Thirty minutes later I was buying my second cup of coffee, a plump apple, and a cranberry orange scone from Makayla. She was too busy to talk, but I assured her that I’d drop by later and fill her in.
Yesterday, I couldn’t imagine mounting the stairs leading to the literary agency feeling so calm and in control, but I was ready to face whatever awaited me there. In fact, I was looking forward to it. For too long I’d been stumbling around in search of clues, and now, to my great relief, the Dunston Police had taken over. Sean and his officers had undoubtedly questioned my colleagues and were merely waiting for a fingerprint match to come through. They’d wrap up the case, and we could all move on.
As I passed through the reception area into the main hallway, I could see that all the office doors were open with the exception of Bentley’s. Voices emitted from the staff kitchen, and I was drawn to the murmur of conversation. It was such a normal, regular sound in comparison to the unsettling sirens and radio crackles of the day before, and I realized that just like the first day I’d arrived at Novel Idea, I still wanted to belong to this group, to be one of them. An equal.
“Zach Attack is totally scratched off the suspect list!” Zach declared loudly as I entered the room. “Flora and I went to Catcher in the Rye for lunch, and a million people saw us.”
“More like heard you,” Franklin mumbled under his breath, and I had to cover my smile with my hand. “Hello, Lila,” he added, catching sight of me in the doorway.
Leaping up from the table, Zach offered me his chair with a flourish. “Please take my seat. You must be sorry you ever accepted this job! But don’t leave us. We need you!” His dark eyes were filled with concern. “Do you want to talk about it? What happened at Luella’s?”
“I’d prefer not to, but thank you,” I said, accepting his seat and putting my coffee and takeout bag on the table. “And I don’t regret my internship, though I’m really sorry about Luella. You all knew her much longer than I did, and I can’t imagine how hard this must be for you. If I can do anything to help, just say the word.”
Flora, who was standing by the counter stirring spoonfuls of sugar into a teacup, gave me a sad smile. “That’s so sweet of you, dear.” Her large bosom rose as her lungs inflated with air and then lowered as she released a sorrowful sigh. “It’s too, too terrible. And for the police to think that one of us could have…” she trailed off with a sniffle.
Franklin left his seat at the table and offered her a tissue. “Flora, you were at Catcher in the Rye with Zach. No one’s pointing a finger at you.”
She gave him a grateful little smile. “I was Mata Hari yesterday. I’ve been waiting all year to be given that name, but when I think of what poor Luella must have been going through while I was all smiles and giggles because Big Ed called out some silly name…” She shook her head and stared at her teacup.
“You’re in the clear as well, Franklin,” Jude stated miserably. With his rumpled clothes and slouched posture, he looked like a different person. “A piano lesson with Maddox Ryan. The perfect alibi. The whole town loves Maddox, and it doesn’t hurt that he’s a retired judge.” Moaning, Jude sunk his head into his hands while Franklin turned his flushed face toward the window. I felt sorry for him. Was Maddox’s former profession the reason they kept their affair a secret?
“I’m the only one who can’t supply a decent alibi,” Jude continued. “And I’m the one who chased after Luella yesterday. When I couldn’t catch her, I didn’t feel like coming back to the office right away, so I wandered through the park. Then Bentley had me drive all the way to Dunston to buy Calliope’s favorite truffles. The chocolate shop is only five minutes from Luella’s house. Don’t you see how guilty I look?”
Zach shook his head. “Why did you take off after her? I didn’t think you guys were together anymore.” There was a sharp edge of envy in his tone.
“We haven’t been an item for nearly a year, but I still care about her,” Jude said defensively. I wondered whether his concern was genuine or if he was just a skilled actor. He did have a weak alibi, and he could easily be lying about his relationship with Luella. Perhaps she had been the one to end things and he was still nursing strong feelings for her. Unrequited love could turn people inside out, and there was something very intimate about Luella’s death. Whoever had struck her, then smothered her, and finally, arranged her body so carefully was no stranger.
I studied Jude out of the corner of my eye. Was he capable of murder? Of creating a storybook scene using his former lover’s corpse?
Flora put down her teacup and placed a hand on Jude’s shoulder. “The truth will out, honey. Don’t twist yourself up in knots. We know you’d never hurt her.”
Her remark was met with silence, but I noticed that the other agents nodded in agreement.