Daisy waited her turn to express her condolences once again, then the funeral director stepped up to speak to both men as soon as she stepped away from them. Stacey was outside talking to other guests. Daisy needed to use the ladies’ room before she met Grover at the restaurant, so she slipped down a hallway and into the restroom.
When she came out she was startled to hear slightly raised voices coming from the vestibule. She walked slowly toward them, not knowing how else to exit the building, but not wanting to get caught in the middle of an argument.
Before she reached the corner to turn into the vestibule, she recognized the voices. Mark John and Brian.
She stopped, not wanting to interrupt them and not wanting to embarrass them by showing up in the middle of their discussion. She couldn’t help but overhear what was being said.
“I told you, of course I knew about it!” Brian hissed.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Mark John asked.
“Because she was my sister, for God’s sake! I couldn’t betray her like that.”
“Don’t you think I had a right to know what my own wife was doing behind my back?”
“I don’t know. You didn’t have a right to find out from me, though.”
“Some friend you are.”
“Mark John, it wasn’t like I sat by and watched it happen without trying to do anything about it,” Brian said, his voice a bit lower.
“Ha! Sure,” Mark John sneered. “Name one thing you did to do stop it.”
“For one thing, I called Fiona at least once a week and begged her to stop seeing Walt,” Brian said. “You think I’m glad to be the one who introduced them? How was I to know they’d end up falling for each other?”
Silence from Mark John.
“How did you find out, anyway?” Brian asked.
Daisy could hear the sneer in Mark John’s voice when he answered. “Your good friend Walt called me. Apparently she finally took your advice and tried to break it off with him last Thursday before some party Walt was having. He called me the next day to tell me what had been going on. Did it out of spite the weekend before she died. He probably killed her.”
“Did you know Fiona called Walt’s wife to tell her about the affair?” Brian asked. He had apparently decided to gloss over Mark John’s accusation that Walt had murdered Fiona. The two men were speaking more calmly now, their voices low.
“No. I didn’t know that,” Mark John answered.
“It’s true. After Walt told you, Fiona was so upset she called Melody and told her what had been going on. But Melody already knew--she had seen them together somewhere.”
At the wine bar on the day of the retirement party, Daisy thought. She felt a twinge of embarrassment for continuing to stand there eavesdropping, but she couldn’t help it. And it would be strange to step into the vestibule now.
“I’m sorry, Brian. I didn’t mean to lash out at you. Of course you were in a tight spot, knowing Fiona was cheating and not wanting to betray her confidence. I just wish things had turned out differently, that’s all.”
“So do I,” Brian replied. There was a brief silence, then Daisy could hear the funeral director’s voice again.
“Gentlemen, if you could come with me, we’re leaving for the cemetery now.” A moment later the door closed and the funeral home was silent. Daisy waited another moment before stepping into the vestibule, her mind racing with the things she had heard. Brian had known about the affair! He had begged Fiona to stop. He had introduced the two lovers. His conscience must be sinking under all the pressure, Daisy thought.
This was all good news for Grover, though. The more people who knew about the relationship between Fiona and Walt, the less likely it was that the police would decide the caterer was the culprit.
The very thought of it was preposterous.
Daisy left the funeral home through the front door and watched the cars pulling away from the curb for the drive to the cemetery. One car was left behind on the quiet street. It didn’t move to follow the other cars. A woman sat behind the steering wheel, also watching the funeral procession. She didn’t seem to notice Daisy.
It was Melody Beecham.