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Beatrice peered at the book, which seemed to be a yearbook. Sure enough, there was a black-and-white photo of a young woman, smirking back at the photographer.
Nicole narrowed her eyes. “And this is Starr’s office?”
“Yes. But what’s this doing here? Is this Aspen’s yearbook? Did Starr take it?”
Nicole flipped through the book. “No, all the notes in here mention Starr. It’s Starr’s yearbook.” She stared at Beatrice. “I thought she said she didn’t know Aspen? Maybe she’s the one who murdered Aspen. If Starr could lie about knowing Aspen, she could lie about anything.”
Which was when the door to the office was pushed open and Starr appeared, staring silently at them.
“That’s personal,” said Starr, striding across the small room and snatching the yearbook out of Nicole’s hands.
Nicole stood up, looking combative. “Did you take that from Aspen?”
Starr pressed her lips together and for a second Beatrice wasn’t sure if she was going to answer. Then she gave a small sigh. “No. No, it’s mine.”
Beatrice gave her a sharp look. “So you did know Aspen. Despite what you’d said earlier.”
Starr shook her head. “I really didn’t. Look, I know this looks bad. But the only reason my high school yearbook is even here is because I grabbed it when I saw Aspen’s name on the registration for this weekend. I wanted to refresh my memory as to what she looked like so I could recognize her if she was the same person.” She paused. “Her last name was different, so I figured she might be married. I thought it might be her since there aren’t that many Aspens running around.”
Nicole snorted. “And now there’s one fewer.”
Starr’s face lost color. “I had nothing to do with that. I didn’t even know her.”
“Really? Because it sure looks like you did,” said Nicole.
Starr shook her head. “You’re misunderstanding everything. Like I said, I saw the name on the registration lists and brought the old yearbook over here from my house before everyone arrived.”
“Because you wanted to finish some old high school business?” asked Nicole with a sneer. “She was a bully in high school and you wanted to get back at her?”
Starr took a deep breath. “Actually, you’re not too far off. Except I didn’t want to get back at her. I just wanted to take a look at her and maybe feel superior in some way. That’s it. And I wasn’t lying—I didn’t know her. Here.” She took the yearbook and flipped through it. Then she held it out, pointing to a picture of a girl with thick glasses, braces, and a rash of acne covering her face. “That’s me.”
Starr flipped back to Aspen’s picture. She was blonde and beautiful, confidence streaming from her as she posed for the camera. Starr said, “Now, do you think she would waste her time with someone like me?”
“So you were bullied,” said Nicole.
Starr shook her head. “She didn’t even know who I was. She was one of those girls who was so completely self-absorbed that she didn’t pay any attention to anyone else around her. She was a cheerleader, she was in student government, and she was prom queen. Aspen did all the things. I guess part of me, a not-very-nice part, was hoping that she’d show up and not be pretty or successful anymore.” She gave a short laugh. “Clearly, that was a pipe dream.”
Beatrice asked, “Did Aspen recognize you?”
“No! Like I’ve been telling you, she didn’t even know I existed.”
Beatrice asked, “Did you tell her who you were? Did you mention to her that you’d been to the same high school?”
Starr shook her head. “I did nothing of the kind. Once I saw she was basically the same person she’d been back in school, I didn’t want to spend any time with her at all. Believe me, I had no reason to kill her. It wasn’t as if Aspen ruined my life or anything. She was just a girl who thought she was special. Then she clearly turned into a woman who thought the same thing.”
Nicole stood up. “Whatever. That’s clearly what you’d say even if Aspen had bullied you in high school. Now I’m getting out of this office. It’s freezing in here.” She paused. “I’ll still go with you over to your house tomorrow morning. But I’m going to keep an eye on you. I don’t totally trust you, Starr.”
With that, Nicole strode out of the room.
Starr plopped down into the chair she’d vacated, looking at Beatrice across the desk. “You believe me, don’t you?”
Beatrice wasn’t completely sure she did. “Why didn’t you say something earlier? About having known Aspen?”
Starr rubbed her temples. “Because I didn’t know her. And because of this very same reason—I knew that it was going to get blown out of proportion. I knew I hadn’t laid a finger on Aspen, and it was just going to distract from the investigation if I was considered a suspect.” She got up and shut the office door before glancing out in the hall to make sure no one was around. “I wanted to tell you something. I’d overheard Maggie and Nicole earlier, talking with each other. It wasn’t long before Cora found Olive.”
