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Nearing eight a.m., Mina stepped into the outer area of the mayor’s office, Nolan accompanying her. Daisy Ellington sat behind her wide, wooden desk, the top neat and tidy and still holding an old-fashioned Rolodex. The fifty-something woman was perfectly groomed, as usual. She’d slicked her dyed blond hair back in a bun and wore a flowery dress with a fitted waist, much like the ones she often wore.

Mina had known Daisy for years. Exactly how many, she wasn’t sure. She’d first met the mayor’s assistant when she was in grade school. Daisy and her husband had left Georgia for him to take the job as Lost Lake’s local sanitation and waterworks expert. They lived five houses down from Mina’s family home, and within the first two weeks of arriving, Daisy had called on everyone on the block, bringing her famous poundcake and southern charm with her.

It had taken only six months before she went to work for the mayor where she received the report listing every new person who’d moved into town. She baked and delivered a poundcake each to them, welcoming them on behalf of the mayor and town. She continued that warm welcome to this day, knew most everyone in the area, and was a deep well of information.

She literally was Lost Lake’s form of Google. If anyone would know who killed the mayor, it would be Daisy.

She looked up, and a broad smile crossed her face. “Sheriff and Nolan. I don’t have you on Mayor Sutton’s calendar today.”

“We’re not here to see him.” Mina approached the desk but didn’t sit. “We’ve come to see you.”

She raised her hand to clutch her short strand of pearls. “Me? Whatever could you want from me?”

“It’s about the mayor.”

“Ernie?” She blinked mascara-coated lashes. “Is he okay?”

Mina took a seat across the desk.

“He’s been shot,” she said, unable to say right off the bat that he’d been murdered.

Daisy leapt to her feet. “So he’s in the hospital? I need to get over there.”

Nolan held up his hand. “Wait. He’s not at the hospital.”

“He’s not de…” Her eyes flashed open. “Oh my goodness. He’s dead, right?”

“Yes,” Mina said, wishing there had been a better way to deliver this shocking news.

Daisy fell back in her chair. “But that can’t be. Who would want to shoot him? Everybody loves Ernie. Just everybody.”

“Apparently not.” Nolan offered a sincere look. “I’m so sorry for your loss, Daisy. I know you were close to Mayor Sutton.”

“Close?” Her voice rose. “He was like family. He and my Roger were best friends. How am I going to tell Roger?”

“I know you’ll find a way,” Mina said.

“Yes, I suppose I’ll have to.” She seemed to deflate in resignation of the news.

Mina hated to push her at a time like this, but Daisy would want the mayor’s killer brought to justice. “We have a few questions for you, and then you should go home to tell Roger before he hears about it via the grapevine. If you’re not up to driving, we can escort you home, if you’d like.”

“Yes. Yes.” Tears glistened in her eyes, and she reached for a tissue on her desk, but they were too far away.

Nolan grabbed the box and walked around the back of the desk. He squatted next to her and held them out. She wiped the tears now rolling over wrinkled cheeks, then lowered her hands to the arms of her antique wooden chair.

“I really am sorry, Daisy.” Nolan patted her hand. “Is there anything else I can do to help besides take you home?”

“Aren’t you just the sweetest.” She offered a wobbly smile and looked up at Mina. “Isn’t he just the best?”

Mina nodded, and she really meant it. As he and Daisy chatted about ways to break the news to Roger, Mina drifted off to the past. The Nolan she’d known that summer was exactly the kind of guy who would take Daisy’s hand and offer to help her. To offer her advice and let her talk through her pain. But the Nolan who walked out on her wasn’t that kind of person. So which one was he really?

Could she trust him? Could she believe that he’d left her a note?

She had to do something to regain her ability to trust men. Even with a father and two brothers who were faithful husbands, she couldn’t find it in her heart to trust any guy who wanted to date her.

If she didn’t find a way to get over the betrayal, she would remain single for the rest of her life. Maybe a good thing. For her career anyway. Being a sheriff and a mom at the same time could have its challenges.

Or not. She just didn’t know.

She could go over to Tommy’s house and ask to look through his things. If Nolan really had given the note to Tommy, maybe he’d kept it for some reason. She wouldn’t want to stir up any pain for his mother, but surely she would allow Mina to search his room.

Not now though. When she had some free time. Right now she had a killer, perhaps an abductor to find. That meant they had to question Daisy, but she was fragile, and Mina had to be sensitive.

“When was the last time you saw the mayor?” she asked.

