“They had a plan to back up a plan and an answer for everything,” I said.
“But how could Nolan know Gail would fall for him in the first place?” Gertie asked.
“He didn’t know,” I said. “My guess is he went to that charity event looking for a mark, and he found Gail. A lonely, middle-aged woman who knew how to cope with the disabled and according to you guys, had a penchant for trying to rescue men.”
Ida Belle shook her head. “She was practically flashing in neon.”
“So how do you think Nolan actually did it?” Gertie asked. “I mean, he had so little time…”
“But did he?” I asked. “Again, no one else heard the shot because he used a suppressor. Nolan is the one who gave us the original timeline, and we know he lied. I think when he heard gossip about the catfish, he knew the gig was about to be up and he needed to form an emergency exit plan. So he tested the trellis and jimmied the window, figuring if things went further than gossip, he had a quick way out.”
“Gail spent the night in New Orleans two nights before the murder,” Ida Belle said. “Based on the damage to the ivy, he must have tested the trellis then.”
I nodded. “Then Beulah reported the catfish to Carter, so Nolan put his emergency plan into action. Gail went up to bed. He waited for her to fall asleep, then he walked upstairs and shot her. Then he went outside to cut the power and passed off the murder weapon to Francesca, who was probably waiting nearby. Then he went back inside, flipped himself over in the wheelchair, and pressed the paramedic alarm.”
Gertie shook her head. “You’re right. When you remove the disability and assume that nothing Nolan said was true, what actually happened is simple to deduce. So Beulah’s police report forced him to act sooner than he’d planned. I wonder what the original plan was?”
“I don’t think they intended for Gail to die in Sinful,” I said. “It was riskier, and because they had to move up the timeline using the catfish as the scapegoat, Nolan knew he had to get away before Carter started taking a hard look at everyone in town. My guess is they intended for it to happen in New Orleans—maybe a robbery or carjacking.”
“Something that wouldn’t draw any attention to Nolan.” Ida Belle blew out a breath. “It’s ingenious.”
“It’s evil,” Gertie said.
“Oh, no doubt,” Ida Belle said. “But all the trouble they went to…I guess I’ll never understand why people don’t just get a job.”
“Sociopaths aren’t burdened with a conscience,” I said. “And most jobs don’t pay a half mil a year. Two years with Gail and a million-dollar payout, plus what he made catfishing the locals.”
Gertie sighed. “I understand it in theory, but I’ll never be able to grasp it emotionally. So much pain inflicted and without a care for anyone who was hurt in the process.”
“None of us can ever understand it,” Ida Belle said. “We’re simply not made that way.”
“I just wish there was some way we could have saved her,” I said.
“Me too,” Gertie said, “but at least there won’t be a next victim.”
“The other good news,” Ida Belle said, “is that Brandon isn’t the killer. I guess it wasn’t his flashlight we saw in the bedroom.”
“No,” I agreed. “It had to have been Nolan. Remember, when he answered the door he was out of breath. He said he’d been in the bathroom, but I bet it was from running downstairs to get into the chair and answer the door.”
“I wonder what he was doing in there,” Gertie said.
“I don’t know,” I said. “Maybe retrieving something he thought would incriminate him or something he had stored in there that he forgot to take beforehand. He told me he had cameras in the house. Maybe he was checking the footage to see what the cops did when they worked the room. We may never know.”
Ida Belle frowned. “So why was Brandon walking around his house with a flashlight?”
“Poor Brandon,” Gertie said. “We practically accused him of murder.”
“Well, he still has to answer for something,” I said. “Maybe once this settles down we can figure out what.”
“No leaving us behind this time,” Ida Belle said.
I looked down at the floor, then back at the two of them. “The truth is, I think I needed to do something on my own. In the past, I’ve always had a partner or a team to support me. I think I wanted to see if I could go it alone. You know, just in case I have to.”
Gertie smiled. “You’ll never be alone, Fortune. Not as long as we’re alive.”
Ida Belle shook her head. “Way to scare the girl.”
*