Chapter Twenty-Two
Sam pulled into the food pantry parking lot and spotted Olivia’s Honda. She was glad she wasn’t the only one who’d shown up today. Plus, after their last conversation, she wanted to check on her friend. Olivia had seemed shaken by the police questioning her.
Inside, Olivia was hunched over a donation box, organizing cans by type. She looked up and smiled. “Oh, good. Reinforcements.”
“I couldn’t let you have all the fun,” Sam said, grabbing a box cutter.
They chatted about minor things as they organized cans and boxes into categories for shelving. Sam felt herself getting into the rhythm of the work.
“I’m glad you’re here,” said Olivia after about ten minutes of small talk. “I’ve been meaning to check back in with you.”
“Same. How are you doing?” Sam dropped her voice, although no one was around to overhear them. “Have the police been back to visit after Gerald’s death?”
Olivia nodded, but didn’t look as anxious as she had before.
“They have. But you’re right; this is all routine for them.
They’re just coming back around to interview everyone in book club for a second time because there was another murder.
” She shook her head. “I’m really sorry about Gerald. He was a great guy.”
“He seemed to be,” said Sam.
Olivia said, “Are you doing okay? I heard you’d spoken with Gerald right before he died.”
Sam looked rueful. “News in Sunset Ridge always travels fast. But that’s right. I’d caught up with him at the bank. I’m sure I look a lot more suspicious to the police than you do at this point.”
Olivia grinned. “You probably do, because I have an alibi for Gerald’s death. I was here at the food pantry the whole time. I filled in for another volunteer who couldn’t make it.”
“Excellent! Glad to hear it. That takes you totally out of the frame.”
Olivia said, “Do you have any idea on how the investigation is going? Are the police getting any closer to figuring out who’s done it? Because it sure seems like they’re not, considering the fact the killer just murdered again.”
“I’m not really sure. They’re obviously not confiding in me. But I’ve found out a couple of tidbits.”
Olivia raised her eyebrows. “What?”
Sam looked around again to make sure they were alone. “Dylan doesn’t actually have a master’s degree.”
“You’re kidding.” Olivia’s eyes opened wide. “But he’s teaching classes and workshops with MFA in his credentials.” Then she paused. “Are you thinking Margaret found out?”
“Does that seem likely to you?”
Olivia sighed. “It sure does. I always got the feeling that Margaret had too much time on her hands. Some people step easily into retirement. But it didn’t seem like a good fit for Margaret. I can see her getting involved in other people’s business out of total boredom.”
“Do you think it’s possible Dylan could have murdered Margaret to keep her quiet?”
Olivia said, “I struggle over thinking anybody in book club could have done it. But somebody obviously did. How did you find out?”
Sam filled her in. Olivia gave a low whistle. “That’s a lot. How did Dylan react to being confronted about it?”
“Honestly, he seemed more frightened than guilty to me,” said Sam slowly. “But then, I don’t really know him. It means he could lose his teaching job at the community center. And he wouldn’t want the public embarrassment again once everyone finds out he lied about his credentials.”
“No. Not after what happened when Margaret made that comment in the newspaper about his open mic night.” She quietly sorted cans for a few moments before saying, “Dylan is very passionate about what he does. He loves writing. He loves poetry. I think he probably spends more time at Charlotte’s bookstore than any of the rest of us do.
But it sounds like however Margaret died, it was calculated, right? It wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment thing?”
Sam said, “Right. It must have been planned in advance.”
“I just don’t see it. Not Dylan. He’s an impulsive guy, so I could imagine him striking out in the heat of the moment. But I can’t picture him cold-bloodedly murdering someone.”
Sam said, “I found out something else, too. Sofia is Margaret’s daughter.”
Olivia’s jaw dropped almost comically. “You’re kidding me.”
“Nope. She and Margaret were obviously estranged.”
Olivia said, “So why was Sofia there at book club? Was she trying to harass Margaret somehow?”
“It sounded like she wanted to connect with her again. She hadn’t spent time with her since she’d left for college.”
Olivia said, “And she really is in a grad program? As opposed to Dylan?”
“She seems to be, yes. Aiden found her mentioned online as Sofia Brennan.”
“Ah.” Olivia was quiet again for a few moments, processing everything. “But if she was trying to make up with her mom, killing her sounds like a weird way to go about it.”
“Agreed.”
Olivia said, “Oh, that reminds me. There’s going to be a memorial service for Margaret tomorrow. I got an email from Charlotte.”
“Thanks for letting me know. Since I left Charlotte earlier, I haven’t had the chance to check my emails. Is Charlotte the one putting it on? I’d gotten the impression she wanted to do something to mark Margaret’s death.”
“It’s actually a niece of Margaret’s, apparently.
She’s come into town to settle her aunt’s affairs and wanted to hold a small service.
Charlotte sounded a little worried in the email that no one would show up.
It’s at ten tomorrow morning at the Sunrise Chapel. Are you able to make it?” asked Olivia.
“Absolutely. I don’t have anything set on my calendar for tomorrow. I didn’t really know Margaret, but I want to support Charlotte. And Margaret’s niece, too. It would be awful to hold a service and not have anyone show up. Surely Margaret’s former co-workers at the college will be there, though.”
Olivia said, “I’m not sure about that. I saw the niece had posted something on Margaret’s social media about the service.
But who knows if her colleagues will come.
Can you imagine working with Margaret? She was tough enough to handle in a club setting.
She must have been a nightmare at department meetings at the university. ”
“True. But maybe some of them will show. I’d be interested in talking to them.”
Olivia smiled at her, the old twinkle in her eye. “You mean pumping information out of them?”
“That too,” admitted Sam.
“So you’ve got information on Sofia and Dylan. Gerald is dead. Who’s left? Pamela and Claire?”
“I did visit Pamela with Nora at the retirement home where Pamela volunteers.”
“Oh, that must have been quite a visit.”
Sam grinned at her. “Precious and Arlo were there, too. And Franklin.”
Olivia laughed at the mental image. “Classic. Were you able to find out any information, or was it just a total zoo?”
“It’s not as bad as I made it sound. Precious and Nora were mostly out of the way, visiting a resident there.
Anyway, Pamela clearly wasn’t wild about Margaret.
I found that out mostly from other people I talked to.
She seemed nervous about Margaret’s memoir, from what I gathered.
As far as Claire goes, she felt betrayed by Margaret. ”
Olivia frowned. “Because of the way Margaret criticized her manuscript? The critique she gave her?”
“It was more than that. I mean, that was bad enough. But Margaret had apparently told her she’d help her out by sending a note to one of her contacts at the publisher Claire was querying.”
Olivia winced. “Oh no. I didn’t realize Claire was that na?ve. Ugh. What did Margaret do?”
“Apparently, she wrote a scathing review of the manuscript. The publisher didn’t end up accepting the book. It devastated Claire.”
“Of course it did.” said Olivia. She shook her head. “Margaret was a bully in a lot of ways. I’m sorry for what happened to her, but it doesn’t excuse her behavior.”
Sam murmured agreement, but could sense Olivia’s discomfort with the topic.
They fell into an easy rhythm after that, sorting donations and chatting about lighter things like Olivia’s new workout class.
The work went quickly with the two of them, and by the time they finished a couple of hours later, Sam felt like she’d really contributed.