Otherwise known as gossip and rumors. “Thanks. But Tabi—” I caught myself. “But I’ve been thinking about Brown’s murder, and I was wondering if you’ve come across the same information I have.”

The pen tapping started again. I held my hands together to keep from reaching across the table and snatching it from him.

“You know I can’t talk about an active investigation,” he said.

Of course I knew. I’d heard nothing but that from Detective Hal Inwood for years. “How about this. I tell you what I’ve found out, and you look interested?”

Ash laughed. “I’ll do my best.”

So I talked about Brown’s brother Bob, and how they hadn’t spoken in years. How Bob had been spending what seemed to be a lot of time at Lindy’s house. And how Bob had never married, not even once. I also mentioned the bike club ride, and the nameless and somewhat shadowy figure Brown had stayed away from.

As I talked, I detected a flicker or two of interest in Ash’s face, so I figured there was some momentum, which had to be a good thing. “And then there’s Ariella Tice.”

“Who?” Ash asked, frowning.

Hah! Two points for the Tabitha-Minnie team! “A former coworker of Brown’s. She was let go from the city just before he retired, and she seems to hold a huge grudge against him.”

“Hmm.” Ash made some notes. “Anything else?”

I took a breath. This was the big thing. “Doesn’t it seem odd to you that we had two murders in the county within two weeks, and that both murder victims were out bicycling?”

“Odd?” Ash squinted. “Let’s say outside of the normal bell curve of statistical probability.”

Which was another way of saying odd. “So you agree there’s a connection between Brown and Emily. With the bicycles.”

“No, I didn’t say that at all.” Ash slipped his notebook into his shirt pocket and dropped the pen next to it. “I agree it’s unusual, but correlation is not causation, and there are lots of things we need to investigate. We can’t focus on that one thing and neglect everything else.”

“Of course not,” I said. “But because it’s so unusual, it seems like a good place to start.”

Ash nodded. “It does seem that way. And no, I’m not doing that mansplaining thing you hate so much, so lay those hackles back down. Murder investigations have procedures and processes, and we have to follow them if we want to get the evidence that’s necessary for a solid conviction.”

I sighed. “Makes sense.” I didn’t like it, but it made sense. On the other hand, Tabitha and I were not constrained by procedures or processes, and I said as much that evening on the phone.

“Exactly,” she said. “Now, let me tell you what I learned today about Emily.”