Who knew it was going to be so easy to offer Dale my help? Actually, I didn't even have to offer. He came right out and asked. I wasn’t expecting that.
"Do you know of anyone who would want Susan dead?"
"Nikki Wainscot or Gerald Stack," he spat out with barely a second to think about it. That surprised me. I didn't expect him to have names on the ready of who might have been so angry at Susan that they would go to such lengths as to lock her in a flower cooler.
"Susan was so nice I can't imagine her having anyone angry enough at her that they would want her dead."
"Susan was nice, and because she was nice, people underestimated her."
"Is that what Nikki Wainscot and Gerald Stack did? Underestimated her?"
"Yes, but Susan stood her ground, and she did the right thing," Dale said vehemently. He finished his coffee, so I got up and poured him another cup while he finished his toast. He was much more alert now, but I wasn't sure it was the caffeine or the fact that he'd gotten worked up again talking about Susan.
"Who are Nikki Wainscot and Gerald Stack?"
"Nikki is the PTA president for the elementary school and Gerald Stack is the principal."
"So she had problems with the people she worked with." For someone who had a lot of accolades for teaching, it did kind of surprise me that she had issues with people at her workplace.
"Like I said, people underestimated her."
"Exactly how did this Gerald Stack and Nikki Wainscot underestimate Susan?" I wanted to take notes so I wouldn't forget anything, but I thought that would seem a little callous—to pull out my phone and start typing—so I just hoped my memory would do its job.
"Let’s just say Susan reported Nikki for something and Gerald didn’t have her back, and Nikki talked bad about her to the other parents and teachers. To make things worse, Gerald Stack was trying to push her out, wanting her to retire."
"Well, she was close to retirement age."
"But she didn't want to retire, and she wasn't quite at the mandatory retirement age. They were trying to push her out anyway to the detriment of her students, and my Susan wasn’t having it."
I knew good teachers were hard to find, so it did kind of surprise me that they wanted her to retire—if that was the case—without a good reason.
"Anyone else that Susan had a problem with?"
"I did hear her on the phone last week arguing with someone named Josie. But I’m not sure who that was."
Interesting. I wondered if that was the same Josie from Purple Posies. Susan didn't tell me she had talked to her.
"Do you think you can help me?" Dale asked.
"Sheriff Blackford is really good at his job," I said, part of me not wanting to tell him yes. The man was a great sheriff, and I knew he wouldn’t like me nosing around another murder. He wasn’t really welcoming of my help.
"From what I’ve heard, you've done a lot to help Sheriff Blackford solve crime lately."
I wanted to preen a little bit at the compliment. That’s how I felt. Useful. I cared about Hunter’s Hollow and the people here. I liked to help.
"I appreciate your kind words. I won't make any promises and I have to be careful not to interfere with the sheriff's investigation, but I can poke around quietly and see what I can find out."
"I’d appreciate it."
I stood up. "I should probably head out now, get out of your hair. I’ll put this casserole in the refrigerator for you."
"Thank you for stopping by and bringing the casserole," he said and seemed sincere, plus a little calmer than when we were talking about Susan. "I'm supposed to go by the funeral home tomorrow. They think they will be done with her body by then. Then I will know when the funeral will be."
"Dale, do you have friends or family who will be with you during this difficult time?"
He nodded. "My brother and his wife, along with my sister-in-law should be here today."
That was good. “I’m glad to hear that. I’m sure they’ll be a big help to you."
"I'll let you know when I’ve made the arrangements so you can tell your mother," he said as we walked to the front door.
We said our goodbyes and I got in my car. I looked at my phone and noticed I had a text from Katy. It asked if I was free for coffee in the next hour and had been sent twenty minutes ago. I quickly texted back that I could be and that I'd meet her at Betty's Baked Goods, which had the best lattes and pastries in town, in ten minutes. I could already taste my favorite peach cream cheese muffin that was more calories than I needed to eat for a snack, but I could never say no. Betty made the muffins with actual chunks of peaches, and the cinnamon crumble on top was to die for.
