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MISS SISSY DID WAKE up in a far better mood than she’d been in when she fell asleep. With a full stomach and a nap behind her, she was ready to go back home. And Len wrapped up for the day just a couple of hours after that.
The next couple of days went by much quieter than the previous ones. Len made quick progress in the house and Noo-noo made lots of quilting friends at the Patchwork Cottage. Beatrice finished up her work on the diaper bag and brought it over for Piper and they ate ice cream together (something Piper had been craving lately and which Beatrice was happy to indulge in, herself).
The morning of Gerald’s funeral dawned rainy.
Beatrice looked out the bedroom window at the unrelenting rain. “This looks like the kind of day that Hollywood would create for a funeral.”
Wyatt carefully tied his tie in the bedroom mirror. “I don’t think Hollywood would make quite this much rain happen.”
“You’re right. It’s like cats and dogs out there. At least Laura didn’t want a graveside service, although it might be tricky even running into the sanctuary from the parking lot,” said Beatrice. “Do you know anything about this reception that’s happening afterwards?”
Wyatt nodded and followed Beatrice into the living room. “Laura wanted everyone to come by their house. And it’s certainly large enough to hold the number of people who are probably going to attend.”
Beatrice said, “Unfortunately, any mention of an open gathering in Dappled Hills and the entire town shows up. Hopefully, Laura won’t be totally overwhelmed.”
A few minutes later, they headed to the church. There was no break in the clouds so they used large umbrellas and wore rain coats and sloshed through the puddles.
They were early, of course, with Wyatt officiating, and the church was already starting to fill up. Beatrice found a spot in the first third of the pews and spoke to a few members of the congregation as they came in.
She stood up to greet Mark Carpenter as he approached her. His mouth was set in a grim line, and he looked stressed. But then, it was his father’s funeral. He sat down in front of her in a pew and turned around. “I heard that you found Salome Hewitt the other day.” He spoke in a hushed voice although there was no one around them.
Beatrice nodded.
Mark sighed and rubbed his forehead with his hand. “I’m trying to get some more information on what happened and how things are going now with Salome’s sister and daughter. I feel a sense of responsibility.” He saw Beatrice looking curiously at him and quickly added, “As a former employer. Salome worked many years at Dappled Hills Pimento Cheese, and I want to make sure to recognize that.”
“That’s kind of you, especially considering that she hadn’t been an employee there for a little while,” said Beatrice.
Mark’s neck flushed red. “My father and I didn’t always see eye to eye when it came to the business. That was one instance in which we disagreed. I felt as if Salome had been a loyal employee for many years and was one of the few people who was as organized as my father was. I don’t think he realized how good he had it until he went through a slew of replacements recently for Salome after he fired her.”
There was no mention of the reason Salome had been fired, which made Beatrice wonder if Mark even knew.
“Anyway, I feel terrible about it. I contacted Ramsay just as soon as I heard that morning. I was in the office early, trying to get caught up, when one of our employees told me.” He watched as more people filed into the church. “I feel terrible about it,” he repeated in a somewhat automatic tone.
Beatrice said, “It’s a tragedy, to be sure. I’m so glad that Salome’s sister lives in town, for her daughter’s sake.”
Mark said, “I’m sure it’s a comfort to Salome’s child to have her aunt there.”
Beatrice said, “And how are things for you? I’d imagine that it would be hard to try to step suddenly into your father’s role.”
Mark clearly didn’t want to say anything that would make the business appear in a bad light. He said briskly, “Oh, it’s been all right. Of course, I was very involved in the business anyway in terms of the general operation. There were a few areas, naturally, that my father liked to handle himself that could have been a challenge to step into. But the saving grace has been the fact that he was meticulously organized and made notes on everything that he did. I’ve gotten up to speed pretty quickly because I didn’t want to let the employees down.”
“How are things going with the employees? I’m sure that it must be so hard on everyone, having your father gone.”
Mark appeared to be going off of a script when it came to the business. He quickly said, “Oh, the business is fit as a fiddle. It practically runs itself so it hasn’t been too much of an adjustment. Everyone just does their job every day.”
Beatrice nodded. “That’s good. And I’m sure it must be helpful to have a routine right now. I know that’s supposed to help when you’re going through tough times.”
