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“MISS SISSY?” CALLED Beatrice, rushing toward the shrieking.
Miss Sissy exploded from the back of the house, hands waving, eyes wide. She clutched Wyatt’s arm. “Dead! Dead!”
“Ophelia is dead?” asked Wyatt, putting an arm around the old woman.
Miss Sissy nodded her head emphatically.
Beatrice said, “I’ll make sure we don’t need to call an ambulance.” She strode to the back of the house in the direction of Ophelia’s bedroom. There she saw Ophelia, dressed for the day, sprawled in the middle of the hall. Next to her was a bottle of wine. Beatrice checked for a pulse.
Wyatt, who had apparently deposited Miss Sissy somewhere outside of the house, came up behind her and sighed. “Anything?” he asked.
Beatrice shook her head. “Could you turn on that hall light?”
Wyatt carefully took his shirt sleeve to avoid erasing any fingerprints the police might search for and turned the light on.
Beatrice stood close to Ophelia’s body, studying it.
“Her death definitely wasn’t by natural causes,” said Beatrice. “Her head is lying in a pool of blood.”
Wyatt shook his head sadly. “I’d hoped that maybe it was a natural death and that she never felt a thing. I hate to think that she was afraid at the end of her life.”
Beatrice said, “Maybe she wasn’t afraid. She likely knew her attacker. Maybe she was simply taken by surprise. It certainly looks as though the wine bottle was the weapon. And her back must have been facing her attacker, so it should have been someone that she trusted. Can you call Ramsay? I can’t believe this day.”
There was a holler from outside and Wyatt said quickly, “I’ll keep an eye on Miss Sissy, too.”
As Wyatt pulled his phone out of his pocket and walked toward the front door, Beatrice carefully walked back into the living room and glanced around. She noticed something that she hadn’t picked up on the way into the house—the fact that the living room was in great disorder. And not just the disorder of an untidy room. There were drawers pulled out and the contents thrown on the floor as if the killer had been searching for something. The rest of Ophelia’s house was rather tidy and it was obvious that she hadn’t been the one to make such a mess.
Beatrice stepped cautiously over to the desk in the corner of the room. It was also messy with papers strewn everywhere. She glanced at the papers and then frowned. She saw keys on the floor next to the desk, as if they’d been thrown there. Beatrice walked gingerly past Ophelia to her bedroom and saw an empty safe in her room. Was it a robbery then?
She glanced over at Ophelia’s bedside table, spotting a library book there with what looked like a large bookmark sticking out of it. Beatrice took a tissue and opened the book. The piece of paper used as a bookmark had a list of local names on it and what appeared to be various petty infractions. She took her phone out and took a picture of the piece of paper as the sound of sirens approached. Beatrice walked outside to join Wyatt and Miss Sissy.
Ramsay looked tired as he approached the house. “People in town are really going to fuss about this,” he said.
Beatrice said, “There have been two murders here before in a short period of time.”
“Yes, but not on the same day. It makes it look as though we have some sort of serial killer in Dappled Hills on our hands, which we don’t. I’m sure these crimes have got to be connected and aren’t some sort of random occurrences,” said Ramsay.
A state police car pulled up and Ramsay waited for the police officer before walking into the house.
Miss Sissy was sitting in Beatrice’s back seat, looking rattled and hostile. She glared at Beatrice when she spotted her staring her way.
Beatrice asked Wyatt, “Is she all right?”
Wyatt sighed. “Apparently, although Miss Sissy was very annoyed with Ophelia, they were good friends. She seems really angry and upset by this, although I was able to get her calmed down a little.”
“I wonder what she wanted to talk with Ophelia about,” said Beatrice, frowning.
“You mean about the scene at the wedding?” asked Wyatt. “Isn’t that what she was saying earlier?”
“Yes, but there was something else. She said that she wanted to speak to Ophelia about something besides the argument at Piper’s wedding.” She turned to look at Miss Sissy again. “Do you think that she would be able to talk about it?”
Wyatt shook his head. “I wouldn’t try. She hasn’t said a word since she found Ophelia. Well, I take it back. She did say one word. I asked if I could take her to the doctor, since she seemed to be in shock. And she said no.” He paused, staring at the house. “Did you see anything out of place in there?”
