Page 36 of Wham Line
“I don’t think so.I mean, we put out bar mix, so maybe?”
I shook my head at that without meaning to.
“There you are,” Bobby said.He came across the dining room toward us.“You’re the bartender?”
The man nodded.
“Sheriff wants to talk to you.She’s using the manager’s office; do you know where that is?”
He gave another nod and said, “Listen, if itisa murder, is there, like, a reward if I help you catch the killer?”
“No,” Bobby said.
With a final, disappointed nod, the bartender slunk away.
“Are you okay?”Bobby asked.
“Yeah, fine.You?”
“Okay.”But he didn’t look okay.His breathing sounded higher and thinner than it should have, and tiny drops of sweat beaded at his hairline.He gauged my look and tried for a light tone.“I think you were right; I need to eat something.”
“Uh, yeah, but maybe not here.”I glanced around; even though we were removed from the throng of patrons, I lowered my voice.“Bobby, I know this is going to sound crazy, but I think someone might have poisoned Sparkie.”
It tells you a lot about Bobby that all he said was “Why?”
“Well, I don’t know.Because we’re in Talmage’s restaurant.And this whole murder has somehow revolved around food and restaurants and chefs.And Sparkie was arguing with Larry about something, and I’d bet dollars to donuts it was about Mal’s death.Also, the fact that she suddenly collapsed and died, even though she looked perfectly healthy, and I know it could have been a heart attack or a stroke or whatever, butstill.”
The sweat at Bobby’s hairline was beginning to roll down his face.“Right.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?Sit down.”
To my surprise, Bobby let me bully him into a chair.“So, you think Talmage poisoned her?”
“Maybe.But not necessarily.It might have been Larry, but I don’t see how.She didn’t eat or drink anything while he was there—that’s what the bartender told me.Or it might have been Jethro; he was sneaking around here too.”
Rubbing his chest, Bobby said, “Why?”
“See, that’s the thing.I’m not even sure Sparkie was the target.I think maybe—I think maybe someone was trying to poison us.Nalini got confused and took our food to Sparkie.She ate the fish and chips that were supposed to come to me.I think somebody knows we’re trying to help Indira, and—Bobby?”
He was touching his cheek, probing gently.His breathing was shallow and labored, and when he spoke, he sounded confused, and the words were thick and almost unintelligible, like he’d been shot full of Novocain.“My face feels funny.”
Bobby giving Sparkie CPR.
Bobby’s mouth on Sparkie’s mouth.
“Sheriff!”I shouted.“Somebody get the sheriff!”I took Bobby’s head in my hands.“You’re going to be okay.Just keep breathing.”
Faster than I could believe, the sheriff was there next to me.“What—”
“He needs a hospital right now.He’s been poisoned.”
Chapter 10
Everything happened in broken instants: the paramedics, the ambulance ride to Klikamuks General Hospital, Bobby on a gurney disappearing behind closed doors.
And then time locked down again, and it went on forever.
I’d been in the hospital before: the clean Scandi-style design, the pale wood and the chrome accents and the windows that let in the bright February day.But I’d never been here likethis—helpless, and useless, and feeling like something feral was working its claws in my guts.
