At nine the next morning Mac was knocking on Sam Sedwick's door.
Mac had spent the night at Loren Blunt's place going through his writing desk reading the hundreds of love letters between him and Shelby and other men that had also fallen hopelessly in love with him. When he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer he grabbed a few hours sleep on the sofa in the living room. He dreamed of Loren Blunt, those beautiful eyes staring into his and his mouth close to his whispering words he couldn't hear.
When he woke at six thirty the next morning he took the liberty of taking a luxurious shower and shave in Loren's richly appointed bathroom, which revitalized him to face another day. After so many years of being a police detective Mac had learned that the beginning stages of a murder investigation -- especially one as gruesome as this one -- were the most important and therefore always kept a few change of clothes in his car in anticipation that he might not be able to get back to his place for a few days.
*
A British butler in a full tuxedo answered the door to Mr. Sedwick's upper Manhattan mansion and ushered Mac into the sunny breakfast parlor where Sam Sedwick and Shelby Cantrell were having their coffee. Both men, dressed formally in mourning suits and ties, stood when Mac entered the room. Sam Sedwick took the lead and made the introductions. Shelby Cantrell took Mac's hand and shook it firmly then held it for just that little extra second that made Mac uncomfortable enough to pull his hand away. A hint of familiarity crossed through Mac's brain and he knew that at some point they had most likely crossed paths at Spenc's club in New Orleans.
"Coffee Detective McParson?" Sam asked.
"Thank you." he replied and took a seat at the table they had been seated at when he arrived. Sam nodded to the butler who walked to the sideboard where a sterling silver coffee service sat. He lifted a bone china cup and saucer and carefully poured the coffee.
"Have you made any progress on the case Detective?" Shelby asked in that slow sugary-sweet southern drawl Mac had come to loath after living in the south for so many years.
"In cases like this the process can be long and tedious. I'm afraid at this point everyone is still a suspect and yet no one is an exact person of interest." It was Mac's fancy way of saying 'no' "I understand from my partner that you saw Mr. Blunt yesterday afternoon before he was scheduled to leave for the country. Do you have any idea why he might have changed his mind?"
"None at all Detective. We said good-bye at the office. I had a late meeting with Mr. Wallace I needed to attend. Loren was going to go home and pack an overnight bag and leave directly to the house in Connecticut."
Mac turned to Sam, who still appeared to be in shock over Loren's untimely death. "Mr. Sedwick, when was the last time you spoke with Mr. Blunt?"
"He called me on Thursday to ask if he could use the Connecticut house for the weekend. Said he needed to get away for few days. He stopped by that evening for a drink and to pick up the keys. I'm sure your investigation has already revealed that my nephew was having relationship problems and needed to get away to think."
"Yes sir it has." Mac turned back to Shelby and looked at him but before he could ask another question the butler stepped into the room and announced that Mr. Liebacker was here.
Waldo Liebacker always made an entrance when he entered a room. Maybe it was his striking appearance or his dominant personality but he made sure that everyone around him knew that Waldo Liebacker had arrived. Mac stood and shook Liebacker's hand making a mental note that neither Sam nor Shelby did.
"Well Detective, are you here to arrest Shelby for murdering his lover?" Liebacker asked in his Waldo Liebacker I'm-better-than-everyone-else manner. The butler didn't bother to ask if Waldo wanted coffee, he just poured him a cup and placed it in front of him.
"This is my home and you will not say such nasty lies about me." Shelby drawled to Waldo, who in turn just waived his hand like he was swatting a bug away. There was no love between the two men.
"Shelby I hate to be the bearer of bad news but you are a merely a squatter here and one day Sam is going to grow tired of your mooching and throw your ass out on the street where it belongs."
Waldo proclaimed turning his body away from Shelby and more towards Sam and Mac.
"Gentlemen please," Sam interjected, "I'm sorry Detective, it's always complicated when Shelby and Waldo are in the same room."
Over the next hour Mac questioned Sam and Shelby separately and finally together. Sam was at a gala event for a new artist that he was supporting -- an exquisite looking Asian man that spoke very little English but that Sam was successfully lusting after. Once again Mac was taken back that these men lived their life so openly in a time where the moral majority frowned upon any type of relationships outside of heterosexual ones.
Shelby on the other hand had a flimsy alibi. He claimed to have been at the office until seven or eight most of which was alone. From the office he went to a bar where he didn't run into anyone he knew had some drinks and returned home sometime after the police had come and gone. He admitted he was quite drunk and didn't remember too much of his evening.
In Mac's mind there was absolutely no truth whatsoever to Shelby's story. Men like Shelby Cantrell didn't get drunk and most definitely didn't spend evenings alone. Shelby was at a crossroads. There were issues within his relationship with Loren and he needed to either insure those problems were solved or he needed to find another sugar-daddy to care for him.
On the surface it appeared there was a very silent understanding between Shelby and Sam but that it was wearing thin. Sam was gracious enough to provide a residence for Shelby while he dated his nephew but with Loren out of the picture he didn't have to be the ever obliging host any longer.
With the initial interview over Mac said his goodbyes and stood to leave. Liebacker joined him in the hallway and asked if he could accompany him on his next stop.
"I was planning on returning to Mr. Blunt's apartment which is still under police jurisdiction." Mac replied.
"Then let me ride with you, I can walk back to my place from there. I'll just let my driver go."
Alone in the car Mac asked the question he had wanted to ask earlier. "Did you believe Mr. Cantrell's story about his whereabouts last evening?"
"Not one bit. Shelby is a whore and if he's not getting fucked he isn't happy. He most likely took advantage of Loren's absence and was in someone else's bed."
"Any ideas whom that might have been?"
"Well with Shelby most likely burning his bridge with Loren he's got to be on the prowl for another lover that will keep him. In our circle of friends there are several wealthy gentlemen but only one that is between lovers...and that is Standish Abbott."
