Chapter 11 #3
Sister Dearden walked out of the consulting suite with the patient and closed the door behind her. “Perhaps you could ask this Mrs. Cook to speak to her spirit guide again and speed up the process of finding the murderer.” She shot a glare at Harry. “That would be most helpful.”
The patient’s smile froze as she seemed to be trying to gauge whether Sister Dearden was being sarcastic or not.
Harry and I left the clinic ahead of the patient who remained to make another appointment. “That was enlightening,” Harry said as he placed his hat on his head.
“Indeed. If Mrs. Cook’s spirit guide believes the case will be solved soon, then we’re on the right path this time. She’s a very famous medium.”
He’d been looking back at the door, but his gaze now slid to me. “You believe in spirit mediums?”
Watching him struggle not to show any signs of disapproval was rather amusing, so I couldn’t help teasing him a little longer. “I can see you’re a skeptic, but is it a problem if I do believe in ghosts and mediums?”
“I, er… No, it isn’t. If you believe, Cleo, then it doesn’t bother me. I accept everything about you.”
“Even if you think I’m a crackpot? That is sweet of you, Harry.”
His smile was uncertain. Like the patient with Sister Dearden, he couldn’t tell if the remark was serious or not.
I decided to put him out of his misery. Besides, I could no longer contain my laughter. “While I don’t have any strong opinion about the existence of ghosts, I do think spirit mediums like Mrs. Cook are frauds. You can rest assured I won’t be seeking the services of one.”
“Was that a test?”
“No, but if it had been, you’d have passed with flying colors.”
“Good. I think.” He indicated we should walk on, and I fell into step beside him. “If I believed mediums could really communicate with spirits, would you still want to be with me?”
“Of course,” I said. “It would solve the issue of what to buy you every birthday. I’d simply pay for a session with a medium and be done with it.”
He laughed softly. “You know you don’t need to buy me anything. Your presence at my family lunch will be gift enough for me.”
“So you and Mr. Hobart keep saying.”
“Uncle Alfred said that? How did you respond?”
“Never mind that. But if you do have any gift ideas, please give me a very large hint.” We rounded the corner, heading in the direction of the Iversons’ house without having discussed our destination.
“Why do you think Miss Wainsmith didn’t tell us Mrs. Iverson replaced her on the day Dr. Iverson read the anonymous letter the first time we asked her about it? ”
Harry shrugged. “Perhaps she simply forgot. Or she didn’t match the day of the letter’s arrival with the day she wasn’t there. The more important question is, why didn’t Mrs. Iverson tell us? She must have been the one to pass it on to him, and we mentioned it to her husband in front of her.”
“For the same reasons as Miss Wainsmith, I suppose. She didn’t realize it was that day.” Even as I said it, I didn’t believe it. Mrs. Iverson must have been the one to handle it, so why not say so? “Harry, I think we need to seriously consider Mrs. Iverson is the killer.”
His pace slowed. “I agree, except for one thing. If we presume the anonymous letter is from a lover, either male or female, why would she pass it on to her husband? Why would she want him to carry on the affair?” When I didn’t respond, he answered his own question.
“Because she doesn’t love him. Not even a little.
She hasn’t shown any feeling toward him, neither anger nor sorrow, despite learning some rather shocking things about him.
I can accept she’s not an emotional woman, but to show absolutely nothing is very odd. ”
I wasn’t convinced, however. “There’s something about her that I can’t put my finger on.
I feel uneasy in her presence and I’m not entirely sure why, but what if it’s because I’m sensing she’s lying?
Perhaps she’s faking indifference about her husband’s affairs so that we’ll think she doesn’t have a motive to set him up for Isabel Kempsey’s murder. ”
Harry stopped walking altogether. “You make a good point. All right, let’s assume she’s faking a lack of emotion and she is in fact jealous or vengeful.
We can’t be certain she has any electrical knowledge yet, but we do know she had access to her husband’s key and the appointment book, so she knew when Isabel Kempsey was due in. ”
“Did you feel uneasy in her presence?” I asked.
“No, but I believe you when you say you did. You have good instincts, Cleo.”
Either he and Harmony were colluding, or they were both right. I would trust my instincts about Mrs. Iverson, although I wished I could put my finger on why I felt uneasy in her presence.
“As much as I’d like to confront her about the letter to see her reaction, I don’t think we should,” Harry went on. “She’s not going to blurt it all out.
“Not without proof,” I agreed. “Before we confront her, we need to be sure about her feelings, or lack thereof, for her husband. I think we should get a third opinion.”
“From whom?”
“I have someone in mind.” I set off along the street at a brisk pace. “I’ll tell you on the way.”