CHAPTER 6

C HAPTER 6

Zack definitely wasn't pleased with the interruption, not when Reese and he had been trying to reach new heights of lust. However, he could only hope they could aspire to those new heights later, since they really did need to deal with this visitor.

A visitor who could potentially end Reese's reason to be there.

That was something Zack decided to ponder later. For now, there were questions that had to be asked. Before he could launch into a few or ask the man to come in, Harry Floyd did his own verbal launching.

"I got your phone message," he said, directing his words at Reese, "and I gathered up a few things and drove right over." He tipped his head to a shoebox he had tucked under his arm and then quickly added, "The lady at the desk gave me your room number and told me you were up here with Sheriff Caldwell."

It didn't surprise Zack that info like that was known and divulged. Heck, it was possible everyone knew exactly who this man was and had perhaps even tried to discern if the crotch area of his jeans was unusually crowded. Zack couldn't keep himself from doing the same, but there was nothing obvious.

"Come in," Zack offered, figuring the man would be more forthcoming with details if there was at least some privacy.

Harry muttered his thanks and stepped in. "I know you aren't really a friend of a friend," he added to Reese. "I called a few people that I'm still in touch with here in Loveland, and they told me what was going on."

So, Zack didn't need to fill him in on what could have been startling news. Reese and he kept their attention pinned on their visitor, trying to gauge his reaction. They didn't get much time to do that, though, because there were some new knocks at the door.

"It's me," Sylvia called out.

Zack rolled his eyes, and Reese sighed. Harry's visit would be far more complicated with Sylvia there, but Zack doubted the woman would just go away. He opened the door and saw it wasn't just Sylvia, though, but Arabella, Maeve, and their three ice-skating partners. Thankfully, they'd all removed their skates before coming in.

"I saw him in the parking lot," Sylvia blurted. "I saw Harry . . ." Her words trailed off as her gaze landed on the man. She gasped and pressed her hand to her now-trembling mouth.

Maeve had a similar reaction. "Harry," the women said in unison.

Zack felt both relief over now having the case solved and disappointment that Reese would likely soon be leaving. Both emotions were short-lived, though, as Zack shifted into cop mode, in case one of the women tried to go after their bigamist husband. Thankfully, though, Maeve and Sylvia just seemed to be in shock. Ditto for their skating partners. But Arabella was frowning and shaking her head.

"What happened to the little scar on your eyebrow?" Arabella asked, walking closer to Harry.

"A scar?" Reese, Zack, Maeve, and Sylvia asked in unison.

Arabella nodded. "Happy Harry had a little scar that he got when he was mowing the lawn and a small rock flew up and hit him."

Arabella had been wife number three, so that explained why the first two hadn't known about it.

"I never had a scar," the man insisted, but he didn't seem especially surprised by the question. He sighed and gave each woman a long look before turning to Zack and Reese. "I've only married one woman," Harry went on. "That was fifty-two years ago, and I'm still married to her."

Zack played a quick mental connect the dots. The women had clearly recognized this man. Or rather they'd recognized his face. So that left an obvious conclusion.

"Do you have a twin brother?" Zack asked.

Harry nodded and turned what appeared to be an apologetic gaze at the wives. "My twin brother, Elwood, had a scar." He pointed to a spot on his right eyebrow. "And he had this habit of calling me Serious Harry and himself Happy Harry."

That brought on a lot of different responses. Sighs. Soft gasps. Headshakes. Worried groans. What Zack didn't see, though, was any trace of anger. Good. He didn't want any venom aimed at this man because of his brother.

"Elwood left home when he was sixteen," Harry went on. "He'd gotten into a big argument with our dad, and he basically ran away. It was a decade or more before he even came back for a visit. He had the scar then." He paused. "That was the last time I saw my brother."

During that decade, Elwood could have married, and deserted, all three wives. The timing fit, and the scar added to the validity of this man's twin being Happy Harry. But the bigamist had another distinct feature. Maeve asked the question before Zack could.

"Did Elwood have three man things?" she pressed.

Harry nodded, which brought on more of those sighs and gasps. It was a first for Zack to have an ID confirmed by an extra testicle, but since he was certain now that they had the right Happy Harry—or rather, Happy Elwood—he could start questioning Harry.

"When your brother came home for a visit, did he happen to mention he'd married three different women?" Zack asked.

Harry quickly shook his head. "No. He mentioned a girlfriend, but she wasn't with him."

Hell, that could possibly mean there was a fourth wife if Elwood had continued his string of saying I do .

"About twenty or so years ago, I got a visit from a woman named Sadie, who was looking for Elwood. She said he was using the surname Johnson then but that she'd found his birth certificate and used it to find me. Sadie said Elwood and she never married, but they were together for five years before he up and left her. She thought I might know where he was. I didn't," Harry said. "But Sadie gave me this box of stuff Elwood had left at her place."

Harry took the shoebox from underneath his arm. "There are cards and letters in here that my brother wrote to various women, but he obviously never sent them. There were no addresses or surnames, so I didn't know how to get in touch with the intended recipients to pass them along." He paused again and handed the box to Zack. "The women's first names are Sylvia, Maeve, and Arabella."

Suddenly the box became the center of attention, so Zack set it on the table and opened it. Since he wouldn't be bringing charges against Elwood, there was no need to treat the letters as evidence that would have to hold up in court. He poured out the contents, fanning through them, and saw that each envelope was indeed marked with one of the women's names.

The wives looked pleadingly at Zack, and he stepped back so they could retrieve the envelopes intended for them. He only hoped there wasn't something heart-crushing inside. That was why he didn't ask his granddad, Harrison, or Hal to leave. The wives might need some TLC once this ordeal was over.

"Do you know where Elwood is?" Zack asked Harry.

Again, Harry shook his head. "I haven't seen or heard from him in over fifty years, but I did get some news about him." The women stopped the envelope sorting to look at him. "I'm sorry, ladies, but I'm pretty sure my brother is dead."