Page 54 - Labelle Gramercy, Detective

Road Kill

where Frank lives, but it’s a good ten-minute-drive over bumpy
terrain. That might sober him up.”
I glanced at Labelle, unsure of what to say. She nodded slightly. A
diplomat has to interpret these subtle nuances.
“Well, Lon, Labelle Gramercy here is also a Peace Corps
volunteer, and she has also volunteered to organize a little memorial
service for Sally Furth. But she doesn’t know all of Sally’s friends
outside the Peace Corps; maybe you can help.”
“Me? I barely knew her. I know Frank and Ben had some
connection with her, but I don’t have much to do with the Peace
Corps.”
“Oh.” Labelle, I could see, was trying to look helpless and
feminine. “I had hoped you could help me, Mr. Durer. Is it true that
you are leaving Jolibana soon?”
Lon turned his attention to her. “That’s right. Three more days
and I’ll be history. Going to be in the Washington, D.C. area for a
few months, then on to the next post—wherever it is. Got to be
better than this hell-hole.”
“Yeah, it’s tough here—that’s for sure,” she commiserated.
“Anyway, I’d like to get out of here and get some sleep while it’s
cool. Tomorrow I’ve got to make some plans for the service. Maybe I
should just post a notice at the embassy. But I’d sure like to make it
more personal, you know; it’s such a shock to be reading a bulletin
board and find out your friend died suddenly. Did you see Sally
talking to anyone while she was here earlier tonight? That might
indicate who she knew.”
He shook his head. “I just can’t say. The whole evening is a bit
hazy now. And that’s just how I want it to stay! Maybe I can find a
way to forget the whole two years.”
Labelle put on a sympathetic expression. “Didn’t you find
anything in Jolibana you liked?”
He turned sour. “What? The heat and human misery? The
impossibility of doing a decent job? Certainly not the wonderful
opportunity for intercultural enrichment! This has to be the worst
post in the world.”
She shrugged and sighed. “I know what you mean. I’ll be glad to
leave, too. But at least I’ll take home a few souvenirs. Those little

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