They stood at the very back of the assembled mourners. The funeral, although odd, was remarkably short, which won it some points in Myrtle’s point of view. Myrtle attended many funerals that had dragged on well over an hour. There was no minister present; instead, there were eulogies given. Some of the eulogies were clearly planned with nervous speakers holding a script in front of them. Some of them were obviously written on the spur of the moment. Both Chester’s associates from the construction industry and Hattie’s unusual friends spoke. But Hattie’s friends all prefaced their eulogies with: “I didn’t really know Chester Struby, but ...”
Miles looked scandalized. He whispered, “No minister? No ashes to ashes and dust to dust?”
“Really, Miles. I’m now getting a very clear picture of what your own service will look like. What I think is, that the lack of a minister and the very unusual service says a lot about Hattie.”
“It says that she’s a strange young woman.”
Myrtle shook her head. “It says more than that. Consider this—is this the type of service that Chester would have chosen for himself?”
“Absolutely not. He’d have had a traditional service with traditional hymns,” said Miles.
“Right, of course he wouldn’t have wanted a funeral service like this. This means the service is all about Hattie and what Hattie wants. I think she must be a very self-centered person,” said Myrtle.
Miles said slowly in a low voice, “And if she’s so self-centered, maybe she would even murder if it were in her own self-interest.”
“Exactly,” said Myrtle. She looked across the throng and saw Red there. He wasn’t in uniform, but he was clearly on duty and watching everyone closely. Unfortunately, out of the cooking class, only Felix Todd was there. He wore a dark suit and was immaculately groomed, as usual. His eulogy for Chester hit the perfect notes of humor and regret and had everyone both laughing and wiping tears from their eyes.
“He’s really something,” said Miles.
“He’s something, all right,” agreed Myrtle. “I think he waited until no one else was walking up to make a eulogy. He wanted his to be the grand finale.”
“Well, he is a politician.” Miles paused. “I think it’s over.”
It was over, and Hattie disappeared into a throng of people wanting to extend their sympathy. Miles said grouchily, “This was what I was afraid of.”
They took seats under the diaphanous tulle tent to wait for the crowd to disperse. Finally, Hattie had only a few people to speak with.
“She’s probably going to bolt out of here as soon as she can,” said Miles.
“Not without her purse,” said Myrtle triumphantly holding up the small object.
Miles’s eyes widened. “You took her purse?”
“I didn’t take it. I’m watching it for her,” said Myrtle.
“You think people steal purses at funeral services?”
“You just never know,” said Myrtle. She patted the purse protectively.
Miles stifled a yawn, looking bored as they waited. Then he said, “Myrtle. What on earth are those things over there?”
Myrtle peered across at several canvases on stands that had been blocked by the crowd when they’d been standing. “Those appear to be works of art.”
Miles stared at them, a horrified look on his face. “This isn’t a gallery or a show. This is a funeral!”
Myrtle tilted her head to one side. “Look at them more closely. I think they’re portraits.”
Miles gawked at them. “Surely not.”
“Yes. Yes, I think they are. That black thing there on the one painting? That’s his nose,” said Myrtle.
“Whose nose? That couldn’t be Chester, surely.”
“I believe it is,” said Myrtle thoughtfully. “Although I’m not sure what Hattie is trying to say with it. As a matter of fact, I think they’re all of Chester. I just can’t tell if she used all that black because it’s clearly her favorite color, or whether she used it because she didn’t like her uncle all that much.”
Miles said, “Shh. I think she’s finally coming our way.”
Hattie’s face registered surprise. “Oh, hello. I didn’t know you two were here. That was nice of you to come. Did you know my uncle outside of the cooking class?”
Myrtle said, “I taught Chester, actually. And we both wanted to come and pay our respects. We’re so sorry for what happened.”
Hattie’s face changed to that polite, funeral face, and she came out quickly with a brusque, “Thanks. I’m sorry, too. It was a terrible tragedy.” She watched as the funeral home director started packing things up.
Miles said, “It was. But you held a nice service—a nice testament to Chester’s life.” He somehow managed to say this earnestly. Myrtle decided that he was a better actor than she realized.
Hattie gave a short laugh. “Thanks. He’d have hated it, of course. Maybe not all the eulogies—he’d have loved those. But the rest of it wasn’t something he’d have chosen. I couldn’t have handled not putting my own stamp on the funeral, though.”
Myrtle said quickly before the funeral home director got into earshot, “I wanted to ask you about Monday. The day Chester ... passed.”
Hattie’s eyes narrowed. “You mean the day he was murdered.”
“Yes. That’s right. You see, Miles and I have been so completely unsettled by this.” She gestured to Miles, who did his best to look unsettled. “Imagine something like that happening at the community college and at a continuing education class! I think of schools as the safest places in the world, coming from an academic background.”
Hattie said, “Sometimes no place is really safe. Not for some people.”
Myrtle said, “So you think that it’s something that Chester may have unwittingly brought on himself?”
“It makes me sound cruel, but yes. I loved my uncle, even though we didn’t have a lot in common. When I lost my parents, he stepped in and took on their role with no questions asked. Even though he had no kids of his own and didn’t really know what he was doing, he still did his best. I couldn’t pay him back, but when he wanted to do things—like this cooking class—with me, I went along with it,” said Hattie.
Miles frowned. “He sounds like a very caring person. Not a usual trait for a murder victim.”
“And it’s true—he was a kind, loving, flawed man who tried very hard to do the right thing. Some of the time. The rest of the time he was a ruthless businessman and a hard-driving construction company owner who frequently drank too much and got into fights. He was both of those things,” said Hattie.
