Page 168 - Labelle Gramercy, Detective

Slow Burn

Coming from anyone else, that would have been funny. “Well,
there’s always the trunk of his car,” I replied. “Not to mention bus
station lockers and a few million dumpsters. How about some lunch?
I’m starving.”
“All right. We’ll get takeout on the way to Quarles Carbone’s
place.” She unfolded the map.
“I wonder what kind of business he’s got going now. At least this
brother has learned the errors of his ways.”
“Not quite.”
“What do you mean?” Had I missed something crucial?
“He claims to be selling quarters of a quiche. But I saw him cut
one in fifths. Most people would not notice the difference. If he’s not
guilty of murder, he certainly has committed false advertising.”
After we picked up a double cheeseburger for me, Labelle took
over the driving. I guess she’d seen enough of the map, and the
excitement and pressure of an investigation always suppress her
appetite. I’m just the opposite, and I’ve got the beginnings of a
weight problem to prove it.
“So how did you choose the optimal route?” I asked, wiping
ketchup off my face and tie.
“I didn’t. The distances are so small that we couldn’t lose much
time by going in a sort of indented circle. But the map has other uses.
Given Sunday afternoon traffic in this area, we can estimate the travel
time for each of the quints to and from their uncle’s place to a
reasonable degree of certainty. In other words, if one of them has no
alibi for that period of time, centered on five o’clock, then he bears
closer scrutiny.”
“I get it. That’s why you asked Quantrill about 4:30 to 5:30. It
would take him half an hour to make a one-way trip.”
“Well, if Mrs. Flowers and that quiche customer can verify his
movements, he couldn’t have been at Al Carbone’s place at five
o’clock.”
“Not unless he had wings.”
Was she seriously entertaining the possibility of a hidden
helicopter? I took out my little notebook and wrote it down, just in
case. Thoroughness was a virtue she appreciated.
We approached 3071 East Avenue 91, a rather shabby bungalow
court. The occupants’ cars were parked in back of each unit, along a

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