On Monday morning, Ted took his copy of the will Flora had given him to the Frederickport Police Station. Initially, he intended to give it to Chief Bowman, as he was the one who had interviewed him after discovering Camilla’s body. According to Bowman, he would personally handle his sister’s case. But when he arrived at the station, Colleen told him they did not expect Bowman in for another hour.
“By any chance is Brian Henderson here?” Ted asked.
“Yes. Would you like to see him?” Colleen asked.
Ten minutes later, Ted sat with his ex-brother-in-law in the interrogation room, looking over the will.
“If there was ever a motive for murder, there you have it,” Ted said as he sat across the table from Brian, who read over the document.
Brian looked up to Ted. “You no longer think Heather killed Camilla?”
Ted shifted in his chair. “She’s your girlfriend. Drove Cam crazy when she saw who you were dating. After my sister’s murder, I couldn’t imagine who would want Cam dead. Chief Bowman was convinced Heather Donovan killed her. And as far as motives, she was the only one who had one aside from now.” Ted pointed to the document in Brian’s hand.
Brian tossed the will on the table and folded his hands atop it. “That’s not true. You and Lucy had just as much of a motive as Flora. Until Flora gave you this, I’m assuming you figured you would inherit her estate.”
“I wouldn’t kill Cam for money. You know me better than that.”
“Someone overheard you talking on the phone. You said, and I quote, ‘I could kill my sister.’”
Ted stared at Brian. “Who told you that?”
“I can’t say. But you were at Lucy’s Diner, having lunch with your sisters. Adam Nichols had joined you. After they all left, you got a phone call, and you reportedly said that to whomever you were talking to.” Brian couldn’t say who told him because the information came from Marie.
Ted closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He opened his eyes. “Yeah. I remember that now. I said that. But I didn’t mean it. I was talking to my wife. Pissed that Cam refused to sell the house. But I didn’t mean it. Anyway. Lucy and I were together after Cam left us at Pier Café that morning. We even stopped at the store; people saw us there. We have an alibi.”
“Did you ever tell that to Bowman?” Brian asked. “Where you were when Camilla was killed?”
Ted shrugged. “No. He never asked us for an alibi. I assume because he figured Donovan was the killer.”
Brian pointed to the will. “Can I make a copy of that?”
Ted nodded. “Sure.”
Brian took out his cellphone and took a picture of the will. After taking the photo, he shoved the document toward Ted. “Why would Lucy lie about Heather slapping Cam at the funeral?”
Ted stared at Brian, reluctant to answer the question.
“Bowman asked you about it. Lucy claimed to have seen Heather hit Camilla. I was right there when Camilla slapped Heather. Heather never touched Camilla. It didn’t happen. Lucy lied. Why?”
Ted moved uneasily in the chair. “You should ask Lucy. I just came in here to give you that. It’s a motive for murder. You should be happy; it helps your girlfriend.”
The door to the interrogation room opened, and Chief Bowman walked in. “What is going on in here?”
When Brian tried to explain why he was talking to Ted, Bowman interrupted by saying, “I told you to stay out of this case. You’re too close to both the victim and the prime suspect. I want you to leave now, and if you interfere with this case again, you will be suspended indefinitely. Do you understand?”
After Brian left the room, Ted immediately apologized for getting Brian in trouble, insisting it was his fault. He then handed the will to Bowman while giving him a quick rundown on how it came about.
Still standing and holding the document in one hand, Bowman glanced over the will, gave a shrug, and then tossed the document back to Ted. “I’m not sure what you want me to do with that. If you want to contest the will, talk to an attorney.”
“No… that’s not what this is about. This is a motive for murder. Flora may have murdered my sister.”
Bowman gave a snort. “If this is a motive for murder, then I should be arresting you and your sister, because as far as I know, you assumed you and your sister inherited her estate. Go home. Let the police do our jobs. Stop trying to play detective.”
After Ted left the station, Bowman tracked down Brian and handed him a large box of files he had been going through to familiarize himself with the cases over the last five years.
“I need you to file these,” Bowman told him.
Confused, Brian looked down at the box now in his hands. “You want me to file?”
“I figure it will keep you busy and out of trouble. You obviously have too much time on your hands.”
* * *
Danielle, with Marie’s help, made several batches of chocolate chip cookies on Monday morning. Instead of freezing all the cookies, Danielle decided to take a plate over to Heather’s and check on her. Chris had encouraged Heather to take a few days off, considering recent events. Marie insisted she accompany Danielle to Heather’s, knowing a killer was on the loose.
“Marie must really like you,” Heather said as she sat in her living room, munching on a cookie. Danielle and Marie sat across from her on the sofa.
“Of course I like Danielle,” Marie scoffed.
Danielle laughed. “You mean because she helped me bake cookies?”
Heather nodded. “She always told me she didn’t like to bake.”
Marie shrugged. “It wasn’t so bad.”
“You’re all here,” a voice blurted from the entry. The three looked toward the front door and saw Camilla standing just inside the doorway. They all understood she had walked through the door.
“What are you doing here?” Heather asked. “Why haven’t you moved on by now?”
Camilla stepped into the room. “I can’t move on until I find out who killed me.”
“It wasn’t me,” Heather said.
Camilla nodded. “Yes. I realize that now.”
“So why are you here?” Heather asked. “I certainly can’t help you find your killer. I wish I could. It would solve some of my problems.”
“I’m here because I’m curious. I need to understand the thing between you and Brian. You aren’t his type.”