Beatrice said, “It looked as though everything she owned was out of place in there. Drawers were dumped out and papers were strewn everywhere.”
“Someone was looking for something, then,” said Wyatt.
Beatrice said, “It certainly appears that way.” She hesitated. “Ophelia’s safe was open, too. It made me wonder if someone at the wedding overheard Ophelia’s contention that she had tons of money and came over to take it.” She shook her head. “I hate to even think that, since the wedding guests were all friends of ours.”
“How many people do you think could have overheard Ophelia?” asked Wyatt.
“Plenty of people,” said Beatrice with a shrug. “She was being loud, even with the band playing and everyone was moving around. Maybe ten or fifteen people? More? But something is bothering me about that. I feel almost as if this was staged. As if maybe there was another motive for someone having done this.”
At this point, Ramsay came back to join them. Another state police car pulled up and more officers entered the house. Ramsay said in a low voice, “How are things over here? Miss Sissy okay?”
Wyatt said, “I think she’s just in shock. Anger is gradually replacing the shock, though, which is probably a good thing. She didn’t want to see a doctor. It looks like she and Ophelia were better friends than I realized.”
Ramsay nodded, glancing at Miss Sissy. Then he turned to Beatrice. “What did you make of the house?”
“Well, it definitely looked as though someone was trying to find something in there. That made me wonder if someone had heard Ophelia bragging last night about how she had lots of money. But it’s hard for me to fathom,” said Beatrice.
Ramsay raised his eyebrows. “Hard for you to fathom that someone you know is a murderer?”
“I think I’ve kind of gotten over that, since it’s happened fairly frequently. No, I mean it’s hard to fathom that someone I know is so hard up for cash that they’d rob and kill an old woman,” said Beatrice.
Ramsay nodded. “I see what you mean. You think it was a cover? For something else?”
“I’m not sure. But I did find something.” Beatrice saw Ramsay open his mouth to scold her and quickly added, “Don’t worry, I didn’t disturb anything and I used a tissue to touch things. But there’s a piece of paper in Ophelia’s library book on her bedside table. It looks like some sort of a master list of people’s wrongdoings. At any rate, it’s worth a look.”
“Any names you recognized?” asked Ramsay.
“Yes. Barton Perry’s name was on there. And the name of someone I’ve heard about, but don’t actually personally know: Mae Thigpen. There were a bunch of other names, but I wasn’t familiar with them,” said Beatrice.
Ramsay then got a formal statement from them all, although Miss Sissy’s was mostly populated by grunts and silence.
An officer came out and called to Ramsay and he said, “You’re all welcome to go. You must be exhausted, even though it’s still early in the day. I know that I am.” He walked into Ophelia’s house.
Beatrice climbed into the front seat and said, “Miss Sissy, are you sure that you’re all right to go back home? Would you like us to take you to see a doctor?”
“No.”
Beatrice and Wyatt exchanged glances. Wyatt said under his breath, “I’m not sure she needs to go back to her house and be alone.”
Beatrice’s head started pounding at the thought of hosting Miss Sissy all day at their tiny cottage. “Miss Sissy, would you like to come over to our house for a while? I’m not doing anything all that interesting, but you’re welcome to come.”
The old woman glared at her and shook her head fiercely.
Wyatt said, “What about the Patchwork Cottage? Would you like to hang out there today?” He looked at his watch. “It’s not open very long on Sundays, but it should be open now.”
Beatrice beamed at him. “That’s a great idea! I’m sure Posy wouldn’t mind. Then you can curl up in a chair with Maisie.” Maisie was the beautiful white shop cat at the quilting store. Miss Sissy was Maisie’s co-owner with Posy.
Miss Sissy perked up a bit, tilting her head to one side to consider this. “Okay.”
“Perfect!” Beatrice practically sang the words out in her relief.
First, Beatrice dropped Wyatt off at the church office so that he could get some work done (it was a short walk from the church to their cottage). Then she drove to the Patchwork Cottage with Miss Sissy. She was relieved that the old woman’s stony silence was gradually being replaced by some light humming.
