Death of the Office Witch by Marlys Millhiser Page A

know a policeman’s pay.”
    â€œDid she have time to solve murders, too?”
    â€œShe barely had time to clean the house, and I was no help, with my hours—ah, I see what you’re getting at. I do realize you’re busy. And I understand you have a young daughter.”
    â€œMore like frantic, and she’s fifteen, and I’m raising her myself. Between home and office and freeway, I barely have time to read submissions. Which is a big part of my job, but there’s no time for that during working hours. And I know this is going to sound incredibly cruel, but I’ve barely given poor Gloria a thought since I last saw you yesterday.” Charlie pushed her plate away and reached for her coffee. Neither she nor Libby ate breakfast at home, and this was the first cup of the day. She sniffed the warm pleasure of it and took a gulp, continuing before he could interrupt her. “Right now you are concentrating on Gloria and those murders assigned to you. Do you have time to worry about or concentrate much on those assigned to other detectives?”
    He’d hardly begun on his omelet, and now he paused to break and butter a muffin. “You are a very persuasive young lady.”
    â€œThat’s my job, too.” She looked pointedly at her watch.
    â€œYou’re overlooking something important.” He took a bite of the muffin and spent forever chewing it. “Murder takes precedence.”
    â€œLieutenant, I really have to get on the phone to New York soon. I’ve already lost a day. This Alpine Tunnel thing could well be a megadeal here.”
    â€œYes,” he said dubiously and cut another piece out of his omelet, “is this something to do with Switzerland or skiing?”
    â€œ Phantom of the Alpine Tunnel , the novel.”
    â€œNever heard of it.”
    â€œYou must have. It was on the New York Times best-seller list for twenty-eight straight weeks. Of course that was a few years ago, but—”
    â€œUnlike murder, fame is fleeting,” he mused and continued enjoying his food, his movements precise, unhurried. “You’re not the only one who seems untouched by the receptionist’s sudden absence.”
    â€œBut we all are, don’t you see? That place is a madhouse without someone on the phones and filtering traffic through the front door and the fax … a hundred things. Clients will have seen about it on the news and be calling in worried that their business is not being seen to, that we’re so preoccupied by the murder that opportunities are being overlooked and it will affect their careers. Actors are paranoid, and so are writers. I just hope Irma came in today to take charge.”
    â€œGloria Tuschman’s death, then, is an inconvenience rather than a grief?”
    â€œI feel sorry for her. Nobody wants to be dead.”
    â€œBut you didn’t like her. I have the feeling no one did. Why?”
    This man was not going to be manipulated, hurried, or put off. Charlie might just as well bite the bullet and consider Gloria. “She grated on people. I never felt comfortable around her, and I doubt the others at the agency did, either. But she was very good at what she did, and I don’t think Richard realizes how hard she’s going to be to replace.”
    â€œHow did she grate on you? What was it she did that made you uncomfortable?” When Charlie just shrugged, he added, “Miss Greene, consider this a business breakfast. Time worth spending. Because it is, you know. Murder’s a nasty business but every bit as exciting as show business if—”
    â€œCan’t you talk about anything but murder?”
    â€œIt’s not going to go away, and neither am I. So, why did Gloria Tuschman make you uncomfortable?”
    â€œI honestly can’t put my finger on it. You can probably tell I love my job. It’s exciting and wonderful and I wouldn’t be anywhere else for the world.