Exposed (Rosato & DiNunzio #5)(66)

Bennie smiled, and they pulled up at a stone gatehouse, where an older guard opened a small window. “Good morning,” he said with a smile.

Mary introduced them both, then said, “We’re here to see the crime scene. The police are expecting us.”

“Fine.” The guard tsked-tsked. “Such a terrible shame about Mr. Eddington. We all liked him. Nothing like that ever happened here before. Everybody’s upset. Members and muckety-mucks, you know.”

“I’m sure. And I know Todd loved it here. Every Friday night he was here, no matter what, right?”

“Yes.” The guard nodded. “Like clockwork.”

“Did he usually come with anyone?”

“Usually alone. He met his foursome if he played in the morning.”

“His usual foursome? Guys from the office?” Mary took a flyer. “Like Ernie or Ray Matewicz?”

“Don’t know those names.” The guard shook his head. “I think he golfed with customers mostly. Mr. Davis, Mr. Cullen, Mr. Nustrall. Mr. Gallagher used to join but not lately. That’s who I remember. They’ll miss him.”

Mary made a mental note of the names. “Were you here last night, the night he was killed? Did you see him come in?”

“No, that’s not my shift. I’m off at four.”

“Oh, who’s shift is it?”

“The police already asked me that.” The guard frowned. “Hey, did you say you were with the police?”

“Not exactly, thanks,” Mary said, hitting the gas. “Take care now.”

“Well done.” Bennie smiled as they drove off.

“Thanks. Can’t blame a girl for asking, right?”

“Exactly.” They both laughed, and Mary steered up a winding asphalt driveway that bisected an immense front lawn, its grass so uniformly short and green that it could’ve been Astroturf. It was a beautiful day, the sun climbing a cloudless blue sky and in another mood, she would’ve felt good. They approached a large putting green on the left, where golfers practiced in complete absorption, their heads down.

Bennie looked around. “This will be a different kind of crime scene.”

“I know. It’s hard to believe somebody was killed here.” Mary drove them past a lovely Tudor mansion of gray stone with hatched windows and a gabled slate roof. A quaint wooden sign identified it as the clubhouse, and golfers were coming in and out in groups, talking and laughing.

“The parking lot’s around the back,” Bennie said.

“How do you know?”

“I Google-mapped it.”

Mary looked over, surprised. “That was a good idea. I should’ve thought of that.”

Bennie shrugged it off. “It had a street-view photo, but it was taken in winter. I think it will be different in summer. We’ll see.”

Mary felt guilty that Bennie was being so helpful and kept trying to put the partnership dispute to the back of her mind, but wasn’t succeeding. Bennie had worked her butt off last night, digging into the case, organizing the files, and setting up a war room in the conference room. She had even taken orders from Mary, who was trying to get used to being the one giving orders. It felt strange to be the driver of a car in which Bennie Rosato was a passenger, both literally and figuratively.

Bennie pointed to the right. “Go that way, it’s back there.”

“Thanks.” Mary slowed to let a golf cart go by, then followed the curve around the clubhouse. To her left was a set of tennis courts, already full of singles and doubles players, and beyond that, just ahead, on the left was a driving range that had golfers whacking the ball into the distance.

“This is the first parking lot,” Bennie said, gesturing, and Mary looked around to see a large parking lot shaped like a square, mostly already full.

“I guess people get here early to avoid the heat.”

“Probably.”

“That’s it, up ahead.” Mary drove forward and pointed to a secondary parking lot beyond the large one, a smaller square that was completely empty and cordoned off by yellow crime-scene tape, a grisly note that was incongruous in the lovely, exclusive setting.

“I see.”

Mary fell silent. A man had died here, horribly. The thought made her sick inside, even though Simon could be on the hook. Murder would always be more than a crime to her. It was a sin.

“You okay?” Bennie asked, cocking her head.

“Yes.” Mary shook it off. A single police cruiser idled at the entrance to the secondary parking lot, and inside sat a uniformed policeman, probably running the air conditioner.

“Where does Todd park again?” Bennie asked. “In the very last spot?”

“Yes, in the farthest corner.” Mary cruised around the perimeter of the first lot. “I’m approaching it the way Simon did, around the outside.”

“I don’t know if those other cars that were parked here will yield anything.”

“Me neither. If the killer knew Todd parked at the far corner and wanted to get him, they’d wait for him in the second lot. No reason to risk being seen running from one car to the next.” Mary eyed the empty spot where Todd would have parked, but noticed that on its far side was an expanse of grass, then thick bushes. Beyond that were oak trees. “Look at that, beyond the lot. That’s interesting.”