Page 44 of The Body in the Backyard

“Speaking of lists, we need to narrow down these suspects,” Riley announced. She was sitting on the couch in Nick’s office with Burt’s heavy head in her lap. He was snoring against her belly.

“The focus is on the breath and the flow. We are present in the moment.” Gabe’s mellow voice came from the foyer, where he was teaching Fred, Lily, and Mr. Willicott tai chi.

Nick put his phone down and picked up his copy of the suspect list.

It was four single-spaced, two-columned pages that included everyone Griffin had mentioned who might have a problem with him, all the staffers affiliated with Channel 50’s morning show, and anyone with regular access to Griffin or his house. After signing the affidavit Mrs. Penny had prepared for her, swearing she had nothing to do with the threat on Griffin’s life, Riley had taken her own name off the list to save space.

“I started background checks on the first dozen or so names yesterday,” Brian said, scrolling through a document on his laptop. “The neighbor Belinda came up clean. She’s mostly retired from Hollywood but still does some consulting. Enough in cash and investments to be considered rich by anyone’s standards. No priors. No bad press. However, the neighbor on the other side of Gentry is a different story.”

Riley shivered, remembering the rage-fueled confrontation.

“Lyle Larstein is a bad dude,” Brian continued. “He was a top executive for Blue Banner Health, pulling down seven figures in bonuses alone every year. Second home in Cabo. Garage full of exotic sports cars. The wife and kids left him and took pretty much everything not nailed down after it went public that Larstein had a long history of sexual harassment and firing those who didn’t submit to his advances.”

“If that isn’t bad enough,” Josie added, “the shitbag decided seven figures a year wasn’t enough and got caught embezzling from Blue Banner’s nonprofit arm. He literally stole money from sick babies.”

Riley wasn’t surprised.

“He goes to the top. Theodoric stays up there too,” Nick said. “Gentry slept with his girlfriend/daughter. I wouldn’t put it past him to take a shot at someone who embarrassed him like that.”

Burt’s tail tapped happily in his sleep.

“Claudia Mendoza claims she’s over Griffin getting her fired, but she’s still carrying a grudge,” Riley said. “She was also in town when he was shot at yesterday.”

“What did you get from Goodshine this morning? Besides a blinding headache?” Nick asked her. “Her nails are too long to hold a gun, let alone shoot one, but she’s the one who lives with the annoying asshat. That could drive anyone to attempted murder.”

“I’m pretty sure she’s planning to marry Griffin, catch him cheating, and collect a big fat payout from the infidelity clause in the prenup before moving to Florida where the weather is easier to report.” She tapped her highlighter against the page. “As much as I would love the karma of it, I don’t think she’s our bad guy.”

“It’s so fucking cool to have a psychic on the team,” Brian said.

“I hate to bring this up,” Josie said, flipping through her copy of the suspects. “But what if it’s someone who didn’t make the list?”

“Then we pin it on one of the bad guys we did find, collect our check, and go out for a steak dinner,” Nick quipped.

Riley was only half-sure he was kidding.

“I’ll keep digging into the list and see if anyone else has any priors or if they’re spouting off threats on social media,” Brian said.

“What do you want me to do, boss?” Josie asked.

“Something you’re not going to like, but you’re the only person I trust to get the job done.”

“I’m listening.”

“We need to deploy the elderly.”

Burt rolled over onto his back with a hefty yawn, and his paws shot up in the air, bopping Riley in the chin. “Deploy the elderly for what?” she asked.

“Too many suspects and not enough time. I need the fogies to start surveillance of our most likely baddies.”

This wasn’t the first time Nick had employed their roommates. He’d once hired Mrs. Penny to follow Riley around in disguise. She still had dreams about being chased by an elderly mime.

“Noooooooooo,” Josie moaned, then scraped her hands over her face. “You know how I feel about old people.”

“Look, I need someone who can keep them in line and out of trouble. Brian can bust out some of our toys, and you two can monitor them from the van,” Nick said.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Riley pressed, dodging Burt’s tongue. There were a million ways this could go horribly wrong.

“No one looks twice at an old guy feeding the birds on a bench. Besides, it’ll keep them from destroying our house,” he insisted.