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Kat hung around the Duncans’ place until seven o’clock. She had hoped one of the partygoers might tell her something that cracked Lenora’s case wide open, but, as it turned out, nobody wanted to talk about the dead woman. In fact, most of the Duncans’ guests didn’t even know who she was or that her death had been the catalyst for the impromptu Monday night gathering. They all seemed to be under the impression that the Duncans had merely been in a festive mood when they’d called out of the blue to invite them over.
Kat left the Duncans’ feeling disappointed and dejected. She was pretty sure that trowel had been Audrey’s, but other than that—mostly useless, she realized now—discovery, the whole evening had been a bust. She would much rather have spent the time playing with Matty and Tom.
At least she was headed home now, she thought with a smile.
But all thoughts of relaxing with her cats evaporated when she noticed lights ablaze behind the closed curtains of Lenora’s house. She supposed Andrew or Chief Kenny could have let themselves inside, except she didn’t see either of their vehicles parked in the cul-de-sac.
So who could be in the house?
Kat stood there, debating over what to do. Calling the police was definitely a good option. Or she could just go knock on the door and see who answered. After all, the person inside might not be up to no good. They probably wouldn’t have turned the lights on if they were.
Her mind made up, Kat strode up Lenora’s driveway and rang the doorbell. Then she waited.
It took close to a minute before the door swung open. An older woman stood there, a pair of reading glasses perched on her nose. Her gray hair and the stoop in her stance led Kat to believe she was in her seventies at first glance. But then she looked up, and Kat noticed she barely had any wrinkles on her face.
“You looking for Lenora?” the woman asked.
Kat shook her head, wondering how best to explain her presence. After a brief internal debate, she opted for honesty. “I saw a light on and thought I should check it out.”
“Mmm-hmm.” The woman squinted at Kat over her readers. “You part of a neighborhood watch or something?”
“I actually don’t live in this neighborhood.” Kat frowned. “Who are you though?”
“The name’s Ethel. I’m Lenora’s sister.”
Kat stilled, remembering her theory about the sister murdering Lenora for money. “Have you been here all weekend?”
“All weekend?” Ethel shook her head. “I just flew in. The taxi dropped me off here not ten minutes ago, after I picked up the key from a very nice young policeman. You heard Lenora died, didn’t you?”
“I did. And I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Eh. Twasn’t much of a loss.”
Ethel’s cavalier tone sent Kat scooting backward a step.
“We weren’t what you’d call close,” Ethel continued. “Don’t get me wrong, she was family and I’m sad she’s dead. But she wasn’t a huge part of my life.”
Kat wondered if Lenora had nitpicked Ethel’s behavior as much as she had her neighbors’.
“Did you know my sis?” Ethel asked.
“I met her.” Kat stopped there, hoping Ethel wouldn’t ask for details.
“Well, then you might as well come in.” Ethel moved aside and held the door open.
Kat hesitated only briefly before stepping over the threshold.
With stark-white walls and solid brown carpet, Lenora’s living area looked more like an institutional waiting room than a place to relax. Ignoring the rolling suitcase that Kat presumed belonged to Ethel, there weren’t any paintings, afghans, throw pillows, or other homey touches, just two utilitarian sofas facing a rather small television. An end table occupied the space next to one of the couches, but that was it in terms of furnishings. It was almost as if Lenora didn’t expect visitors and had no reason to make anyone feel welcome.
Ethel looked around. “I know what you’re thinking. And you’re right. The place is rather drab.”
“Is this your first time in her house?”
“Yep. She only moved out here last year. I meant to visit but never got the chance.”
“Why did she choose Cherry Hills?”
“She said she found someone she knew out here and wanted to be closer to him.”
“A love interest?”
Ethel threw her head back and laughed. “I hardly think that. They may have met late in life, but Don was her one and only.” She took off her readers and tossed them on the end table. “Don was her husband.”
Kat nodded, even though this was the first time she was hearing his name.
“No, I don’t know who it was that she knew out here,” Ethel said. “She never did tell me, and I didn’t press it. Frankly, I didn’t care much. I’ve got my own life to live. Besides, my sister was the type of person who told you what she wanted in her own time. There was no sense badgering her.”
“Whoever it was, it doesn’t look like he visited much.” Kat didn’t see a single masculine touch anywhere.
“You’ve sure got that right,” Ethel agreed. “My husband at home can’t go through a room without it looking like a tornado hit. But Lenora always was fussy. She didn’t much like people in her stuff. Don was the only one she put up with. She didn’t even like it when Sonny came to visit.”