“Where were you when Chester was murdered?” asked Myrtle. “Didn’t you ride together to the class?”
Hattie sighed. “No, we didn’t, and I feel very guilty about it now. Chester sometimes could be really poky and I had plans for the rest of the afternoon. I told him I’d drive myself and meet him there at the class. After class, he was talking with people and I didn’t really feel like hanging out. No offense,” she said quickly.
“Oh, we didn’t want to hang out, either,” said Miles.
“No, we left right away. And you did the same? That is, you left the campus immediately?”
“That’s right,” said Hattie calmly. “I had no idea that anything had happened until I got a visit from the police.”
Miles said, “It must have been a huge shock for you.”
Hattie shrugged. “It was and it wasn’t. Like I was saying, I knew my uncle had enemies.”
Myrtle raised her eyebrows, “Enemies is a strong word. I thought you were merely talking about people he’d rubbed the wrong way in the business world.”
“Look, I liked my uncle, okay? But I wasn’t blind. He was a tough man and he could be cruel. I tried to tell the cops what I knew, but it wasn’t a lot. I hardly knew anybody in that cooking class,” said Hattie.
Myrtle said, “So you knew somebody in there? Who do you think could be responsible for this?”
Hattie held out her hands in front of her impatiently. “Amos, of course.”
Miles said, “Amos? The custodian?”
“That’s right. The janitor. Chester told me that he’d seen him as soon as he’d walked into the building,” said Hattie.
Myrtle said slowly, “And Chester was the first student there, so that makes sense. Did he say anything else about him?”
“Oh, he said plenty during our break. I guess Amos was surprised to see him when he arrived that morning and walked over to give him a piece of his mind. Chester said Amos blamed him for ruining his career in construction and forcing him to work as a custodian.” Hattie snorted. “As if Chester had something to do with Amos’s job choice.”
Myrtle said, “He meant that Chester had taken away his choices. That he couldn’t be in construction anymore and was forced to work other jobs.”
Hattie said, “Whatever. All I know is that Chester told me that Amos had an accident on the job and it kept him from being able to work. And that Amos was still really furious. So what do you think? It sounds to me like Amos had motivation and plenty of opportunity. He was in the building and would have been able to see who was coming and going and when the class had come to a close.”
Myrtle nodded. “I’m sure the police consider him a suspect.” She paused. “And now what are you going to do? Are there many of Chester’s affairs you need to settle?”
Hattie’s eyes gleamed. “Now I’m running a construction company. I’ll be figuring out the ropes.”
Miles said, “He left you the company?”
“You sound surprised,” said Hattie with a hard laugh. “Because I’m a woman? A woman working in construction?”
“Not at all,” said Miles coolly. “I’m surprised because you’re so young and likely inexperienced.”
Myrtle hid a smile. Her sidekick did not like to have people make assumptions about him.
Hattie said, “Oh. Well he didn’t have anybody else to leave it to and he obviously wasn’t expecting to die so soon. I guess he thought that he’d have lots of time to show me how things in the office worked.”
Myrtle said, “Apparently Louvenia knows how things in the office worked.”
Hattie looked confused. “Louvenia? From the cooking class?”
“She used to work for your uncle,” said Myrtle.
Hattie’s eyebrows knitted together. “Oh. I knew they seemed to know each other, but I didn’t know why.”
“Did you not spend much time in your uncle’s office?” asked Miles.
“I spent time there. But I didn’t pay a lot of attention to the people working there,” said Hattie. “So, Chester knew someone else in the class. Besides Felix, I mean.”
“He was also in school with Bonnie,” said Myrtle.
Hattie frowned. “You’re saying he knew everybody in class? Including you and Miles?”
Miles said quickly, “He didn’t know me.”
“What were your thoughts on Felix?” asked Myrtle.
Hattie shrugged. “Well, he gave a good eulogy. But I guess politicians are good at public speaking.”
Miles said, “They were friends, right? From back in school?”
Hattie gave that hard laugh again. “Kind of weird friends. The kind of friends who don’t always get along. I know Felix was mad at Chester lately. Chester wouldn’t put one of those yard sign things in his yard and that made him upset.”
“Yard sign things?” asked Myrtle.
“You know—the signs you put in your yard to show your support for somebody running for office. Felix is running and he expected Chester to put a sign in his yard. Chester’s house and yard are huge,” said Hattie.
Myrtle said, “Oh, I remember. And in an area where a lot of cars drive by—a very prominent location for a yard sign. Chester wasn’t supporting Felix in the race?”
Hattie said, “Chester wasn’t supporting anybody in the race. Chester wasn’t a very political guy. Anyway, he didn’t want a sign in his yard.”
Myrtle and Miles looked at each other. Maybe Chester wasn’t outwardly political, but he cared about who he could manipulate. Perhaps he thought Felix wasn’t someone he could easily railroad.
Hattie misinterpreted the look. “But they made up, you know. That’s why Felix was here today. Look, I really need to go take this stuff down before it rains. Do you mind?”
“Not at all,” said Myrtle. “Oh. I almost forgot ... can you come to my dinner party Monday evening? It’ll be coffee and dinner. The cooking class will be there, among others, and I can practice some of what we learned in school. I decided not to have it over the weekend since everyone always has plans.”
Hattie looked as if the last thing in the world she wanted to do was to go to Myrtle’s dinner party. But she was apparently knocked off guard and didn’t have a ready excuse.
“Perfect!” said Myrtle, beaming. “And I’ve got your email address from our group emails. I’ll send everyone my address. We’ll have so much fun!”
Hattie gave her a weak smile.