When Daisy got to work Tuesday morning the thing she noticed first was the silence. The lights were on and she could smell coffee, but she didn’t hear the tap-tap-tap of the receptionist’s computer, she didn’t hear the sound of printers or copy machines or phones. No one sat at the reception desk. Jude’s office door was closed and Mark John’s stood open with the lights off.
She went to her own office and turned on her computer, then went to the kitchen. The receptionist and Mark John’s office assistant sat huddled together at the small table.
“What’s going on?” Daisy asked. “It’s so quiet in here this morning.”
Both women looked up at Daisy, their faces grim. “You should probably go talk to Jude,” the receptionist said.
“What’s going on?” Daisy asked again, this time a hint of uncertainty creeping into her voice.
The women exchanged glances, but said nothing.
Daisy turned around and headed straight for Jude’s office. When Jude called for her to come in, Daisy opened the door tentatively, as if she were afraid of what she might find on the other side.
Jude sat at her desk, the heels of her hands pressed to her eyes. When she lifted her head up, her eyes were wide and her mascara smudged. She was ashen and her hands shook.
“Jude, what’s happening?”
“Mark John’s wife was murdered last night,” she said in a flat voice.
Daisy inhaled sharply and fell into the seat in front of Jude’s desk.
“What--I mean, how did it happen?”
“Someone came into the house and slit her throat. Mark John had been in the office all evening and found her, already dead, when he got home.”
“Do the police know who did it?”
Jude shook her head, letting out a shaky breath. “They don’t know. They’re investigating, obviously.”
“Where’s Mark John? How’s he doing? And what was he doing here last night?”
“He’s at Brian’s house. You know, Fiona’s brother. The one who’s always coming around here with stuff for Mark John. And Mark John is not doing well, as you might expect. He was here because we were working on a new layout for the journal.”
“So you were both here last night?”
Jude nodded.
“When did you find out about Fiona?” Daisy asked.
“Early this morning. He said he won’t be coming in for a few days.”
“Do the police know when it happened?” Daisy asked.
“I don’t know.”
“How late were you here last night?”
“I left before Mark John. I was here until about seven, but I think he was here until after eleven.”
Daisy closed her eyes. “Have the police talked to you yet?”
“No.”
“They will--just give them time.”
“How do you know that?” Jude asked.
“Unfortunately, I know what it’s like to be part of a murder investigation because I was the suspect in my old boyfriend’s death.”
Jude gasped and covered her mouth with her hand.
“You had a boyfriend?” Daisy looked at her with a mixture of disbelief and disgust.
“Yes, though that’s not really the point here, is it?”
“No. I’m sorry. I mean, that’s terrible. What happened?”
“I don’t really want to discuss it. But it was an accident and eventually a witness came forward who could corroborate the whole thing.”
“How did he die?”
“I’m not going to talk about it any more.”
“Sorry. That must have been awful.”
“It was. You know Mark John is going to be a suspect, right?”
Jude let out a tortured sigh and her shoulders slumped. She looked so unlike the Jude Daisy knew.
“I know.” She covered her face with her hands.
“What do you think is going to happen?” she asked.
“I don’t know. Hopefully they’ll find who did it and Mark John will be off the hook.”
“There have been those burglaries in Mark John’s neighborhood lately--maybe this was a burglary that went wrong.”
“Was anything stolen from the house?”
“I don’t know. Mark John didn’t say.”
Jude’s phone rang and she picked it up in a flash.
“Hello?”
She covered the mouthpiece with her hand. “It’s Mark John,” she whispered to Daisy.
Daisy made a hand motion asking if Jude wanted her to leave. Jude shook her head no.
After a few moments Jude hung up.
“How’s he doing?” Daisy asked.
“He’s coming into the office for a few files, then he’s going back to Brian’s house to stay for a few days. The police aren’t letting him in his house right now. He sounds awful.”
Daisy stood up to leave. “I’ll be in my office if you need anything.”
Before she went into the hallway, Jude spoke again.
“Daisy?”
“Yes?”
“We have to help him. Will you help me clear his name?”
“I’ll do what I can, Jude. But I’m no detective.”
“I know, but we can’t just stand by and do nothing.”
“I’ll help,” Daisy promised.
Jude nodded her thanks and Daisy left.
Once in her own office, she couldn’t concentrate. She knew what was in store for Mark John, and she knew the coming days and weeks were going to be stressful, painful, and otherwise miserable. And as for helping find Fiona’s killer, it seemed that the police were in a far better position to do that. But she had promised, so now she had to do something.
When Mark John arrived a short while later, he went straight to his office, closed the door, and didn’t come out for about an hour. Jude went in to see him after a few minutes; when Daisy went to the kitchen for a bottle of water, she could hear their low voices. She couldn’t make out what they were saying.