Page 38 of Wham Line

I went after him.

He didn’t exactly run.And neither did I.This was a hospital, after all.But hewaspower-walking fast enough that his rear end was about to catch fire, and I did my best to keep up with him, stage-whispering, “Jethro!Jethro!I see you!Don’t make me call the sheriff!”

Somehow, he managed to make his shoulders slump even further, and he stopped.He slowly turned to face me.He shot his eyebrows and mumbled, “Um, hi, do I know you—”

“Yes, you know me.You’ve been following me since Mizzenmast.”

He swallowed.To his credit, he gave it another try.“You must have me confused with someone else.I’m visiting my friend—”

“Honky-tonk,” I said.

(Er—sort of.)

Jethro blanched.He shook his head, and more of the dark hair fell in his eyes.

“Why are you following me, Jethro?”

“I’m not—”

“Fine.I’m sure the sheriff would love to know about this.You’ll shoot right to the top of her list for killing Mal and Sparkie and poisoning Bobby.”

“No!”

His shout echoed down the hall.A balding patient care tech poked his head out of a room to look at us.I gave him my most charming wave, which for some reason only seemed to make him angrier.

“Then start talking,” I said in a low voice.

Jethro pushed at his dark hair; it fell back to hang over his forehead again, but at least it gave him something to do.“Okay,” he said.“I was following you.But I didn’t do anything to anyone.I just want to know what happened to Mal, and everyone says you’re this amazing detective, and I thought if I watched you, you’d eventually figure out who did this, and then I could, you know…help.”

It got a little weak and fumbly there at the end, and I had a hard time not rolling my eyes.“Who told you I was an amazing detective?”

He squirmed.“People, you know?”

“No.I don’t know.That’s why I’m asking.”

“Uh, Larry?”

That was interesting, but I couldn’t spare time to consider what it meant.“So, why were you at Mizzenmast today?”

“To watch you.You know, like I said, you’re a detective—”

“No, Jethro.How did you know I was at Mizzenmast?”

He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

Five seconds passed.

Then ten.

He shut his mouth, and he looked like he was about to cry.

“For God’s sake, did you try to poison me?”

“What?No!I was—I was looking for clues!Because that’s where Mal got shot.And then you showed up, and I thought I could help.”

“Okay, well, that’s obviously a lie.”

Jethro shoved his hands in his pockets and glared at the floor.