Daisy didn’t hesitate. “Yesterday afternoon around one o’clock. He left for a late lunch but didn’t come back to the office.”

Nolan released her hand and stood. “Was he supposed to return?”

“No. He didn’t have any additional appointments and said he wouldn’t be back for the rest of the day.”

“Was that unusual for him to leave so early?” Nolan asked.

“Normally I would say yes. He was usually still here at five-thirty when I left for the day, five days a week.” Daisy sniffled. “Many days even later. There were times I’ve gone out to dinner with Roger and saw the lights on here when we drove by on the way home.” She shook her head. “We’ll never have another mayor as dedicated as Ernie was.”

Mina agreed, but she couldn’t let that distract her. “But that changed lately?”

Daisy nodded. “He left early at least one day a week for… I don’t know…the past two months, I’d say. He made it clear that I shouldn’t question where he was going. Out of respect for him, I never did.”

Nolan returned to his chair. “Do you have a theory about what he was doing on these days?”

Daisy didn’t respond but twisted the tissue in her hands.

“It’s okay, Daisy,” Mina said to encourage her. “You can tell us.”

She swiped a tear from her cheek. “I don’t want to speak ill of Ernie, especially when he can’t defend himself.”

Mina leaned closer and lowered her voice. “Whatever you say will go no further than the three of us.”

She bit her lip, gnawing off peach-colored lipstick. “I thought he might be having an affair with a married woman.”

“Why would you think that?” Nolan asked.

Good thing he’d asked. If Mina had questioned Daisy, her tone of voice would’ve given away her shock at the comment and perhaps troubled Daisy.

Daisy pressed her hands out on the desk and raised her shoulders. “I don’t pay bills as part of my job, but I do open the mail when it comes in. That includes his work credit card. I happened to see the charges for a hotel in Portland on one of the statements. The date matched one of the days he was out of the office. I didn’t look any further because I certainly would never spy on him, but it made me wonder. Not only about that, but wonder why he would charge something personal on his work card.”

“And that’s it?” Mina asked. “Just one day at a hotel left you curious? Maybe he was attending a conference.”

“He would’ve told me about something like that,” she said. “And that’s not all. He took several phone calls recently on his cell phone, and when I had stepped into his office, he tried to hide the conversation from me. He’s never done that in the past, no matter who he was talking to, so I figured it could be the woman.”

Daisy twisted her hands together. “We also share a calendar, and one day I discovered he had a separate calendar on his computer. None of the events were spelled out but were listed in cryptic notations. I access his computer all the time, and he obviously didn’t want me to know what was going on. Again, out of respect for him I didn’t ask. But then the last thing was that he’d lost weight lately, and I figured he was more cognizant about his appearance and wanted to look good for this woman.”

Mina had to agree with Daisy’s assessment. These things could mean he was having an affair, and an affair could also explain other things.

“What about perfume?” Mina asked. “Are you familiar with the scent of Chanel N°5?”

She nodded. “My mom wore it. I did too for a while.”

“Has any woman come into the office wearing that scent?” Nolan asked.

“I don’t know.” Daisy tilted her head. “Not that I’m aware of anyway.”

“Do you know who he was meeting for lunch yesterday?” Mina asked in hopes that he really had gone to lunch.

She shook her head. “He said it was personal.”

Mina needed better answers, but Daisy could only speak to what she knew. “What about his daughter, Becca? Do you know if she’s out of town or on vacation? Maybe Mayor Sutton was housesitting?”

“He didn’t mention it. They’re—they were—so close he would’ve said something about her being gone.”

“When was the last time you saw her?” Mina asked.

Alarm shone from Daisy’s watery eyes. “I don’t like these questions. Don’t tell me she’s dead too?”

Mina lifted her hands. “No. No. But we haven’t been able to locate her.”

Daisy blinked a few times. “I saw her on Wednesday evening at a fundraiser for Ukrainian refugees who’ve settled in our state. She’s heading up the local committee to get needed supplies for these families.”

Mina had heard good things about their organization. “I know she’s done a wonderful job, but can you think of anyone who might want to hurt or take her?”

“This is all just so surreal.” Daisy shivered and rubbed her hands over her upper arms. “You’re talking about Lost Lake here. Our tiny little town. Who wants to hurt anyone here? I mean sure, we all have our quarrels and disagreements, but nobody wants to murder or abduct someone.”

“Any normal day I would agree with you, but a murder has occurred. Someone we all care about.” Mina let that comment hang in the air for a moment. “Becca could be the key. So can you think of anyone who disagreed with her?”

