Prime Cut by Diane Mott Davidson Page A

the couch and surveyed the spread. "He really wants to talk to you, Mom. Anyway, he said he was going to call Marla."
     
     
"Was he in New York?" Tom asked. Arch shook his head and mumbled something about Julian's being on the road.
     
     
"I'm sorry, Arch," I said, then asked, "Did Andre call? Is he doing all right?"
     
     
"He left a message," Arch said uncertainly. "He's okay, I guess. Says he's not going to make enough on the shoot to pay the cost of caring for his wife if some guy wrecks all the food. What's the matter with his wife?"
     
     
"She has macular degeneration, which is a problem with the eyes. She's virtually blind, and needs a full-time nurse. It's expensive -"
     
     
"Who wrecked the food?"
     
     
"Just some guy on our job today. Is Andre's message still on the tape?"
     
     
"Sorry. I erased it because Todd and I were doing some experimenting with dialing. You're just supposed to call him back. What's the matter, Mom? You said your hand was just scratched."
     
     
"Remember the guy who made the mess in our kitchen?"
     
     
Arch smeared mayonnaise on half a roll. "Gerald Eliot? The builder scratched your hand?"
     
     
"No, hon. He's dead." Tom added, "They found his body out at Cameron Burr's place."
     
     
"No kidding?" asked Arch, incredulous. He put down his roll. "What happened to him?"
     
     
"We don't know yet," I replied, then hesitated. "Anyway, while we were all out there, I... had a somewhat... physical argument with the assistant district attorney. I... sort of lost it when they arrested Cameron," I added.
     
     
Arch bombarded us with questions. How did Eliot die? Mr. Burr didn't kill Gerald, did he? I said I couldn't imagine that he would have. Was Mr. Burr okay? Probably, I replied. Did Mrs. Burr know Mr. Burr had been arrested? It was possible Barbara was too sick to be informed of this news,.I told him; it might just make her worse. Arch loved the Burrs. He couldn't process what this would mean for them. Instead, he decided to focus on my altercation with the assistant district attorney.
     
     
Arch's father, Dr. John Richard Korman - dubbed The Jerk by Marla and me - was currently in jail for assault. Would he now have two parents in jail? Arch asked. Jail time for me was unlikely, I assured my anxious son, after I'd made us steaming cups of hot chocolate and brought them out to the living room. The other deputies had seen Andy Fuller come at Tom first.
     
     
"So who's in trouble?" Arch asked pragmatically. It was hard to tell, Tom and I told him.
     
     
The phone rang: Tom held it up so we both could hear.
     
     
"Hey!" came a hearty voice. "You should have knocked Fuller out with one of your frying pans!"
     
     
"Boyd," Tom announced, and I smiled and nodded. Despite my increasing worries, it was good to hear our
     
     
5
     
     
I Tom hugged me and told me not to worry. I held his handsome face in my hands and kissed him. Of course I would worry. And feel guilty. If I hadn't interfered, he wouldn't be in this mess. Tom kissed me, then said he'd fix me an espresso if l'd stop trying to take the blame for the world's wrongs. I followed him to our topsy-turvy kitchen.
     
     
"What happens to Cameron?" I asked. "Can you tell me? Or am I considered a witness?"
     
     
"I can tell you. It's Cameron Burr who shouldn't get in touch with you." Tom filled the espresso machine with water, pawed through the pile of china on the counter, and finally placed two Norwegian china demitasse cups under the doser. "I'm waiting for a fax from Boyd. He's sending me a map of Blue Spruce showing the Burrs' place in relation to Open Space." He pressed the button and a moment later handed me a small, crema- topped drink. "The scenario Fuller is going with is this." He sipped his coffee. "The window frame incident at the Grizzly Saloon occurred just before eleven the night before last. Fuller thinks Cameron Burr followed Gerald Eliot from the Grizzly to his nighttime security guard job at the