Miranda James - The Silence of the Library

“Was that the only contact you had with Mrs. Taylor yesterday?” Kanesha asked.

“Yes,” Melba said. She went on to explain the reason why she hadn’t taken the call. “I did talk to her the day before, but offhand I can’t think of anything she said to me that could have any bearing on this.”

“Please think carefully about the conversations you had with her recently, and if there’s any odd detail you remember that could be connected, let me know.” Kanesha flipped back a couple of pages in her notebook. “Mrs. Taylor mentioned having people over last night. Her neighbor Mrs. Crocker told us she saw a couple of people going in the front door around eight last night. She couldn’t see them clearly but thought they might have been two women. Any idea who they could have been?”

Melba frowned as she considered the question. “It could have been some of the ladies from church, I guess. Carrie was real involved in church work the past couple years. You might check with Althea Sprayberry. She and Carrie worked together lately on raising money for foreign missions.”

Kanesha wrote in her notebook. I hesitated to interrupt, but I had a suggestion as to the identity of the two female visitors. “Deputy, I have an idea you might also want to follow up.”

Kanesha glanced at me and nodded, so I continued. “It’s possible that the visitors were Marcella Marter and her mother, Mrs. Electra Barnes Cartwright.” I described the meeting at the library yesterday. “Perhaps Mrs. Cartwright wanted to talk to Mrs. Taylor about the newsletter she put out, or maybe her collection of material related to Mrs. Cartwright.”

“Mrs. Cartwright and her books were some of Carrie’s main interests,” Melba said. “I can imagine how thrilled she was to meet her favorite author.” She paused. “I wonder why she didn’t mention her in the message, though. I’d have thought she’d be chattering all about it.”

“We’ll follow up on both those leads.” Kanesha tapped the notebook with her pen.

My cell phone rang, startling me. “Sorry,” I muttered as I pulled it from my pocket. Teresa Farmer was calling. “Excuse me. I need to take this.” I wondered whether she had heard the news yet about Carrie Taylor.

Kanesha and Melba nodded as I stepped out of the kitchen and walked a few feet down the hallway. I answered the call.

“Charlie, sorry to bother you,” Teresa said. “But I thought I should let you know that Winston Eagleton would like to get in touch with you. He asked me for your cell phone number, but of course I couldn’t give it to him without your permission.”

“Thanks,” I said. “Did he say why he wanted to talk to me?”

“Eventually. Goodness, how that man can ramble,” Teresa said. “He wants to invite us both to a dinner party this evening.”

SEVENTEEN

“Dinner party?” Had I understood Teresa correctly? “Why on earth is he having a dinner party? Hasn’t he heard what happened?”

The moment I said the words, I realized I shouldn’t have. Teresa probably didn’t know about the murder, and here I went, blabbing it without Kanesha’s permission. Too late to retract what I’d said, though.

“What are you talking about, Charlie?” Teresa sounded puzzled.

I sighed heavily. I heard warbling and looked down to see Diesel staring up at me. If a cat could look concerned, he sure did right then. I rubbed his head as I replied to Teresa. “The news hasn’t spread yet, but Carrie Taylor was found dead in her home this morning. She was murdered.”

Teresa gasped. “How horrible. The poor woman. Who would do such a thing?”

“Yes, it’s hard to imagine why anybody would want to kill such a nice person.”

“Does she have any family?” Teresa asked. “I know she was a widow, and I never heard her mention any children.”

“I don’t know,” I said. “Right now I’m at Melba Gilley’s house, and Melba was apparently Mrs. Taylor’s best friend. She’ll know if there’s anyone. Actually, Kanesha is here talking to Melba. I can’t say anything more at the moment.”

“Of course. Let me know if there’s anything I can do. Poor Melba.” Teresa still sounded shocked. “I’m beginning to think this exhibit is cursed. Should we cancel it?”

I understood Teresa’s concerns. I had wondered the same thing myself, but I finally concluded we should go ahead with our plans. I had a hunch that the murder was connected to Mrs. Cartwright somehow, and if we canceled everything, the investigation might stall. I didn’t know how Kanesha might feel about that, but I certainly wasn’t going to ask her.

I realized Teresa was waiting for a response. “No, I don’t think so. I considered that, too, but I believe we should go ahead. For one thing, we can dedicate the events to Mrs. Taylor’s memory. It’s not much, but it’s something we can do for her sake.”

“I suppose you’re right.” Teresa didn’t sound completely convinced. “In the meantime, what about Mr. Eagleton? Surely he won’t want to hold a dinner party when he finds out about Mrs. Taylor.”

“That’ll be up to him, I guess.” I was curious to speak to the man, but before I did, I wanted to check with Kanesha. Eagleton could be a suspect, unlike Teresa, and I didn’t want to step on official toes. “If he calls you back, don’t say anything to him about Mrs. Taylor. You can give him my cell number, but in the meantime, if you have his, will you forward it to me? I’ll probably call him.”

“Sure, I can do that. I won’t tell anyone else about Mrs. Taylor’s death, either.”

We said good-bye, and I stuck my phone back in my pocket. Diesel had stopped talking to me, but he still looked a little anxious. I rubbed his head a few times and told him I was fine and not to worry. He padded after me as I rejoined Kanesha and Melba in the kitchen.

“I think we’re done for now,” Kanesha was saying as I sat down. “I appreciate your time, Ms. Gilley. If I have any other questions, I’ll let you know.”

“I’ll help any way I can.” Melba’s eyes flashed. “I want you to catch the bastard who did this to my friend.”

“We will,” Kanesha said. “In the meantime, y’all be careful, and stay out of trouble.” She looked straight at me as she offered that bit of advice—or was it a warning?

Kanesha headed down the hall. I told Melba I’d be right back. I had to talk to Kanesha before she left. I followed her out the front door.

“Deputy,” I said, “I need to talk to you a minute.”

Kanesha turned back and scowled at me. “I’m in a hurry, Mr. Harris. Can it wait?”

“No, it can’t.” I folded my arms over my chest. “I’m still worried as all get-out about Melba’s safety. Have you made a decision yet about protecting her?”

Kanesha rubbed the back of her neck. “I’ll talk to the police chief, see if he can have a patrol car keep an eye on her around the clock. Our department might be able to pitch in.”

“Thank you,” I said, feeling greatly relieved. “Do you think I should say anything to her? I don’t want to terrify her, but at the same time, she certainly ought to be on her guard.”

“You know her a lot better than I do,” Kanesha said. “How do you think she’ll react if you tell her?”

“Ordinarily I’d say she could handle it because she’s a tough nut, but she’s pretty shaken up over this.”

“Use your best judgment.” Kanesha shrugged. “We’ll do our part, but it might not be a bad idea if she stayed with someone instead of staying in the house alone.”

“I’ll talk to her.”

Kanesha nodded and turned to walk away, but I stopped her. “One more thing.”

She glowered at me when she turned back.