Daisy stared off into the distance, then shook her head. “There are some folks who don’t believe refugees should be coming to our country. Ernie was also a staunch supporter of the effort to relocate them here too. But again, is that enough of a reason to kill?”

A wavering smile crossed Nolan’s lips. “You can never tell what could cause a person to break and commit murder. I’ve seen some pretty bizarre threats to the president’s life over the years, and it seemed like if these people could actually get to him, they would follow through.”

Daisy frowned. “I suppose that’s true.”

“Would you be willing to make a list of local friends and family Becca might have?” Mina asked. “The mayor’s close friends too. We’d like to follow up with them to see if they know where she is or would know a reason someone might want to kill the mayor.”

“I’ll get to it the moment you leave.” Daisy scribbled something on a pad next to her. “You should know. Ernie didn’t have many friends. No close ones that I can even think of. He hung out with his birdwatching club, but otherwise it was just Becca. Me and Roger, too, but we really didn’t do that much together.”

“He was such a social guy, that surprises me,” Mina said.

“He said he spent his entire day catering to people, and when he was off the clock, he just wanted to be alone or with Becca.”

“That makes sense.” Nolan laid a business card on her desk. “Can you take a picture of the list and text it to me at this phone number as soon as you complete it?”

“Of course.”

He rested his hands on the arms of the chair, but gripped them tightly. “Another strong motive behind murder is money. Did the mayor need money or borrow money from someone?”

Daisy puckered her lips. “I don’t know anything about that. He managed all of his personal affairs. Now if you want to know about the city finances, I can tell you all about that.”

That’s an area Mina hadn’t considered. “Is it possible that someone in a city office has been embezzling or siphoning money and the mayor discovered it?”

“Not that I know of.” Daisy tapped her finger on the desk. “I can’t think of anyone who had access to the funds who would be misusing them, but I suppose it’s possible.”

“Who has access to the money?” Nolan asked.

“Our treasurer, of course, and then our accountant.” She sat silently, her head tilted in question. “We have separation of duties to keep theft at bay. Our treasurer deposits the money and our accountant disperses it and pays the bills.”

“Has Mayor Sutton met with either of these people recently?” Nolan asked.

“Now that you mention it,” Daisy’s eyes brightened, and she sat forward, “He did have an appointment with our accountant early in the week. It seemed amiable though.”

“Could I get a copy of the last six months of budget reports for the city?” Mina asked, but didn’t add or even hint at the fact that she wanted them in case the mayor himself was dipping into the money.

“I’ll print them for you right now.” She clicked her computer mouse, tapped on the keyboard, and soon, the printer behind her was humming. “Anything else?”

“Has the mayor seemed off or out of sorts recently?” Nolan asked.

“Um, no.” She shook her head. “Not really. Everything seemed normal.”

“Has he had any unusual visitors lately or anyone you didn’t know or someone acting suspiciously?” Mina asked.

Daisy sighed and flipped through an appointment book. “I wish I could be more help, but no. No one in here that I didn’t know and everyone seemed normal.”

She shoved her chair back with extra force as if frustrated and grabbed the reports from the printer. She straightened the pages with a vigorous tap, then laid them on the corner of her desk. “The reports you want. If you need anything else, just ask.”

Mina swiped to the sketch of Smythe on her phone and held it out. “Has this man been in here or have you seen him before?”

Daisy gave the screen a careful study. “I’m sure I haven’t seen him here, and I don’t remember seeing him out on the street or anything.” She furrowed her brow. “Since he’s not one of the locals, are you also looking outside of town for the person who killed him?”

“We are,” Mina said. “Is there someone outside of Lost Lake who you might consider a suspect?”

She opened her mouth, then closed it to tap her finger on the desk again. “Maybe, but not really. Still, I should mention that Ernie dealt with mayors from other cities and of course other county officials. He seemed to have a good relationship with all of them, except for the mayor of Seaside Harbor. They had a rivalry going, but far as I know, it was friendly.”

Mina jotted down Seaside Harbor Mayor. “Do you know of any locals who own handguns and are proficient in shooting them?”

Daisy shook her head. “You would know more about it than me. I stay away from things like that.”

“We might as well rule you out as a suspect right now,” Mina said. “Where were you yesterday between three and five?”

“Here. A few people stopped by during that time and can vouch for the fact that I was here. Not that I need anyone to vouch for me. You know I would never kill Ernie.” She wrinkled her nose. “Lands’ end! What am I saying? I’d never kill anyone .”

