Рита Браун - Murder On The Prowl

Walking down to get the paper, she heard Tucker bark. "We're safe!"

"Yahoo!" Mrs. Murphy sped beside the dog, stopping from time to time to jump for joy, straight in the air, the snow flying up and catching the sunlight, making thousands of tiny rainbows.

"Where have you two been?" Harry hunched down to gather them both in her arms. "I was worried sick about you." She sniffed. "You smell like a fox."

"We spent the night with our hosts," Murphy said.

Tucker, turning in excited circles, interrupted. "We think there's evidence in Bowden's pond, and then we stayed too late and the bobcat tracked us. Oh, it was a close call."

"Tucker was brave!"

"You, too."

"Such talk." Harry laughed at their unintelligible chatter. "You must be starving. Come on. We've got to hurry or I'll be late for work."

Driving Blair's Dually into Crozet, Harry noticed the snow lying blue in the deep hollows.

The three rushed into the post office, nearly getting stuck in the animal door. Mrs. Hogendobber, who usually greeted them, was so excited, she barely noticed their entry.

"Hi, Miranda—"

"Where have you been?" Miranda clapped her hands in anticipation of telling her the news.

"What is the matter?"

"Kendrick Miller confessed to Rick Shaw that he had killed Maury McKinchie and Roscoe Fletcher. He had made up the story about the Musketeer because he remembered the Musketeer was wearing a sword. The costume hanging in Jensen's locker was irrelevant to the case. He confessed last night at midnight."

"I don't believe it," Mrs. Murphy exclaimed.

63

A crowd had gathered at Mim's ... a good thing, since she put them to work stuffing and hand-addressing envelopes for the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation in which she was typically active.

Brooks, Roger, and Karen were relieved now that St. Elizabeth's could return to normal. Sandy Brashiers, at the head of the envelope line, told them to pipe down.

Gretchen, Mim's cook, served drinks.

When Cynthia walked through the door, everyone cheered. Accorded center stage, she endured question after question.

"One at a time." Cynthia laughed.

"Why did he do it?" Sandy Brashiers asked.

Cynthia waited a moment, then said, "These were crimes of passion, in a sense. I don't want to offend anyone but—"

"Murder is the offense," Sandy said. "We can handle his reasons."

"Well—Roscoe was carrying on an affair with Irene Miller and Kendrick blew up."

"Roscoe? What about Maury?" Fair Haristeen, tired from a day in the operating room, sat in a chair. Enough people were folding and stuffing. He needed a break.

"Kendrick has identified the poison used. He said Maury was on to him, knew he'd killed Roscoe, and was going to prove it. He killed him to shut him up."

Harry listened with interest. She felt such relief even as she felt sorrow for Irene and Jody. Irene had had an affair. No cheers for that, but to have a husband snap and go on a killing spree had to be dreadful. No wonder Jody had beaned Maury McKinchie at the hockey game. The tension in the Miller household must have been unbearable. "Nouveau riche," Mini cried.

"I'd rather be nouveau riche than not riche at all," Fair rejoined, and since Mim adored her vet, he could get away with it.

Everyone truly laughed this time.

"How did Kendrick get such powerful poison?" Reverend Herb Jones wondered.

"The nursery and gardening business needs pesticides."

Harry noticed BoomBoom's unusual reticence. "Aren't you relieved?"

"Uh—yes," said the baffled beauty. She'd had no idea about Roscoe and Irene. Why didn't Maury tell her? He'd relished sexual tidbits.

Sandy Brashiers put his hands on his hips. "This still doesn't get April Shively off the hook. After all, she is withholding papers relevant to school operation."

"Maybe she will come forward now," Little Mim hoped out loud.

"How do you know for sure it was Mr. Miller?" Karen said to everyone's amazement.

Cynthia answered, "A detailed confession is about as close to a lock as you can get."

"Why'd he tell?" Harry wondered aloud.

Cynthia winked at her. "Couldn't live with the guilt. Said he confessed to Father Michael first, and over time realized he had to give himself up."

"Well, it's over. Let's praise the Lord for our deliverance," Miranda instructed them.

"Amen," Herb agreed and the others joined in.

"You know, I keep thinking about Irene and Jody sitting home alone. They must be wretched. We should extend our sympathy." Miranda folded her hands as if in prayer.

Everyone looked at Mrs. Hogendobber, thought for a moment, and then agreed that she had a point. It might not be fun to go over to the Millers', but it was the right thing to do.

After the work party, Harry, Fair, Big Mim, Little Mim, Herb Jones, Miranda, and Susan Tucker drove over. The kids piled into Roger's old car. Father Michael had been with the family since Ken-drick gave himself up late that afternoon. It was the priest who answered the door. Surprised to see so many people, he asked Irene if she would be willing to see her neighbors. She burst into tears and nodded "yes."

The first person Irene greeted was Big Mim, who after the formalities offered them a sojourn in one of her farm dependencies if they should need privacy from the press.

Irene thanked her and began crying again.

Miranda put her arm around her. "There, there, Irene. This is too strange to contemplate. You must be feeling confused and terrible."

"Bizarre," Jody said forthrightly. "I can't believe he lost it like that."

Irene, not ready to give up on her husband, sputtered, "He's no murderer!"

"He confessed," Jody said flatly.

"We're your friends, no matter what." Softhearted Roger couldn't bear to see Jody's mother cry.

"Mom, I want to go back to school. I know this won't go away, but something in our lives has to be normal."

"Jody, that only puts more pressure on you." Irene worried about the reaction of the other students.

"Hey, I'm not responsible for Dad. I need my friends."

"We'll see."

"Mom, I'm going."

"We'll watch over her," Karen volunteered.

As this issue was hashed out, Father Michael and Herb Jones huddled in a corner. Father Michael, secure in the company of another cleric, whispered to him that he was tremendously relieved that Kendrick was behind bars. After all, he himself was likely to be the next victim.

"Bragging?"

"Not exactly. The first confession was straightforward. The second one, he said he liked killing. He liked the power. I can't say I ever recognized his voice."

"Was there a sense of vindication?" Herb inclined his head close to Father Michael's.

"I couldn't say."

"A touch dramatic."

"The entire episode was certainly that."

Later that evening Harry told Mrs. Murphy, Tucker, and Pewter all that had transpired at Big Mim's and then over at Irene Miller's. Angry though they were at not being included, they listened as she babbled while doing her chores.

"They're so far away from the truth it hurts," Tucker said and Pewter agreed, since Mrs. Murphy had briefed them on what she felt was truly going on.

"It's going to hurt a whole lot more." Mrs. Murphy stared out the window into the black night. Try as she might, she couldn't think of what to do.

64

Typical of central Virginia in late November, a rush of warm wind rolled up from the Gulf of Mexico. Temperatures soared into the low sixties.

Students were now back at St. Elizabeth's, thanks to Kendrick's midnight confession.

Harry and Miranda shoveled through the landslide of mail.

Jody Miller and Karen Jensen pulled in front of Market Shiflett's store.

"Things are finally settling down." Miranda watched the girls, smiling, enter the grocery store.