Mark said, “It is, indeed. At least, for most people.” His tone was dark, and he glanced around to make sure they couldn’t be overheard. “Except, perhaps, for Laura. I noticed last night when I stopped by that she seemed to be busily packing her bags.”
Beatrice stared at him. “Laura is getting ready to leave? For good or just a trip out of town to clear her head?”
Mark said dryly, “From the number of boxes I saw in the house, it certainly seemed to be for good.” He added, “But you won’t see them today, not with everyone at the house for the reception. She has everything upstairs packed up, though.”
“Maybe she’s having a hard time being in the same house now that your father is gone. I’d imagine that there would be constant reminders of him there. Could she be moving to another house locally?” asked Beatrice.
Mark shrugged. “I’m not sure, but I doubt it. Twice now, I’ve seen her hang a phone up hastily when I’ve entered the room. I strongly suspect that she’s seeing someone else. And I’m not convinced that it hasn’t been going on for a long time, either.” He made a face. “Sorry. That’s probably inappropriate, considering where we are. But it just made me angry when I saw it.” He glanced up again at the people entering the church. “Being here in the church reminds me that I need to find the information Dad was working on: the bids for the church heating and air renovation. I’ll take a look for those in the next few days.”
“Thanks,” said Beatrice. “It was nice of your father to do that for the church.”
Mark gave a distracted nod. “I should go. Good talking to you, Beatrice.”
Beatrice studied the church bulletin she’d been handed when I first came in. It looked like Laura, whatever her other failings might be, was definitely on top of things. She had managed, in a very short period of time, to reserve the best soloist in the church. There was also a string quartet and a brass section. From what she could see, it was going to be a celebration of Gerald’s life instead of a more somber service.
She was interrupted by Meadow plopping down next to her. “Okay if I sit with you? Both of our hubbies are working this event, after all.”
Beatrice turned and spotted Ramsay standing at the back of the sanctuary, keeping an eye on the large room. He lifted a hand in greeting.
Meadow made a face. “Once in a while, it would be nice to be able to actually sit with my husband. You must be used to it—sitting by yourself at church all the time.”
Beatrice shrugged. “It’s all right. I knew it would be that way going into the marriage. Besides, when I was single, I was sitting by myself, anyway.”
Meadow said in her usual stage whisper, “Have you found anything out? About the murders, I mean?”
Beatrice chuckled. “Shouldn’t you be asking Ramsay that? It’s his case, after all. I’m sure he’s found out some helpful information.”
Meadow snorted. “Ramsay? You know how he is. He doesn’t want me involved in it. He seems to be under the mistaken impression that I can’t keep a secret.”
“Mistaken impression?” asked Beatrice.
“You know that I can! Maybe not with some things, but with the most important stuff I can. And certainly when it comes to information about solving a murder. Besides, you’re the one who found poor Salome. I think you have plenty of thoughts on what’s going on. But all I can tell you is that Ramsay has been mostly focused on speaking with the family. I don’t know if that’s because he’s hoping to widen the field of suspects by finding out if anyone outside the family had a grudge against Gerald or whether it’s because he really thinks that a family member is responsible,” said Meadow.
Beatrice made sure that no one was in earshot again. She was sure that, the way the church was filling up, someone would be next to them soon. “I’ve been speaking with the family members, too. I spoke to Mark just a few minutes ago, and he mentioned that Laura was packing up her things.”
Meadow’s mouth opened in an O. “No! Really? Is that because she just doesn’t want to have lots of reminders of Gerald around? I mean, they were married for a while.”
Beatrice said, “I asked Mark that, but he seemed to think that maybe Laura has another man.”
“Wow. I can’t imagine that Gerald would have been happy about that if he’d known about it,” said Meadow frowning. “He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who would just look the other way if his wife was having an affair.”
Beatrice said, “I guess we just never know what’s going on in someone’s marriage. But that was simply what Mark thought. Obviously, don’t say anything to anyone about it.”
“Aren’t we going over to Laura’s house right after this? Are we all to be sitting on boxes?”
Beatrice shook her head. “He said that she’d started packing up the upstairs so I don’t think we’ll even be able to tell that she’s planning on moving when we’re over there for the reception.”
Meadow asked, “Have you spoken to anyone else again? I mean, since Salome died.” She put her hand to her heart. “I simply cannot believe that we lost Salome. I’m really just heartbroken at that. And she had that little girl to raise! What a tragedy. It was so crazy that day with Piper heading to the doctor that I didn’t even have a chance to ask you about it.”