A few minutes later, the two women were walking through the door at the Patchwork Cottage. Beatrice could understand why Miss Sissy felt so much cheerier at the prospect of coming here. The whole shop was relaxing with soft music piping through it, usually the work of local artists. Quilts hung from the ceiling and the walls gave the shop a soft, welcoming appearance. There were cozy chairs and a sofa in a sitting area in the middle of the store and Miss Sissy made a beeline for the sofa and the cat curled up there. When the cat spotted the old woman, she stood up, stretched, yawned, and immediately curled back up again, this time in Miss Sissy’s lap.
Posy, the shop owner, greeted Beatrice with a smile. “Beatrice! Good to see you and Miss Sissy today. How is everything?”
Beatrice said in a low voice, “Actually, everything could be better. For once I’m glad to see that the store is so quiet. Is it all right for Miss Sissy to stay here today? Could you keep an eye on her in between customers? I’ll warn you that she’s had a bit of a shock.”
Posy’s bright blue eyes clouded. “Of course ... I’m happy to have her here. But whatever happened? How could anything have happened in such a short period of time? We were just with you last night at the wedding.”
“I know, it seems unbelievable. As hard as it is to believe, there have been two murders this morning, Posy. I’m surprised that my phone isn’t ringing like crazy with Meadow on the other end—I suppose Ramsay must not have filled her in yet. Wyatt and I were picking up a wedding present for Piper at Pearl’s house and Barton came around from the backyard and told us that she was dead.”
Posy gasped. Then the two women both turned as the doorbell jangled noisily as someone entered the store. It was Savannah and Georgia. They saw Beatrice and rushed over with smiles on their faces.
Georgia said, “It was the sweetest wedding ever, Beatrice!”
“Besides your own, you mean?” asked Beatrice teasingly. “I seem to remember a recent special day that was pretty high on the sweet scale.”
Georgia laughed. “It was a great day, wasn’t it? Even though it was much smaller than Piper’s.”
“But beautiful. You couldn’t have picked a better day for a barbeque reception outdoors. I’m just amazed how lucky both you and Piper were with the weather for your wedding days. How is married life treating you so far?” asked Beatrice.
She noticed that Posy was giving Savannah worried sideways glances. Then Savannah quietly slipped away and started browsing through the shop.
Georgia said, “It’s been great, but so crazy. This is the first time I’ve seen Savannah in ages, besides Piper’s wedding. Well, you know, Beatrice, what being a newlywed is like! Combining two households into one is tough. And, since we bought a new house to share, we’ve been trying to sell Tony’s house.”
“That is a lot to adjust to. Somehow I’ve been so caught up in my own busyness that I missed that you and Tony had bought a house,” said Beatrice.
“Well, we wanted a slightly bigger place,” said Georgia with a smile. “We’re hoping to have children—not right away, but before long.” Her smile faded a little. “The only problem is that we have all these expenses. We hoped Tony’s house might sell before now, but apparently it’s too small for most of the market. And Tony’s back in school, and the cost of classes and books is really adding up.”
Beatrice said, “Oh, I didn’t realize he was back in school. Is he still working at the hardware store during the day?”
“He is, and then he goes to school at night at the community college in Lenoir. He’s trying to learn computer programming,” said Georgia. “Tony wanted to get a job that would earn him more money before we tried to have a family.”
“The downside is that you’re probably not seeing very much of each other?” guessed Beatrice.
“Exactly! But we’re hoping it will all be worth it in the end. Between my teaching and selling pet clothes online and his work and studies, we’re not able to spend as much time together as we’d like,” said Georgia. “Anyway, back to Piper’s wedding. It was perfect in every way, Beatrice. I know she’s going to be so happy with Ash.”
Beatrice said, “I know she will be, too. And thanks about the wedding—it does feel like a dream. Especially in light of a very unsettling morning.”
Savannah rejoined their group and she and Georgia frowned at Posy’s and Beatrice’s solemn expression. “What’s happened?” asked Georgia.
Beatrice started repeating what she’d told Posy when suddenly the doorbell jangled once again. This time they turned to see Meadow there.
Meadow said, “Well, I’m glad to see all of you! I’ve been bored to tears at home all morning. Ramsay left the house early and he’s not been answering his phone—it’s most annoying!” She noticed their faces and said, “All right. What’s happened?”
Beatrice filled them in on both the incident at the reception and the two murders that morning, while the women stared, stunned, at her.
