Chapter 36

Unpleasant odors can put off prospective buyers. Remove carpets and rugs that are stained and can trap offensive odors.

During dinner that evening, Aunt Kit proved to be a great sounding board. Of course, it came with the usual warnings about dire consequences.

“Have you reported anything you’ve learned to the police? You need to involve them in this. It was one thing for Sister Madeleine to want you to help Monica’s business while she is in jail, but it’s a completely different thing for you to be asking questions about Damian’s murder.”

“Well for a start, I’m only asking questions. We haven’t learned anything the police probably don’t already know, and they don’t want people getting involved in their investigations. I’m simply making inquiries and taking an approach the police may not be taking.”

“Do you think the police are inept?”

Wasn’t that always how the amateur sleuths in the mysteries I read frequently viewed the police? “Of course not. I may not be crazy about Detective Spangler, but I respect him for his abilities. It doesn’t hurt for citizens to assist the police. They don’t suspect a link between Ian and Damian’s deaths. Primarily because we caught Monica over Damian’s body, so she looks pretty guilty. Also, there’s nothing that shows a motive for her killing Ian.”

“What about Emily and Brandon Thompson?”

“That’s a hard one. I think eventually over the years Emily was happy to have Ian stay out of her life and didn’t want anything more to do with him. It helped that Doris helped them financially, so she hadn’t built up resentment because they had to struggle financially. But I’m not sure about Brandon. He’s filled with anger. Now whether he was angry enough to stab Ian in the back, that’s another thing. I can’t see that, but who knows. He took classes from Damian Reynolds, but I haven’t heard anything that would point to a motive for Brandon to kill him.”

Aunt Kit picked at the sautéed chicken I’d made especially for her. The one with mushrooms and Harvey’s cream sherry she liked. When she finally took a bite, she chewed it for so long I worried it might have become too dry for her to swallow. If Aunt Kit choked when swallowing it, would I be able to do the Heimlich maneuver on her?

“I wonder how much of a relationship Doris had with Emily and Brandon, especially since Brandon was her grandnephew?” I held my breath, watching Aunt Kit continue to chew.

She finally swallowed. “Anne Williamson was a good friend to Doris. I’m going to have lunch with Anne tomorrow. I’ll ask her what she knows. By the way, is this a new recipe? It’s a bit dry. You might want to add a bit of Harvey’s next time you make it.”

What? Nita had been right. I should have added a double measure of it to her food.

“Also, how about Damian’s agent?”

“As far as I know, he wasn’t in town when Damian was murdered. But who’s to say he couldn’t have come into town without anyone knowing it, got into another argument with Damian, and stabbed him in anger. But he made a very good point. If he had killed Damian, he definitely would have cut off a major source of his income.”

“People have done stupider things than that. Who else do you have to look at?” Aunt Kit took another bite of chicken, and again I held my breath.

“Nita’s niece said that one of the professors at the college held a grudge against Damian—something about his wife having a history with him. Then there’s Damian’s ex-wife. She held him responsible for their daughter’s drowning—enough so that it resulted in their divorce. I’ll probably leave that one until last.” With any luck, I wouldn’t have to talk to her.

I cleared the table, ready for dessert, which I knew Aunt Kit would have no trouble swallowing—strawberry shortcake. With ice cream.

Aunt Kit surveyed the room, looking around her. “You’ve done a lovely job brightening this place since your mother died. You didn’t get your decorating talent from her, that’s for sure.”

“Thanks. The brighter yellow paint gives the place a completely different feel from when I was growing up.” When my mother lived there, the house had been very gloomy, which pretty much matched her outlook on life. Now might be the perfect time to ask Aunt Kit about my mother and dad.

“Speaking of Mom, I can’t help but wonder what happened to my dad. I only saw him a few times after they divorced, but then he stopped coming to visit me. When I asked her about him, she said that he’d moved away from the area and didn’t want to see either one of us. Later when I asked her again, she said he had died and then quickly changed the subject. Even as young as I was, I didn’t quite believe her. When I was older and had the wherewithal to search for him, I was so hurt that he’d turned his back on us, on me, that I decided I didn’t care and didn’t want to know.

Aunt Kit frowned as though the memory of my dad was a painful one, and it made me wonder about Mrs. Webster’s suspicion that Aunt Kit had been in love with him. But from what my mother had said, many women had been enamored with him. At least that was what she believed.

“Your parents were terribly mismatched. Unfortunately, your mother never saw anything but doom and gloom, and your dad was just the opposite. I give him a lot of credit living with her for as long as he did.”

“She said she divorced him because he had been unfaithful. Was that true?”

“She believed he’d been involved with another woman. He could have been, but I don’t know if that was the case. He was utterly handsome—and charming in a nice kind of way, so it wouldn’t have surprised me if other women hadn’t come on to him. As to where he is, I don’t know. I never heard that he was dead, so that story surprises me. But after all these years, he could be.”

“I should have tried harder to find out about him. But after I married Derrick and came to know of his affairs with other women, I couldn’t tolerate the idea that my dad had been the same way, and I didn’t want anything to do with him. I came to understand better why my mother was so bitter, but that doesn’t explain why he didn’t want me in his life.”

Aunt Kit stopped eating her shortcake and ice cream and looked at me with gentle eyes. “Your father loved you very much.”

“Then why hasn’t he tried to contact me after all these years? He could have another family now and might not want to hear from me.”

“Well, then, you won’t know unless you try.” Aunt Kit added another scoop of vanilla ice cream to her bowl.

“I’ll think about it. Right now, I have to focus on my business, Monica’s business, and trying to convince the police to further investigate the link between Ian and Damian.” If that were possible.