“It’s very sad. I’m just relieved that Carla is in town and is so close to Salome’s daughter. And I did—actually, I spoke to Joan right outside of Salome’s house.”
Meadow said, “Well, I’m not sure why Joan was outside Salome’s house, but I’m sure she had absolutely nothing to do with it.”
Beatrice said dryly, “Because she’s a quilter?”
“Not just because she’s a quilter! Because she absolutely thought that the sun rose and set in Salome. She was always saying how lucky her father was to have Salome helping him out. I think she was more furious with Gerald for letting Salome go than Salome was.”
Beatrice asked in a low voice, “So another reason to hold Gerald responsible for something. She already blamed him for her mother’s death.”
“She just had a few issues with her father. I’m sure our children have a few issues with us, too—they’re just too polite to voice them. That doesn’t mean that Joan murdered her father.”
Meadow’s voice rose with her indignation level, and Beatrice made a hushing gesture. Meadow continued in a quieter voice, “What did Joan say?”
“At first, she was just shocked and upset, of course. As you mentioned, she was quite a fan of Salome’s. She wasn’t pointing fingers exactly, but she did bring up that Mark hasn’t been acting like himself lately,” said Beatrice.
“Well, of course he hasn’t! His father was just murdered and now he’s having to unexpectedly be responsible for an entire factory full of people,” said Meadow. “What does she expect?”
“True, but I got the impression that it was more than that. Apparently, he’s been very stressed and has been difficult to deal with lately. He’s even been losing his temper at work, which Joan says is very unusual. And he hasn’t been happy with Joan going over to the business, either.”
Meadow frowned. “I didn’t think that Joan was very interested in the factory.”
“She’s not—but she feels a responsibility to go over there and make sure everything is running smoothly with her father gone. And Mark hasn’t wanted her to be there,” said Beatrice.
Meadow shrugged. “Maybe Mark is trying to get the business ready to sell and he’s not ready for anyone in the family to really know it yet. After all, he realized he was sort of on his own when he suggested that they sell it. He’s probably trying to get everything set up, see what offers come in, and present it to the family.”
“But my understanding is that Gerald left the factory to Mark. That means that he doesn’t have to get support from the family to sell the business,” said Beatrice.
“Maybe so, but it sure makes life a lot easier if he does get their approval,” said Meadow. “Can you imagine what Christmases would be like if they were mad at him for selling?”
Beatrice said, “You’re probably right. Although I have a feeling that the family wouldn’t be opposed to a sale now that Gerald is gone. I think that one of the main reasons they were originally against it was because it was his entire life, and they wanted him to be happy, engaged, and out of trouble. Now that Gerald is dead, they may not really have a problem with the business being sold.”
The organ music started soaring, and Beatrice and Meadow hastily turned toward the front and watched as Wyatt stepped out.
About halfway through the service, Meadow jabbed her with an elbow. Beatrice frowned at her, and Meadow loudly whispered, “Look behind you!”
Beatrice waited a discreet amount of time and then stretched to look casually behind her. She saw immediately who Meadow was referring to—it was Colleen. She was standing at the back of the church in an expensive suit in rather jaunty-looking colors that might have done better at a wedding than a funeral. She caught Beatrice’s eye and gave her a wink. Beatrice smiled weakly and turned back around.
“Wonder what she’s doing here?” asked Meadow.
Beatrice pressed her lips tightly together and shook her head. She had no desire to engage in a guessing game with Meadow right now, especially since it usually meant that Meadow would become louder and louder . . . something she didn’t need in the middle of a funeral.
The service took slightly over an hour. Both of Gerald’s children had briefly spoken and so had some of Gerald’s friends from the church. Finally, one of Gerald’s employees from the factory said a few words and had gotten quite choked up. Whatever else Gerald might have been, he did seem to have been a good employer.
After the service, Beatrice joined Wyatt at the front of the church to speak again with the family. A few members of the congregation gave their condolences, but it looked as if most of them were planning on speaking with the family at Laura’s house. And, after about ten minutes, Mark and Joan left . . . Laura had left early to get home before anyone from the church arrived. Wyatt told Beatrice he needed to run to his office for a few minutes to make a few phone calls before heading to the reception.
Beatrice was gathering her purse when she heard her name. She glanced up to see Colleen standing there.