Chapter 34

Make sure switch plate and outlet covers match and look new. Consider adding mirror switch plate and outlet covers to bathrooms to add some sparkle.

Sunday morning as I left church and rapidly walked away, I heard hurried footsteps behind me. I’d purposely gone to an early service so I wouldn’t run into Sister Madeleine, and my instincts told me I was about to have the meeting with her that I’d been trying to avoid.

“Laura, wait up.”

I turned to see the small slender figure of Sister Madeleine huffing and puffing as she tried to catch up with me. I felt guilty that in my desire to avoid her, I’d caused the older nun to chase after me. I knew she would be hopeful I’d heard something that might help Monica, and I didn’t want to disappoint her with the little I had learned.

There I was a grown woman in my early forties, and just hearing her call my name catapulted me back to the second grade in seconds. “Good morning, Sister Madeleine.”

“When were you going to tell me about your visit with Monica?”

I hadn’t told her I’d broken down and gone to see Monica, especially since I’d only done so to assuage my sense of guilt for initially not wanting to help her. How had she learned that I’d visited Monica?

“I can tell from your face you didn’t know I was aware of your visit,” she said, bending over, trying to catch her breath. “Monica told me you had been to see her. It quite surprised her.”

“I don’t know that my visit accomplished much.”

“On the contrary. She said you offered to help keep her business going. That was quite generous of you considering how busy you are with your own work.”

How like Sister Madeleine to make it sound as though it’d been my idea and not because she’d prodded me into it.

“I met with her assistant to determine the most pressing work—things that need to be done to meet deadlines. Nita and I’ve been managing.” Just barely.

“Have you been hearing anything that could help Monica’s case?”

“Nothing that would prove her to be innocent. But I learned some things that point to other possible suspects.” I told her about our disastrous meeting at the B&B with Garrett Fletcher, Damian’s agent. “He said Damian was his most successful client and he would be foolish to cut off the income he earned from representing him. That’s true, but he could have murdered Damian in a rage and then later regretted it because of financial reasons.”

She pondered that. “Could he have been mishandling Damian’s earnings? Maybe Damian found out and Fletcher didn’t want to be exposed.”

“That’s always a possibility.” Something important to consider.

“What about his wife? The spouse is usually the first person the police look at.”

I told her about Damian’s daughter drowning and his wife subsequently divorcing him, and that she lived within driving distance of Louiston. I also told her of the scene I’d witnessed at the funeral home when I saw Damian’s ex-wife and agent embracing.

“That’s interesting. But it’s unlikely she would have murdered him years later. She has her other daughter to think about. We can’t discount that. Have you spoken to her?”

I hunched my shoulders, feeling like I did when I hadn’t completed my homework. “No. I’m hoping something will come to light and it won’t be necessary.”

That seemed to satisfy Sister Madeleine.

“There’s another biggie. Nita and I discovered Ian’s aunt, Doris Becker, left part of her estate to Emily Thompson, Ian’s old girlfriend, and Brandon Thompson.”

“Now that adds some spice to the brew.” Sister Madeleine looked almost gleeful as though I’d pulled a diamond from a bag of coal.

“Tomorrow, I’m going to visit Emily to see what I can find out. It’s difficult questioning people when you don’t have any authority to do so.” My blood pressure felt like it was rising just thinking about it.

“Did you ever think you might have more luck assisting the police in their investigation rather than going it alone. And it would be safer. What about working with Detective Spangler and sharing information with him?”

That made me want to hoot with laughter. “If there were any sharing of information, it would be one way—from me to him.”

“Perhaps if you befriended him you might get more cooperation. If you remember from Ellis Peters’ medieval mystery series, Brother Cadfael was able to accomplish far more in solving the mysteries facing him because of his friendship with the Shrewsbury sheriff, Hugh Beringar.”

Befriend Detective Spangler. That would be the day. “Detective Spangler views me as a busybody.” My cheeks burned at the memory of being called a busybody by Garrett Fletcher. Did other people view me that way as well?

“There’s a difference between being a busybody and an astute observer of people. Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple was considered by some to be a busybody, but it was her observations of people that made her so successful in solving mysteries.”

“Okay, I’ll try. But don’t expect Detective Spangler and me to have the same kind of relationship Brother Cadfael and Hugh Beringar had.”

“All you can do is try,” Sister Madeleine said and turned away.

I walked the short distance home deep in thought. I’d promised Sister Madeleine I would try working with Detective Spangler. I didn’t say when.