I pulled into Betty's and saw Katy's car already in the parking lot. Her text said she had something interesting to tell me, so I couldn't wait to find out what. I pushed open the door to Betty's and saw Katy sitting at a corner table. She waved to get my attention, pointing at two coffees on the table to show me she'd already got mine. My mouth started watering at the sight of one of Betty's muffins next to the coffee. She knew me so well. I slid in the chair and Katy pushed a coffee in my direction. I took a sip.
"Every time I have a latte here, I feel like it's the best one I’ve ever had," I said with a satisfied sigh.
"Betty does seem to always outdo herself. Sorry I had to cancel lunch yesterday. One of my morning appointments was running late and it threw off my entire day. It was easier to work through lunch and get caught up than to continue to be behind."
"I totally understand. And we’re catching up now. By the way, Willie told me he is staying permanently."
"Good for him," Katy said in a very neutral tone.
I thought the two of them would be perfect together, but Katy was just coming out of a long-term relationship and Willie never said much about his love life, so I wasn't sure what was going on there.
Instead of pestering Katy about Will, I figured I would just jump to why she asked me to Betty's in the first place. When I asked her what was going on, she got a mischievous look on her face.
"I heard the Meriwethers were having financial issues and that there was a big life insurance policy on Susan."
It didn't surprise me that Katy had gossip, since the salon was definitely a breeding place for it. It also didn't surprise me, if that were true, that Dale hadn't mentioned they were having money problems or anything about life insurance. That would make him look a little more like a suspect than a grieving husband.
I broke off a piece of the peach cream cheese muffin and popped it into my mouth. "And how reliable is this information?"
"Kathy Summers was in. Her mom is best friends with the mother of the receptionist at Hunter's Hollow's Insurance Agency. Apparently, Dale and Susan took out policies on one another right after they lost a bunch of money in that scam that Cyrus Calder and Al Gavin were running."
I didn't even bat an eye at the gossip that was coming several people removed from the source. That was typical for Hunter's Hollow. Probably typical for any small town.
"At least they both took out policies and it's not like Dale took out a secret one on Susan. That makes him look less like he might have murdered his wife for financial gain." As I said the words, I looked at Katy and could see she had something else she hadn't told me yet. "What else are you not telling me?"
"They did take out policies of two hundred fifty thousand dollars on each other. Courtney—I think that's the receptionist’s name—told her mom, who told Kathy’s mom, who told Kathy that about two weeks after the couple took out their original policies, Dale came back and upped Susan's to a million dollars."
If I were a cartoon character, my eyes would've sprung out of my sockets, because I didn't expect Katy to say that. It was clear that she knew I hadn't expected that news by the satisfied smile she wore.
"That's all very interesting and definitely doesn't make Dale look totally innocent. When I stopped at Dale's this morning—" I had told her last night that was my plan "—I asked him who he thought might have killed Susan. Immediately, he said Nikki Wainscot or Gerald Stack."
"The principal of the elementary school?"
"How do you know who that is?"
"One of the girls at the salon does his wife's hair. She's a really nice person. But I don't actually know him. I’ve never even met him."
"So, you haven't heard any gossip about Nikki or Gerald having issues with Susan?"
"No, but there has been a lot of chatter about people hoping she didn't win the Fall Festival again this year. I don’t understand why people are so mean."
That set me back for second. I didn't know whether I should be offended or not since Susan and I were in this together. "People wanted us to fail?"
"Not so much you, just Susan."
"Then it's me by extension. We entered as a team."
"You know what I mean. No one wants to see you fail, but I guess if it means Susan loses, they want you to lose with her."
"Why? What’s so bad about Susan?"
"I guess she’s been impossible these last few years, gloating over how she and your mother have won year after year."
"Well, I guess people will have their wish this year," I said a little bit bitterly. It didn’t sit well with me that I knew people were essentially rooting for us to lose.
"Are you going to pull out of the contest?"
"I hadn't really thought about it, but I guess so. I’m not sure I can pull this off myself."
"I don’t think you should quit. You can do it. Do it for Susan."
"I guess that would be the right thing to do," I said, even though it was going to be a lot of work by myself. It wasn’t that I minded the work. I just didn’t have the expertise Susan brought to the table to execute our designs.
"I'm more than happy to help out with whatever you need," Katy said.
I appreciated her offer, but it was hard to think about a flower contest when there was a murderer on the loose.