’s been having a secret affair on him, although they had an open relationship—”
Charlie interrupted, “An open relationship where she broke the established rules. So the boyfriend is also a suspect.”
“Very good. What else, in terms of relationships?”
Charlie continued, “Robert had a crush on Ian, but Ian didn’t feel the same way about him. But if it was a case of jealousy, he’d more than likely kill the other person before he’d kill Ian. And, really, I don’t think it would be easy for him to dispose of a body while he’s in a wheelchair, unless he was working with someone else.”
Declan nodded his head in agreement. “We also know that Ian was involved in a business deal that was causing him stress. Maybe you could find out what land holdings Ian Mann had, both past and present. There might be something online. Or you might have to go down to City Hall and check the land records. If we could find out if anyone has been buying up properties around one of his, we might have ourselves another suspect.”
“I’ll see what I can find,” Charlie said.
The waitress dropped off the coffees. “Here you go,” she said, winking at Declan.
Charlie grimaced.
Declan’s phone pinged with an incoming text. He glanced down at it.
“Oh-oh.”
“What is it?” Charlie asked.
“It’s from Luke.”
Charlie’s upper lip twitched ever so slightly.
“Seems he wants to have a bit of a chat,” Declan said, while texting a return message. “Apparently he was surprised to see us at Katherine’s.”
“How ‘bout that?”
“I told him to swing by the office after his shift. Let’s see what he has to say.”