“You could hear what they were saying?” asked Beatrice.
“Not well, but enough. They were trying to be quiet, but their voices kept getting louder. It sounded like Aspen had been blackmailing Maggie.”
“Did it? Did you hear any details?”
“I didn’t get a chance to hear more. But that’s pretty significant. If Maggie was being blackmailed, it shows Aspen knew something about Maggie that Maggie didn’t want anyone else to know. It doesn’t really matter what the secret was. It was clearly something important enough that Maggie would pay Aspen to keep it quiet. So Maggie came into the retreat with a reason to want Aspen dead.”
Beatrice said, “That could definitely be the case. Are you saying Nicole is covering up for her sister?”
“Sure. She seemed eager enough to throw me under the bus for not owning up to the fact that I was acquainted with Aspen. It makes sense for her to do that if she were trying to protect her sister.”
Beatrice said, “One thing is bothering me. You seem like a smart person. Why didn’t you put the yearbook away?”
Starr gave her a rueful look. “Believe me, I’m asking myself the same question. What it boils down to is that I got distracted. The yearbook and Aspen ended up not seeming important when the storm happened and then when Aspen and Olive were found, so I didn’t think anymore about it. Clearly. I should have tucked it away before I offered my office to you. Or maybe, subconsciously, I wanted to get caught. It could be that I felt guilty about hiding the fact Aspen and I had gone to school together.”
“Okay. I’m sure word is getting out now that you knew Aspen. If you’re wanting to get ahead of that, maybe you should address the group again.”
“Right. I’ve also got to get on with figuring out what we’re going to eat and how to help Meadow with food prep.” Starr absently pushed a lock of hair out of her eyes. “I guess I should get on that. It’s going to get dark soon, and that’s not going to help anything.”
Beatrice said, “Do you have enough wood for the fire? I know no one was planning to be burning it all day and all night.”
“Well, we’ll definitely run out after a while, but I’m sure the authorities will get here before then. It’s dry, but it does have to be removed from a storage shed on the property and hauled over to the lodge. I’ll take care of that after looking into the food prep.”
Beatrice shook her head. “You’re taking on too much. What we should be doing is coming up with a rotation for these things. You’re still looking at the situation from the perspective of a staff member running a retreat. You’re not taking into account the emergency aspect of it all.”
Starr said wryly, “That’s probably because the guests aren’t taking the emergency aspect into account.”
“I haven’t heard anyone from the Village Quilters complaining about the lack of amenities.”
Starr raised an eyebrow. “Maybe not. But you only have to spend a few minutes with the Sew and Sews before you hear Ivy or Maggie say something. They’re apparently not the best sports. But, to be fair, it looks like they’ve both been coddled for some time.”
Beatrice said, “Speaking of Maggie, do you mind asking her to come back here? I think I’ll speak with her next.”
Starr gave a quick nod and headed out of the office.
The office was becoming chillier by the minute. Beatrice pulled out her gloves and put them on, despite making it harder for her to take notes. A few moments later, Maggie walked in. She was wearing the tremendous fur coat and a matching fur hat. Beatrice supposed she was very warm but agreed with Savannah that the pieces were likely not faux fur.
Maggie sat down in the chair and gave Beatrice a smirking smile. “Why do I have the feeling I’m in the principal’s office?”
Beatrice smiled back at her. “Sorry. That’s not the impression I’m trying to give. Starr offered her office, and it seemed like the best place to take notes and not be far from everybody.”
“Oh, I heard all about Starr and her office. When I left the group, Starr was still trying to convince everybody that she didn’t know Aspen in school.” Maggie snorted.
“You don’t believe her?”
Maggie said, “No I don’t. Don’t you remember back to your high school days? I bet you can still remember who you liked and who you couldn’t stand from back then.”
“Well, it’s been a while,” said Beatrice with a chuckle. “But I know what you mean. Still, I don’t think that sounds like a reason to kill someone you haven’t seen for over a decade.”
Maggie threw up her hands, which were encased in leather gloves. “We’re just taking Starr’s word for it that she hasn’t seen Aspen since then.”
“That’s true. But I also think it’s telling that Starr retrieved her high school yearbook just to make sure this was the same Aspen.”