Their conversation stopped the next moment when Brian came walking into the room from the kitchen. He had obviously parked in the back and entered through the kitchen door.
After entering the living room, Brian looked at the sofa and paused. “Oh, Danielle’s here.”
“Hey, Brian,” Danielle greeted.
“Are you playing hooky?” Heather asked.
Brian’s gaze shifted from Danielle to the plate of cookies on the coffee table.
“Whose cookies?” Brian asked.
“Danielle brought them. I guess they’re mine now.” Heather grinned.
Brian walked straight to the coffee table and grabbed a cookie from the plate. “Can I have one?” Brian took a bite of the cookie before waiting for an answer and then said, “I need to vent.”
“You left work to vent? This must be serious,” Heather said. “But I need to warn you, Marie’s here, and she’s with someone.”
Brian glanced around the room. “Eva?”
Heather shook her head. “Camilla.”
Brian looked around the room again. “Where?”
Heather pointed to where Camilla stood.
“I can’t comprehend how he accepts all this,” Camilla muttered, still staring at Brian.
Brian looked toward the front door. “Camilla, I’m sorry you were killed. Really. I want to help find your killer. But tell me, why in the world would you leave your share of Carter’s estate to Flora? You only met the woman once in your life.”
“What are you talking about?” Camilla said.
“She doesn’t know what you’re talking about,” Heather told Brian.
“Flora gave Ted and Lucy a will she says you wrote. Leaves your share of Carter’s estate to her,” Brian explained.
“It’s obviously a forgery. I never wrote a will leaving anything to Flora!”
Heather repeated Camilla’s words for Brian.
“Really?” Brian popped the last of the cookie in his mouth and started to sit on the sofa when Danielle stopped him, telling him to sit on the other side, because Marie sat there. Without missing a beat, Brian moved to the other end of the sofa and said while sitting down, “I found the witness an interesting choice. Agatha Pine.”
“Agatha Pine? She’s dead,” Danielle said.
“Yes. But she was alive when the will was supposedly written,” Brian said.
“As I said, I never wrote a will leaving anything to Flora. If I had written a will, I can’t imagine a scenario where I’d ask Agatha Pine to witness a document for me.” Camilla shook her head at the thought.
“Did you know Agatha?” Danielle asked.
Camilla looked at Danielle. “Yes. I used to attend Christmas service with Uncle Homer. Agatha went to his church, and he introduced us. I only remember her because it always fascinated me how her daughter and grandchildren treated her with such reverence.”
Brian, who hadn’t heard Camilla’s views on Agatha Pine, said, “If it’s a forgery, that puts a new spin on this, especially since Bowman doesn’t seem to think the will is a motive for murder.” He then went on to tell them Bowman’s reaction to finding Brian talking to Ted about the case.
“He didn’t think it was a motive?” Heather asked.
Brian shook his head. “Ted called me after he left the station. He said Bowman didn’t seem to think it was a motive, and he didn’t even make a copy of the will.”
“But if it’s fake, then it sure seems like a motive to me,” Heather said.
“But how do we prove it’s fake? Only two people signed that document, and they’re both dead,” Brian said.
“I’d like to see the document,” Danielle said.
“Me too,” Camilla added.
“I can show you.” Brian took out his phone and opened his photos app. He got up from the chair, walked to Danielle, and handed her his phone. Holding Brian’s cellphone in her hand, Danielle studied the photograph while Camilla peeked over her shoulder. Using two fingers, Danielle touched the phone’s screen and enlarged the photograph. She continued to study it while everyone silently watched.
“I bet this was typed on a typewriter. Not printed from a computer,” Danielle said.
“Which wouldn’t surprise me, because I know Flora doesn’t know how to use a computer. She uses a smartphone, but I know she’s basically computer illiterate.” Camilla grew silent a moment, considering what she had just said while Heather served as a ghost translator. After Heather finished repeating her words, Camilla blurted, “Oh my god, Flora murdered me!”
Danielle turned to Camilla. “Why would Flora think she can pass off an un-notarized will? Even if Bowman doesn’t think the will is a motive for murder, certainly your brother and sister would contest the will. Who’s going to believe you left your share of your uncle’s estate to her? The will isn’t even notarized, and the two people who signed it are dead. How hard would it be to forge two signatures? Unless she could show there was a reason to leave that money to her and not family, I don’t understand how she thought she would get away with it.”
“Well… I might know why,” Camilla said with a sigh. Everyone but Brian looked her way. “I suppose, now that I’m… dead… well, according to what Marie and Eva told me, it’s better to be as forthright as possible before moving on. Something about penance and judgment on the other side.”
Marie looked at Camilla. “What did you do?”
“Yeah, judgment for what?” Heather asked. Brian, who now realized Camilla must be talking, sat patiently and waited for someone to fill him in.
“I suppose when I hired Flora, I may have suggested there would be a pension of sorts after my uncle passed if she kept taking care of him until then.”
“And you didn’t give her one?” Heather asked. Camilla shrugged in reply.
“Were your brother and sister aware of this?” Danielle asked.
Camilla nodded. Heather quickly recounted Camilla’s words for Brian.
“Even if the will is forged, it doesn’t mean Flora killed Camilla,” Danielle said. They all turned to Danielle.
“Why do you say that?” Camilla asked.
“It’s possible that after you were killed, Flora saw an opportunity to compensate for the money she felt you owed her by forging a will. Since your brother and sister had been told about your promises to Flora, they might assume the will was legitimate.”
“But it isn’t legitimate,” Camilla insisted.