Миранда Джеймс - Fixing To Die

“What is your explanation, Mary Turner?” An’gel asked. She saw that everyone was intent on the young woman, awaiting her response.

“You may all think this is silly,” Mary Turner said, her tone slightly defensive, “but I think she—and I think it’s she, not he—was protecting the house. She knew who killed Nathan, and she wasn’t going to let the murderer get away with it. Especially after Serenity threatened to tear the house down.”

An’gel wasn’t going to argue with Mary Turner. She realized it wouldn’t do any good. Whether the spirit had acted to protect the house was not a question she would dwell on for long. The important thing was, Serenity had been so frightened by the experience that she had confessed.

“It was all about the money, wasn’t it?” Alesha Jackson asked.

An’gel nodded. “Yes, she killed her brother because he wouldn’t give her the money she thought she needed in her battle for joint custody of her children. She thought she could get her hands on it right away, once he was dead. She didn’t realize it wasn’t so simple.”

“How did she do it?” Dickce asked. “No one has told us.”

“Lieutenant Steinberg informed me yesterday afternoon that Nathan Gamble was smothered to death and that he was probably drugged with sleeping pills. He was unable to resist when Serenity covered his face and suffocated him with a pillow.”

“Was he dead when I went in there?” Henry Howard asked, obviously appalled at the thought. He had paled the moment An’gel explained how Nathan died.

“I don’t know,” An’gel said. “You told me that you thought you heard a moan or two. He could still have been alive at that point and moaning in his sleep. I believe Serenity somehow got him to take the sleeping pills after they argued, then left him until he went to sleep. Then she came back and killed him when she knew he wouldn’t be able to fight back.”

“We’ll have to wait until the trial to find out, I guess,” Mary Turner said. “At this point, though, I’m not sure I even want to know any more details about it. I always thought she was hateful and completely self-centered, but I didn’t imagine that she could kill her own brother.”

“She was more concerned about money than she cared about her brother,” Dickce said.

“Speaking of money,” Henry Howard said, “what’s going to happen to her inheritance? She’s not allowed to profit from her crime, is she?”

“No, she isn’t,” An’gel said. “She forfeited her right to her brother’s money when she killed him. That means her heirs can’t profit either.”

“If Truss hadn’t gone home first thing this morning,” Mary Turner said, “he could probably tell us what will happen.”

Benjy spoke up. “He told me yesterday he thought Nathan had split everything between him and Serenity. I guess maybe he’ll get everything now.”

“The courts will decide,” An’gel said, “but I believe you’re right.”

“He’s welcome to it,” Mary Turner said. “I hope he’ll see that Serenity’s boys get some of it, though.”

“I bet he’ll do the right thing,” Henry Howard said. “He’s an okay guy, I think.”

No one spoke after that until Benjy broke the silence with a question directed to Alesha Jackson.

“Is the spirit still here?” He looked uneasily around the room as if he might spot the ghost, An’gel thought.

“I don’t believe the spirit is here any longer,” Alesha said. “I think we persuaded her that it was okay to move on, especially after what she did.”

“I will kind of miss her,” Mary Turner said with a faint smile. “The things she did, that is, and not the silly pranks you played.” She poked Henry Howard in the side.

“That reminds me,” An’gel said. “I won’t ask you to explain the cold spot, but what about the shadow I saw?”

“And the parlor door closing by itself?”

Henry Howard laughed. “I can explain the door easily. The shadow I know nothing about.”

“What about the door?” Benjy asked.

“If you stand back and look at it long enough, you’ll probably see that it’s at a very slight angle, just barely noticeable,” Henry Howard said. “Part of the front of the house has shifted a tiny bit over the years, and when the door is left open at a certain spot, it will start moving. The weight of it makes it close from that point, or near enough to closing.”

“I’m relieved to hear that,” An’gel said. “I wish you could explain that shadow, though.”

“Sorry.” Henry Howard shrugged. “That must have been the spirit’s doing.”

An’gel glanced at Benjy. He appeared more at ease now, though she could tell he was still bothered by something. After a moment’s thought, she decided she knew what might make him feel better.

An’gel didn’t wait to consult Dickce. If it made Benjy happier, she knew Dickce would be all for it.

“Alesha,” An’gel said. “I’d like to talk to you about coming to Riverhill for a little professional visit.”

Miranda Jamesis the New York Times bestselling author of the Cat in the Stacks Mysteries, including Twelve Angry Librarians , No Cats Allowed , and Arsenic and Old Books , as well as the Southern Ladies Mysteries, including Digging up the Dirt and Dead with the Wind . James lives in Mississippi. Visit the author at catinthestacks.com and facebook.com/mirandajamesauthor.

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