Maggie’s mouth twisted. Beatrice had the feeling she wasn’t used to having her opinions challenged and didn’t much care for it. She moved on, not wanting Maggie to clam up. For a moment, she wasn’t sure how to begin asking questions. Should she start with the biggest one she had? Or should she lead with some easier questions?
While she was considering this, Maggie said, “So I understand we’re supposed to play along with you being Sherlock. That you have some experience at this.”
Beatrice demurred. “I definitely don’t have anything official. It’s not as if I worked side by side with the police or anything.”
Maggie snorted. “If you listen to Meadow, it sounds like you’re single-handedly responsible for keeping the peace in your town.”
“No. Actually, Meadow’s husband is responsible for that. But with the situation we’re in, it was decided it might be good to get a head start on figuring out who’s behind this. We want to make sure no one else is affected.”
“Killed,” said Maggie coolly. “You want to make sure no one else is killed. All right, I’ll play. Ask me questions.”
Beatrice took a breath, deciding to start with the big question first. “It’s my understanding that you did have a good reason for wanting Aspen dead. Despite what you said earlier.”
Maggie raised her carefully penciled eyebrows. “Did I? How awful of me. Was it because Aspen said snarky things to me? Because I just don’t think that’s a good enough reason.”
“No. But the fact she was blackmailing you over your affair was.”
Maggie’s face suddenly lost color, showing her makeup in sharp relief. “What?” she asked in a small voice.
“You were having an affair. Or perhaps you’re still having one. I understand you would have a lot to lose if your husband were to find out. Somehow, Aspen knew about the affair. She threatened to fill your husband in.”
Maggie whispered, “How did you find out about that?”
Beatrice shook her head. “I can’t tell you who told me. For obvious reasons.”
“You mean because I’d end up killing your source?” Maggie gave a sharp laugh. “Then what makes you think I’m going to spare you? You also know about it.”
Despite the way a chill went up her back at Maggie’s words, Beatrice made sure her voice was level when she asked, “Did you do it? Did you kill Aspen to make sure she stayed silent about your affair? Or to stop her from blackmailing you?”
Maggie pulled her coat more tightly around her. She gave Beatrice a resentful look. “This is exactly why I didn’t mention anything about my affair. I knew it was going to end up being misconstrued. Yes, I was relieved Aspen was gone. You don’t know how excited I was when I heard the news.”
“How did Aspen find out about your affair?”
“Who knows?” asked Maggie, rolling her eyes. “Aspen was like a witch. It seemed like she could find out everything about everybody. Maybe she had spies. Maybe she just kept her eyes and ears open. I know I was very careful, and I know the man I’m seeing was, too. How Aspen found out about the affair is a mystery to me.”
“And she was blackmailing you?”
Maggie pressed her lips together before saying, “She was in the process of blackmailing me. She’d already made some leading statements like ‘gosh, wouldn’t it be terrible if James found out about your affair?’ That kind of thing. Definitely toying with me. I was desperate to get her back. I was hoping to find something on Aspen. Something I could hold against her so that I could threaten her with exposure.”
“Like her own affair?”
Maggie said, “That’s the thing about Aspen—she simply didn’t care. She didn’t care if everyone knew about her affairs. It didn’t bother her if her marriage fell apart or if she lost money or if people talked about her. She seemed to revel in it. Needless to say, I didn’t have any luck getting dirt on her. I mean, dirt that she cared about, anyway.”
“Could you have turned her into the police for blackmail? I have the feeling being deprived of her freedom and sent to prison might have given her pause,” said Beatrice.
“Yes, but then my secret would be out. And that’s precisely what I didn’t want to happen, as Aspen knew. James can be heartless, and he’d have turned me out of our house and cut me off without a penny. Unfortunately, I’m not exactly rife with marketable skills.” Maggie made a face. “And I don’t think I want to go back home to live with my parents at my age.”
“You’ve gotten used to a particular standard of living?”
“Sure! Of course I have. Nicole and I didn’t come from a really lavish background, you know. Our dad was a school custodian and our mom cleaned houses. We had the basics, but it was no-frills. I wasn’t particularly great at school, so I knew I wasn’t going to be able to claw my way out of poverty with my brain. Nicole was a better student than I was, and she’s made a nice living for herself. But it’s not like she’s making a ton of money. When I married James, I felt finally like I could breathe a little. The wolf wasn’t at the door anymore.”
“Were you happy with James?”
