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At Francine’s, Ally had just finished pouring a refill round of coffee and walked away, out of earshot. Ally was my friend, but she was also Celia’s niece, even though their relationship was complicated. I didn’t want her to hear anything until we had more information.
“This is unbelievable,” Ida Belle said. “You’re telling me that Victor and Bessie Bloom think Celia murdered Emma?”
I’d given them the entire update, including Victor’s and Bessie’s suspicions, the blood test results, and the inquiry Emma made about a foreign bank account.
“Shhhh—keep your voice down,” I admonished. “No, not exactly. Victor has identified her as a person of interest. He does want to investigate before eliminating her as a suspect.”
“That’s poppycock,” Ida Belle dismissed. “She’s a lot of things, but Celia is no murderer.”
“I wouldn’t put anything past her,” Gertie countered.
“You and Celia have a long history,” Ida Belle said. “It’s clouding your judgment.”
“So, you don’t think Celia would murder someone?” Gertie asked.
“I don’t think she’s smart enough,” Ida Belle offered.
“She’s ornery enough,” Gertie replied.
“You have a point.”
“That’s not why I’m coming to you. Do you remember Walter saying Emma had been in the general store with a woman named Maxine Reed?”
“Yes, looking for plant food as I remember,” Ida Belle replied.
“Well, she was also with Emma in Mark Baker’s office,” I added.
Ida Belle and Gertie both drew in a breath and held it.
“Well, that’s certainly interesting,” Gertie said, exhaling audibly.
“It sure is,” Gertie added. “I think she’s someone we should check into.”
“I think so, too,” I agreed. “Do either of you know where Maxine Reed lives?”
“I can find out easily enough,” Ida Belle said. “Maxine was a volunteer on the elections committee. I’m sure her name, phone number, and address are in the committee directory. I still have my copy from the election period.”
“Good idea, Ida Belle. We need to meet with her and find out what we can without letting her know there is an investigation going on.”
“How do we do that?” Gertie asked.
“I was thinking that, in my capacity as a librarian, I could be involved in honoring Cindy Lou for the outstanding work she did as an election coordinator during the whole debacle around the election and recount.”
“What would that have to do with Maxine?” Gertie asked.
“No one knows Cindy Lou better than Maxine. We would need some background information on Cindy Lou for the speech,” I proposed.
“What speech?” Ida Belle said.
“The speech that would be given prior to presenting the award to Cindy Lou,” I replied.
“Cindy Lou won an award?” Gertie asked.
“No. It’s made up,” I replied. “Since Maxine is her friend, we would be going to her to get background information on Cindy Lou for the award. The three of us will go to Maxine’s house and I’ll interview her about Cindy Lou and you guys will make an excuse to snoop around.”
“That’s really weak,” Gertie opined.
“Weak? This is coming from a woman who thought it was a good idea to walk an alligator on a leash, set Celia’s housecoat on fire, and carry around a stick of dynamite in her purse.”
“Okay, fair point,” Gertie admitted. “What would we be looking for?”
“Anything,” I said. “A diary; a ledger; events written on her calendar; mail; email . . . anything that might place her in Sinful at or near Emma’s house on Friday evening at the time when Emma was murdered.”
Ida Belle nodded, “We can look for medications in her bathroom that might be used to induce a heart attack, or chemicals under her kitchen sink.”
“What happens when Maxine calls Cindy Lou and tells her about this award?” Gertie asked.
I tapped Gertie on the elbow, playfully, “It’s a surprise, silly. We’ll tell Maxine this needs to remain a secret.”
“You know people in Sinful don’t do such a great job keeping secrets,” Ida Belle noted.
“That’s true, but if Maxine were to be the award presenter, she’d be more apt to keep the secret, don’t you think?”
Gertie nodded, “Hmmm. Not bad.”
“Sooner or later, that’s going to bite you in the butt, you know that, right? Your heart is writing checks that your head can’t cash,” Ida Belle replied.
“If Emma was murdered, I need to find out who it was and bring the culprit to justice,” I said. “If there’s blowback, I’ll deal with it.”
“Okay, then,” Ida Belle said. “Want me to try to get us in to see Maxine soon?”
I nodded and smiled, “Today would be great.”