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“No record of that, but honestly the bloodstained paperweight and the gash on her head seemed pretty clearcut that it was murder. I’m pretty sure the cops thought they had their murder weapon. Besides if it was poison, it was more planned than opportunistic,” said Christie.
Jessica nodded, “The open window was staged to make it look like a break in.”
“But what about what I saw?” asked Carole Lee.
“Classic misdirection,” answered Fiona with a smile.
“Of course,” said Lori. “It was a dark and stormy night—I swear, someday I’m going to start a novel that way—” her friends all groaned. “And the light wasn’t good. You were at an odd angle looking into a darkened room. Rupert or Frannie ruffled the curtains and you thought someone was escaping.”
“So, my aunt wasn’t right.”
“Not really. She saw something. She said it was a blur, which is exactly what it was,” said Christie. “Like I said, you have to listen to your witnesses,”
“But why?” asked Lori.
“Money,” her friends answered in unison.
“I googled Pandora,” said Fiona. “For the time, she was making a lot of money. I think Rupert courted her all that time with an eye to marrying her and living the good life. When she said they were through, he snapped. My guess is he’d been seeing Frannie on the side, just like Carole Lee suspected, so he went to her for help.”
“It wouldn’t have helped if they’d dusted for fingerprints. Rupert wasn’t in the system, and they never considered him a suspect,” said Christie. “But when I talked to the cops, they said they still had all the evidence, including the murder weapon. They don’t think they’ll have any trouble getting a conviction.”
“What happened to the money?” asked Lori.
“Best guess is that she had a lot of it in a home safe. There were still a lot of people who had lived through the Great Depression or had relatives who had. A lot of people no longer trusted banks. They kept their money in home safes,” said Fiona.
Jessica nodded. “And my guess is Frannie had the combination. She made a deal with Rupert: if he married her and agreed to become an upstanding citizen, she’d help him cover up what he’d done. They’d take the money and live happily ever after.”
“Happily ever after until the Mystery Writers’ Murder Club came calling,” cackled Carole Lee. She raised her teacup to the group. “Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. You caught the killers and brought them to justice, and you have my gratitude.”
They left Granville and headed back to Badger’s Drift.
“So, what’s next on the agenda?” asked Fiona.
“It’s my turn, and I’ve got a cold case near and dear to my heart,” said Christie. “My partner was drummed off the force for killing an unarmed, innocent man.”
“You don’t think he did it?” asked Lori.
Christie turned to look at her. “No. He shot the guy. I saw him and had to give testimony about it. But I don’t believe he was unarmed or innocent.”
“You’re talking about Bryson Moss, aren’t you?” said Jessica.
“The criminal thriller writer?” asked Fiona.
“One and the same,” said Christie. “That case cost me everything. Bryson and I were planning a life together. He refused to let me go down with him—his words, not mine—so when he left the force he just disappeared.”
“Do you want him back?” asked Fiona.
“I don’t know. I just know that he isn’t the man they painted him out to be, and maybe, just maybe I can give him—and me—some peace. Well, now that I’ve depressed the hell out of everyone… Hey, Lori, don’t you have a reader/writer event coming up?”
Chewing on her lip, Lori said, “I do, but they asked me to speak. Who am I to be speaking at some event? Besides like millions of people, I think I’d rather die than get up in a room full of strangers as if I was some expert with vast knowledge.”
“Not to worry, kiddo, you’ll knock ‘em dead,” Christie assured her.
CHAPTER 3
LORI
Bleak Ridge, Maine