“It’s been fine. I’ve been happy enough,” said Maggie. “I know that’s not a ringing endorsement, but I think happiness is overrated, in general. Contentedness is all you really need. I believe it’s unrealistic to think a couple can be happy together for decades. I’ve never wanted to leave James. Let’s put it that way. He’s introduced me to a very comfortable lifestyle, apart from any worry. That’s all that I’ve wanted.”
Maggie must have been able to read Beatrice’s mind because she added, “And maybe I also wanted a little diversion from reality. Which was really what my affair was all about.”
Beatrice nodded. “So you’re saying that, despite the motive being there, you had nothing to do with Aspen’s death. Nor Olive’s.”
Maggie blanched at the mention of Olive. “No one could think I had anything to do with Olive’s death. I had a great deal of respect for her. I’d never lay a finger on Olive. I can’t wrap my head around why someone would murder her.”
“Perhaps she saw or heard something that made her realize who’d killed Aspen.” Beatrice paused. “And your sister?”
Maggie stared at her. “Nicole would never have harmed Aspen or Olive.”
“What if she were trying to protect you? Can you see her deciding to get Aspen out of your way? It would have meant an end to your worries. The two of you seem very close.”
Maggie said, “Well, of course we are! We’re sisters. And yes, Nicole is very protective of me. But that protectiveness doesn’t extend to murder. She’s not exactly in the mafia or anything. Besides, Nicole never left the cabin the entire night.”
Beatrice said slowly, “But you said you were a very heavy sleeper.”
Maggie faltered a moment before quickly saying, “I meant that she and I were both sound asleep.”
The door suddenly opened and Nicole was standing there, frowning. “What’s going on? It sounds like Maggie is getting upset.”
Maggie took one look at her sister and burst into tears. But Beatrice was wondering if it was because she’d been asked some pretty standard questions or whether it was from thinking Nicole could have had something to do with Aspen’s murder. What if she had noticed Nicole getting up at night and leaving the cabin?
Maggie finally got control of herself and grabbed a tissue from a box on Starr’s desk, dabbing her face with it. “Sorry,” she muttered. “This place has me so stressed out. No heat, no lights, and a murderer on the loose. This is a disaster.”
Nicole looked directly at Beatrice. “You can’t possibly think Maggie had anything to do with this.”
Beatrice said calmly, “I’m not thinking anything. I’m asking everyone questions to try to figure out what’s going on. And hopefully prevent another death.”
Maggie said to Nicole, “She knows about the blackmail. Somebody heard us talking about it.” She turned back to Beatrice. “I know people sometimes talk about me. It doesn’t mean anything.”
“People are jealous of Maggie,” said Nicole. “It must seem like she has a very easy life. But appearances are deceiving. She has a lot on her mind.” Then Nicole seemed to make a decision. She said in a quiet voice, “I know you saw me leave the cabin last night, Maggie. Is that what’s been worrying you?”
Maggie stared silently at her sister.
Nicole said, “I knew Aspen told the group she was going to do some late-night quilting. She was a night owl. I couldn’t sleep. I was thinking about the blackmail and how stressed-out Maggie was. I figured it might be a good time to approach Aspen on her own and try to reason with her. But when I walked into the conference room, I found Aspen. She was already dead.” Nicole now looked nervous and swallowed. “I didn’t say anything because I was worried I’d be considered a suspect. I didn’t touch anything, but went right back to my room.”
Maggie and Beatrice just looked at her.
“It’s the truth,” said Nicole simply. “I’m sorry I didn’t mention anything earlier. I just didn’t want any of this stuff about Maggie’s affair to get out.”
Beatrice nodded. “Thanks for telling us now. Who do you think did do this?”
The two sisters started flinging names out. Basically, they thought it could be anyone but them.
They must have been able to read Beatrice’s expression because they stopped. Nicole said a bit guiltily, “It’s not that we really think they did it. We’re just saying they could have done it. And they had a motive to do it. That’s all.”
Nicole and Maggie looked at each other, clearly eager to leave the office and Beatrice’s probing questions. “I think that’s all I’ve got,” said Nicole. “I’m sorry I didn’t say anything earlier.”
Maggie said, “Yeah, you might have aged me a few years by staying quiet. I knew you couldn’t possibly have been involved, but it sure made me worried. I didn’t know why you’d gone out.”
