Page 40 of A Seer and Present Danger

The tenseness in his body eased. “Right. That dump. What’s with the side hustle?”

“I’m a volunteer for the festivals.”

“Bertie’s things? That bitter old bat thinks she runs this town.”

Wow. I’d never run into anyone who didn’t like the festivals or said things like that about Bertie out loud.

“The festivals do help the community,” I said. “I bet some of them brought you business, too.”

He made a rude noise. “Do you think tourists come to town with their broken vacuum cleaners? I fix old things and pawn old things. Those festivals are only good for the coffee shop, brewery, and that over-rated bakery.”

“Bertie’s open for suggestions. Maybe you can pitch a festival that would feature your business.”

He made another rude noise. “You sound like Hugo, always looking for the bright side. Look what that got him.”

“Hugo Molloy?”

“Yeah, my partner. Well, ex-partner. He died.” His eyes widened and he swallowed hard as if saying those words had shocked him.

“He was a cheat and…and a fool and a terrible business partner, but now…” He shook his head. “I never thought someone would, you know…” He pumped his fist up and down mimicking stabbing motions. “Who does that?”

“An enemy. Someone who hated him. Do you know anyone who might be angry with him?”

“Yeah, sure.” He moved over to the window. “Lots of people. He had a gambling habit that ran him into trouble more than once. He was decent enough to customers. I didn’t let him get away with cheating them unless I got a cut—that’s a joke.”

It didn’t sound like a joke.

“I suppose he had friends too. People he loved?”

He shrugged. “I suppose. He loved this shop, never wanted to sell. Loved these stupid bears.” He turned the teddy bear in his hands like he was seeing it for the first time. “Collected them to stuff in the window. Like anyone cares about old bears.”

Kenny stared at the toy’s blank happy face, lost in his thoughts.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” I said quietly.

“Loss? He did this to himself. He stole cars, collected traffic tickets like reward points. He was bad to his wife…” His eyes went wide again, and I wondered how he haggled with his emotions so close to the surface.

“It wasn’t her,” he insisted. “Gail didn’t kill him—not that I said she did—I was just making a…what do they call it? Character. Telling you what kind of character he had. His morals. He was a cheat. With money, and you know, his wife, and he was always trying to outsmart everyone he thought was better than him. He thought he could outsmart me, too, but look at me now. I’m the full owner of the store and he’s dead.”

Kenny’s thinning hair glistening with sweat. His pupils were dilated like he was afraid I’d pull a gun on him or something.

I thought about checking the future to see what was going to happen next, but I was right here. I knew what was going to happen next. I was going to ask him a few more questions because I was solving a murder.

“Did Hugo live in town?”

“No, he didn’t want to be that close to the cops. Up the road toward the valley. A mobile home park.”

I knew the one he was talking about because it was the only one around here. “What about Gail?”

“What about her?”

Careful, Piper. Don’t spook the suspect.

“Have you seen her? Since his…since his death?”

“No. Why would you ask that? What have you heard?”

“You were business partners with Hugo, so I thought you and Gail were friends. Maybe you knew how she’s holding up.”