“How did Barton take the news?” asked Georgia, a frown furrowing her brow.
Beatrice said, “He seemed completely shocked. And almost disbelieving. When he’d left the house to drive off to the gym, Pearl was heading out to do some weeding in the yard.”
“Ophelia and Pearl are dead?” asked Posy. She shook her head.
Savannah scowled. “Makes a body not feel safe anymore.”
Meadow was quite agitated at the news. “Not feel safe in Dappled Hills? This is criminal.”
“Well, there’s no doubt about that,” agreed Beatrice dryly.
“What is Ramsay doing about all this?” demanded Meadow, hands on hips.
Beatrice said in a placating voice, “He’s scrambling around like crazy, Meadow. That’s why you haven’t heard back from him today. It was as much of a surprise to Ramsay as it was to us, remember. He’s working with the state police to try to find out who’s behind these murders. They must somehow be connected.”
Meadow frowned. “The weird thing is that Pearl and Ophelia had that argument at the reception. Remember? You’d think that one of them would be responsible for the death of the other. Or that maybe one of them killed the other and then took their own life, in guilt.”
Beatrice shook her head. “There’s no way that Pearl hit herself over the head with a flowerpot. Or that Ophelia hit herself over the head with a bottle of wine.”
Meadow said, pursing her lips “I kept telling people that Ophelia drank. It was probably that cheap wine that I saw her buying at the grocery store. She always acted as if she was too good to drink, but I knew better.”
Georgia said, “Beatrice, were there any clues at all as to who might be behind this?”
Savannah said grimly, “Now we’re going to have to start locking our doors again.”
Beatrice said calmly, hoping her calm would transfer to the other women, “I really don’t think there’s a larger threat here. There was a reason that Pearl and Ophelia were targeted, although we don’t know yet what that was. I’m sure Ramsay and the state police are hot on their trail.”
Meadow snorted. “I think we’re better off with you poking around, Beatrice. You know that you have a real knack for this stuff. Nothing against Ramsay, or anything, but you know that he would rather be off reading his collection of Yeats than doing police work.”
“I’m sure he’s working very hard, Meadow.” Beatrice turned to Georgia. “And, to answer your question, there were a couple of clues. Not at Pearl’s house so much, but at Ophelia’s. There was a list of names there.”
“What sort of a list?” asked Meadow, leaning closer to Beatrice.
“It looked as though it was a list of people and their misdeeds,” said Beatrice. She pulled out her phone and showed them all the picture she’d taken in Ophelia’s house.
The other women read in silence.
Meadow snorted. “Most of these are minor offenses. See, this is what I was telling you about Ophelia. She got involved in other people’s business. Honestly, I’m not too shocked that someone decided to murder her. She was always sneaking around, gathering gossip and looking down on everyone.” She squinted at Beatrice’s phone. “Jim Jacobs littered in front of the café. I mean, who cares? Ophelia just liked to think that she was better than everyone else.”
Savannah asked, squinting at the phone, “It doesn’t make sense. Why are most of them scratched out and a couple of them not?”
Georgia frowned. “Maybe the ones that were scratched off were less-important, like Meadow was saying. The ones that aren’t scratched off could be more important. Or maybe the scratched-off ones were ones that she felt she’d dealt with.”
Meadow raised her eyebrows. “I see that Pearl Perry’s name isn’t scratched off. And Pearl, of course, was trying to give Ophelia money.”
“Maybe Pearl thought that she could pay Ophelia off,” said Beatrice. “Somehow I couldn’t see Pearl charitably handing out money to Ophelia. Giving money at a wedding reception seems like a very odd thing to have done. And they certainly didn’t seem close.”
“No one was close to Ophelia!” said Meadow.
Posy shook her head in gentle correction. “That’s not entirely true, although Ophelia could be very difficult.” She glanced over to where Miss Sissy was slumped over, snoring with abandon, as Maisie slept on her lap.
Beatrice nodded. “Miss Sissy was very distraught over her death.”
Posy said, “I’m glad Miss Sissy is here. She didn’t need to be alone today.”
Meadow said, “Exactly. I bet she’ll feel a lot better when she wakes up.” She looked at Beatrice, “So where to, first?”