The sisters left, still talking with each other in low voices. Beatrice stood up, feeling suddenly exhausted. She hadn’t really gotten any sleep the night before and it didn’t look as if it was going to be a great night to catch up on missed sleep. If she’d had a hard time sleeping simply because she was in a different location, trying to rest in a room full of women while sleeping on the floor didn’t seem promising.
When she got back to the main room of the lodge, it was a lot quieter in there than it had been earlier. A few women were talking desultorily in low voices to each other. A couple were trying to read, but kept looking up from their books. Cora from the Sew and Sews was working on some hand stitching. But the Monopoly game had been put away, and the chatter had dissipated.
Piper gave her mother a smile as Beatrice took a seat next to her along the wall.
“How did everything go?” she asked quietly.
“It’s going. It’s kind of an awkward process. It’s like I’m operating from the assumption that everyone is guilty until proven innocent instead of the other way around. But everyone is answering questions. I think I need to speak to Village Quilters for the next series of interviews.”
Piper said, “Although none of them could have done it, of course.”
“Of course. But they definitely could have seen or heard something that could help us out. Savannah has already been able to share some helpful observations. How is everything going here? It seems a lot more muted.”
Piper nodded. “Things got a little ugly when Starr was explaining that she knew Aspen prior to this weekend. There were a lot of accusations being thrown around.”
“It was something of a surprise,” said Beatrice, making a face. “But the fact of the matter is that we really need Starr. She knows everything about this retreat. Plus, she lives within walking distance and can get her hands on extra supplies at home, if she needs to.”
“That’s what I kept saying to the group after Starr walked out. But the Sew and Sews were in a real snit about it. They’ve felt like they’ve all been under a cloud of suspicion. It must in some ways have been a relief to have someone else come up as a possible suspect.”
Beatrice said, “Where is Starr now? She’d mentioned taking care of the food.”
“She and Meadow headed off to the kitchen to see what they could do about feeding us. It seems like grilling for this number of people would take a while, and they’re not even entirely sure that the grills would stay lit with the wind driving ice over the flames.”
Beatrice said, “Maybe we should just plan on eating dry goods until the weather slows down a little. Has anybody been able to use a data signal to see a weather forecast?”
“Not as far as I know. Plus, everyone is pretty conservative about using their phones now that we can’t recharge them. The power outage is creating lots of issues.”
Beatrice said, “One of them is going to be staying warm. At least everyone seems to have brought good winter gear with them. But Starr was saying the firewood needs to be transported over to the lodge from a storage shed. Out in this weather, that could be tricky, especially since the sun is going down.”
“I’ll help out with the firewood. I’m one of the youngest people here. I wouldn’t want anybody to break a hip in the wintry mix out there.”
“Unfortunately, I think all of us might be susceptible to falling and there’s really not much of a way to avoid it. Starr has been trying to take on everything herself, but she’s obviously going to need some help since there’s no staff here. I thought maybe we could divide up responsibilities with cooking and firewood. There might be other tasks, too, but I can’t really think of them now.”
Piper said sympathetically, “Because you’re totally exhausted. I can see you’re tapped out. You didn’t get any sleep last night and then all this happened. Why don’t you try to take a short nap?”
Beatrice shook her head. “I’d like to, but at this point it would probably only serve to mess up the sleep I get tonight. I should probably start interviewing the quilters again.”
“Just give it a break for a short period,” urged Piper. “Maybe read for a few minutes. You need to take care of yourself right now, too.”
So Beatrice did. At first, she thought there was no way she’d be able to focus on a book with everything going on. But to her surprise, she felt herself being drawn right into the book she’d borrowed from Piper. She read until it was time to eat again.
The meal they all ended up eating wasn’t exactly as tasty as what they’d eaten the day before. Meadow and Starr decided it would be quicker and easier to just serve everyone continental breakfast items for supper. As Meadow muttered to Beatrice, “We were worried about everybody getting in an even worse mood if we didn’t hurry up and provide something to eat. And the last thing we need is to get a murderer fired up even more than they already are.”
Piper did get firewood, with Starr’s help. Then Meadow put out a signup sheet for women to sign up for various slots to do things like help with food prep or getting the firewood.
After eating, most everyone decided to call it a day, despite the early hour. It was already dark outside, and there wasn’t enough light to see to read or really play a game, even if anyone had been in the right frame of mind to play. They trooped over to the cabins in groups for pillows and blankets and settled into a rather uncomfortable sleep.