“Who’s Sonny?”
Ethel lowered herself onto one of the sofas. “Sonny is Don’s boy. Handsome thing. He was already grown and in college by the time Don and Lenora met, but that didn’t stop him from popping in to see his pops every now and then.”
Kat sat down on the opposite sofa. “Did Sonny and Lenora keep in touch after Don died?”
“Oh, I very much doubt that. Sonny and Lenora didn’t care for each other one iota. No, sirree. Truth be told, he was quite upset when he found out Lenora was going to get everything Don left behind. I think he felt entitled, being Don’s only child and all.” Ethel lifted one shoulder. “After he died I told Lenora, ‘You ought to give Sonny some of that money,’ but she wouldn’t hear nothing of it. It didn’t matter to her that she was sitting pretty on a giant nest egg while Sonny was still struggling to find work even with that fancy college degree he ended up getting.”
“Where is Sonny now?” Kat asked.
“Oh, he’s still back in Virginia, I imagine.” Ethel stretched one foot out and rolled her ankle. “I never did talk to him all that much. Lenora was the only thing we had in common. The last time I saw him was at his daddy’s funeral. I told him it was wrong the way Lenora was keeping all of Don’s money for herself, that if it were up to me I’d make sure he got a cut. But it wasn’t up to me, and there wasn’t much either one of us could do about it.”
Kat smiled. “Well, at least you tried.”
“That I did.” Ethel inspected the room as though she were taking stock of Lenora’s belongings. “I should shoot him an email, see if he wants any of this stuff. Lord knows I don’t need it or Lenora’s money. And it only seems right he gets back some of what should have been his in the first place.”
“Maybe he’ll want her gold jewelry,” Kat said.
“Eh, I doubt there’s anything like that. Lenora wasn’t much of a jewelry person.”
“Really? I heard otherwise.”
“Well, like I said, I hadn’t seen her in a while. Could be she changed after Don’s death.” Ethel smacked her lips together, then rose from the sofa. “Might as well go see for ourselves.”
Kat stood up and followed Ethel down a short hallway. The first door they checked led into an empty bedroom, but the second opened into what had to be Lenora’s room. With only a twin-size bed, a nightstand, a four-drawer dresser, and a television, it didn’t look much more inviting than the living room.
“Let’s see.” Ethel pursed her lips as she surveyed the room. After a moment she turned toward the dresser. “If she has any jewelry, chances are it’s in here.”
Ethel yanked open the top drawer. When Kat caught sight of the simple wooden jewelry box nestled inside, her heart skipped a beat.
“I guess you know your sister well,” Kat said, impressed Ethel had found the box on her first try.
Ethel chuckled. “Like I said, Lenora was fussy. And not very imaginative, I might add. Top bureau drawer is where she kept her trinkets when we were kids, too.”
Ethel lifted the lid. A couple dozen gold bracelets and necklaces were laid neatly inside the box.
“Well, color me surprised.” Ethel whistled as she fingered one of the gold chains. “Looks like Lenora went out and treated herself after Don died. Good for her.”
“Do you think this was all the jewelry she owned?”
“I’d say so. I didn’t even know she had this much.”
Kat figured that meant she could eliminate robbery as the reason for Lenora’s murder. Unfortunately, that didn’t narrow down the suspect list much.
Ethel pushed the jewelry aside. “Looks like there’s a photograph down here.” She dug it out and held it between them.
The photo depicted two people, a man and a woman. Kat recognized Lenora right away. Dressed in white, her smile was almost as bright as her dress.
Ethel leaned against the dresser and sighed. “They were so happy.”
“Is that Don?” Kat asked, studying the sixtyish man standing beside Lenora.
“Yup. This was taken on their wedding day. I remember it well. Dashing, isn’t he?”
Although nobody would mistake him for a GQ model, Don looked almost as radiant as his bride. Balding and slightly overweight, he had one arm draped around Lenora’s shoulders. His other hand held Lenora’s.
Seeing photographic proof that Lenora had once been happy filled Kat with sadness. If Lenora had still been mourning the loss of her husband and their love when she had moved to Cherry Hills, it might help to explain why she had been so bitter. Maybe she wasn’t really a bad person after all, just a woman so lost in her own grief that she couldn’t see any light left in the world.
The possibility made Kat even more determined to find out who had killed her.
