A Baked Ham by Jessica Beck

Benny date?”
    “It was a while,” she said.   “As a matter of fact, he was still in
business with Vern, if that gives you any idea.”
    “We were wondering what made them
end their ties,” I asked.   “Do you have
any idea what happened between them?”
    “Sure.   Vern thought he was the shark, only it turned
out that he was wrong.   Benny got the
best of him, and Vern wouldn’t take it like a man, so he took all of his
marbles and went home.”
    “Is that what happened with you
and Benny?” Moose asked.   “Did he get the
better of you, too?”
    “I told you, our breakup was
mutual,” Amanda said heatedly.
    “That’s not the way I heard it,”
Moose said.
    “Moose,” I snapped.
    “Hey, I’m just saying out loud
what everyone else is thinking,” my grandfather said.
    Amanda looked at him coldly, and
then she called out, “Hey, Reggie.   Come
here.”
    I looked over to see a large man
lumbering over our way.   He looked to be
a real bruiser, and I wondered if they employed him to move large furniture all
by himself.   From his size, I doubted it
would be that much of a problem for him.
    “What’s up, Amanda?” he asked.
    “These two need help finding
their way out,” she said.
    “Let’s go.   Follow me; it’s this way,” Reggie said.
    Moose didn’t look as though he
wanted to budge, but I tugged at his arm.   “That’s not a bad idea.   I’ll bring
my husband back later.   Maybe you could
show us something then.”
    “Leave this one at home, and I’d
be happy to help you any way that I can,” Amanda said.
    “Come on,” Reggie said a little
impatiently.   “I don’t have all day.”
    “Let’s go, Moose,” I whispered,
and he finally agreed.
    After we were outside, I asked,
“What were you thinking?   You really went
after Amanda in there.”
    “She wasn’t going to answer our
questions unless we got her off-balance,” he said.   “I decided to push her a little and see what
happened.”
    “What happened is that we got
thrown out of the store,” I said.
    “At least we got a reaction,”
Moose said.   “I don’t know about you, but
I’m not buying the ‘gentle breakup’ routine.”
    “It doesn’t really match her
style, does it?”
    “Not a chance,” he said.   “At least she confirmed that Vern has a
motive for killing Benny.”
    “I’ll have to ask her more the
next time I come back.   I hope I can
convince Greg to come with me.   You know
how he hates to shop.”
    “I’m happy to come back with
you,” Moose said.   “She’ll get over it by
the time we get here next time.”
    “What if she doesn’t?   Moose, we need to be able to interview our
suspects without alienating them.”
    “Sorry, I just thought a little
direct action was called for.”
    It didn’t do any good scolding
him, partly because there were times when his direct approach was perfect.   “Don’t worry.   We’ll find another way to tackle her.”   I glanced at my watch.   “Well,
since that took a lot less time than I thought it might, we’ve still got time
to tackle Marcus Jackson.   What do you
say?   Do you feel like going to the gym?”
    “As long as I don’t have to do a
workout, I’m all for it,” Moose said as we got back into his truck and took
off.
    I grinned at him.   “You never know.   A little exercise might just do you some
good.”
    “Or it could kill me.   Frankly, I’m not willing to take the
chance.   I get all of the exercise I need
walking, thank you very much.   I don’t
need a machine to get a decent workout.”
    “I don’t know.   I’ve often thought that it might be nice
joining a gym,” I said.
    “When would you have time?” he
asked.
    “You’ve got a point, but let’s
not tell anyone there about my schedule at the diner.   The only way we’re going to get anyone to
talk to us is if I pretend I’m about to sign up.”
    “I’ll keep quiet,” Moose said.
    I raised one eyebrow, but I
didn’t say a