“I believe you. Of course I do.” Mina slid her notebook across the desk to Daisy. “But I need you to jot down the names of the people who saw you yesterday afternoon.”

“Gladly.” She grabbed a pen and wrote quickly before passing the book back to Mina. “They’re all local, so you shouldn’t have a hard time finding them.”

“Did Mayor Sutton happen to leave his phone here?” Nolan asked.

“Not that I know of, but I haven’t been in his office this morning. Let me call it to see.” She picked up her desktop handset and punched a speed dial number. “It’s ringing but not from here.”

Daisy sagged as if this was getting too much for her, but Mina had to press on. For Becca’s sake. “The mayor was famous for his social media posts. Have you noticed anything unusual in his posts lately?”

“Actually, he didn’t do his own posts.” She gave a half smile. “He didn’t have a personal account, and it was our little secret, but I did all of the social media and other promotions for his job.”

Mina thought about the creative, often humorous posts and smiled. “Then you’re a very talented social media creator.”

Blushing bright red, she waved a hand. “I’m not sure I’m proud of that fact, but I find it very easy to do. Maybe it’s so easy because I respected Ernie so much.”

“If you generated the content,” Mina said, “there’s no point in looking at his posts, but has anyone left negative replies that we should consider?”

“Oh, yes!” She sat up in her seat. “One person in particular likes to post negative comments on everything I put out there. Even on best wishes on holidays. He goes by the name Patriotic Puzzle.” She wrote @patrioticpuzzle on a Post-It note and slapped it on top of her list of those who could vouch for her. “He really doesn’t have anything in the description on his account and has zero posts of his own. I don’t know what the name is supposed to mean other than he might like politics and puzzles.”

Mina shared a look with Nolan. He gave a brief nod. Yeah, he’d caught the connection between puzzle and cipher and the mystery room.

“I wanted to block him,” Daisy continued. “But Ernie wouldn’t let me. He said it would just infuriate the guy and make him escalate into something other than leaving negative replies. Besides, Ernie said, all positive comments on a post isn’t realistic, and he wanted to come across as realistic to his constituents.”

“He was a real down-to-earth man,” Mina said sincerely, and the three of them fell silent enough to hear the hammers pounding outside on Main Street.

Daisy’s focus shifted to the window. “Founder’s Day. It won’t be the same without Ernie.”

“Do you think we should cancel it?” Mina asked.

“No. No.” Daisy leaned closer. “That’s the last thing Ernie would want. He loved that day, and he loved his town. He wouldn’t want anything to interfere with it.”

“Maybe we could do something special to honor him,” Nolan suggested.

“Yes!” Daisy grabbed her pen and paper. “I’ll get ahold of the council members, and we’ll plan something.”

“Can you please hold off on that?” Mina said. “I don’t want word getting around about the murder until we have a better handle on the investigation.”

Daisy dropped her pen. “Just tell me when I’m cleared to take care of it, and we’ll do something special.”

“I know you will.” Mina smiled at the amazing woman and wanted to stop here, but she had additional questions. “He was also once a partner in a charter fishing boat. Was he still involved in that?”

Daisy frowned. “He has a boat with his brother-in-law, Wade Collins.”

“You don’t think that was a good thing?” Nolan asked.

“Wade is kind of a freeloader.” Daisy shook her head. “I don’t need to speak badly of anyone, but he didn’t work very hard, and when he ran out of money because he didn’t sign up enough clients, he always hit Ernie up. Of course Ernie gave the money to him out of his share of the business profits.”

“So the mayor didn’t make any profit from this fishing venture then,” Mina said.

“Again, I don’t know his finances, but on the surface it didn’t seem like he could have. When his wife was alive, I heard him tell her he wanted to get out of the fishing business, but he stayed in it for her sake.”

Mina made a note of that. “And yet two years after she passed away, he was still involved with her brother.”

Daisy wrinkled her nose. “It makes no sense to me, but it must’ve made sense to Ernie.”

“Do you know if they both owned the boat?” Nolan asked.

“That I don’t know, but I’ve lived here long enough to know fishing boats like that one are pricey. I doubt there was any way Wade could’ve owned it outright.”

Mina glanced at Nolan to see if he was thinking along the same lines as she was—if Wade needed a quick infusion of cash, he might have killed the mayor so he could sell the boat.

Nolan’s furrowed brow and knowing look told her it was likely they were of the same mind. It also told her they might just have their first viable suspect for murder.