Death on the Coast, M Comley [book club books TXT] 📗

for their lives ahead. Regardless, Sheila was consumed with trying to find a way out of her financial problems, and unless something unexpected materialized, there was a possibility that her mother might be moving in with her and Mark soon. That scenario would only add to the tension already being felt in the household.

The next morning, Lucy was up early and out the door. Mark hadn’t even switched off his alarm, and something resentful inside her kept her from kissing him goodbye before she left. Maybe she was feeling guilty about Brendon, and framing Mark with the lack of marital bliss was her personal justification.

All that aside, it was time for her to get back to work. Every passing day, the trail that led to Angie’s murderer grew colder. Thinking over the recent conversations she’d had with the others at Sal’s, Lucy was surprised at the number of people who held enough anger or had a reason to hurt Angie that could make them a suspect. She’d always considered Angie to be a rather harmless, benign individual who did everything to avoid making a huge splash in the grand scheme of things. Obviously, her perception of her friend had been totally wrong.

She decided to follow up on the comment from Jenny and went to visit Kathy Simpson. She tapped on Kathy’s storm door and took a step back to wait.

The inner door opened first, and then Kathy pushed the screen door. “Lucy? I haven’t seen you in ages. What brings you here?”

“Kathy, could I talk to you a few minutes? It’s about Angie’s death.”

A shadow passed over Kathy’s normally cheery face. “What would I know about it?”

“Oh, no, no, you’re not a suspect. I’d just heard that the two of you had a falling out and I thought you might know something that would give me a lead in another direction.”

Kathy cocked her head, thinking a moment. “Sure, I guess. Come in.” She held the door open and stepped back to allow Lucy to enter.

“I’ll only be a few minutes,” Lucy assured her. She surveyed the interior of the neatly kept cottage. “I don’t think I’ve ever been here before. You have a charming touch.”

Kathy beamed and indicated for Lucy to take a chair. “I don’t have a lot, but I try to take care of what I do have.”

“That brings me to why I’m here. I hope you’ll forgive me when I tell you my source could be described as idle gossip, but sometimes threads of it can be true. And in this case, anything and everything we hear has to be taken into consideration if we’re going to uncover who the murderer is.”

“I understand,” Kathy agreed “Would you like a cup of coffee? Tea?”

Lucy shook her head. “No, thank you, I’m fine for the moment. I want you to know that I’m representing the newspaper as well as my own sense of obligation to Angie. So, everything we say is on the record. Is that okay with you?”

Kathy nodded and took a nearby seat. “I have nothing to hide.” She held her hands outward, palms up. “Ask away, although I must emphasize that Angie and I, as you said, did have a falling out, and I’m afraid there’s very little I could possibly know.”

“So I’m led to believe. I wondered if you’d mind telling me what happened?”

Kathy’s eyes sought an open space to her left as she thought, trying to recall the details. “Let me think, I want it to be accurate, especially if it’s going to be quoted in print. You know, just because we had a falling out, it doesn’t mean that I’m cold to the fact that someone killed her. She and I were extremely close at one point, almost like sisters. Ever since I heard about her death, I’ve played our final conversation over and over in my mind, looking for anything at all that would tell me why someone would do such a thing to her. I really don’t have a clue.”

“What was the incident that came between you?”

“It was about a bracelet. A silly trinket of very little value, at least from a monetary point of view. She seemed especially attached to it and wore it often. In fact, I admired it from time to time, telling her how lovely it was because I knew it pleased her to hear that.”

“Do you have any idea why she had such a sentimental attachment to it?”

Kathy blushed slightly. “I don’t know for sure, but I got the idea that it might’ve been a gift from a lover. The way her fingers fondled it, as though she were touching someone else vicariously through the bracelet.”

Lucy inclined her head. “That’s very sweet, if you think about it. I don’t know that I’ve ever felt an attachment close to that for any gifts I’ve received.”

“I’ll tell you what happened and then I’ll tell you what I think.”

Lucy nodded, urging her to continue.

“She invited me to come over for a cup of coffee one afternoon. We did that often. I would bring some cakes from Sal’s, and she would have a pot of coffee brewing. We’d talk about our problems, be supportive of one another—you know how girls are.”

“Go on.”

“That particular afternoon, I could tell she was upset about something, something unusual.”

“Why would you think it was unusual?”

“I guess it’s because we were so close. I knew the things that bothered her the most in her life and vice versa. If it had been something to do with a sorrow or problem, she would’ve already confided in me, she wouldn’t have held anything back. She would’ve updated me. But she didn’t. I remember asking her what was wrong. She said it was nothing, to ignore it. She said she had a slight headache, that was all. But I could tell she wasn’t being truthful. I kept pressing her, and it seemed to irritate her. She excused herself to use the bathroom and when she came back,” she paused