Fixing To Die

An’gel started to protest but then admitted to herself there was a great deal of truth in what her sister had said. She was being premature in this case, though she had been proven right in the past when she stated that a suspicious death resulted from murder.

“You can’t deny it, can you?” Dickce said.

“No,” An’gel said. “I can’t. But you can’t deny that Nathan Gamble’s death is odd. The first time he ever spent the night in that room he was so desperate to own. The contents, of course, not the room itself, but you know what I mean. I think it’s too great a coincidence myself, and it might have been really convenient for someone.”

“Except that we don’t know for whom and why it is convenient,” Dickce said.

An’gel made a sound of disgust. “We keep going in circles. I wish we knew whether Nathan Gamble was murdered.”

“Let’s look at the situation from a different angle, then,” Dickce said. “Let’s look at the how instead.”

“How he was murdered, if he was murdered, you mean?” An’gel said.

Dickce nodded.

“Mary Turner said he looked frightened,” An’gel said. “Maybe someone went into the room and scared him to death.”

“If he had a weak heart, I suppose that could have happened,” Dickce said. “I wonder if he had locked the door before he retired for the night. I don’t think either Henry Howard or Mary Turner said anything about having to unlock his door, did they?”

An’gel thought for a moment, then shook her head. “I don’t remember. We can ask Henry Howard.”

“It could be important,” Dickce said.

“Yes, depending on the method the killer used,” An’gel said. “Unless the room is somehow rigged to frighten a person. I suppose I might have found out if I had spent the night there.”

“It’s a good thing you didn’t,” Dickce said. “You could have been the one frightened to death instead of Nathan Gamble.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not that easily frightened.”

“You don’t know what Nathan Gamble might have seen. It might have terrified the life out of you.”

An’gel rolled her eyes. “I seriously doubt it. My heart is in excellent condition, according to my cardiologist.”

“I’m just glad it wasn’t put to the test,” Dickce said wryly. “You’re annoying, but I’d rather be annoyed by you than by anyone else.”

An’gel grinned. “Same to you, Sister.”

A knock sounded at the door, and An’gel called, “Come in.”

The door opened to reveal Mary Turner. She hesitated in the doorway, and An’gel could see that the young woman was upset about something.

An’gel got up and went to her. “Come in, my dear. Tell us what’s wrong.”

Mary Turner responded with a weak smile. “Thank you, Miss An’gel. I’m sorry to bother you with this, but have you seen my husband recently?”

“The last time I saw him was in the kitchen about an hour ago,” An’gel said.

“Marcelline told me about what she said to him. I got so angry with her,” Mary Turner said. “She means well but sometimes she isn’t fair to him.”

“Henry Howard isn’t in the house?” Dickce asked.

Mary Turner shook her head. “No, he’s not. I’ve texted him, but I’m not getting any response. I’m worried. He’s never gone off like this before without telling me where he was going.”

“Did you look to see if his car is in the garage?” An’gel asked.

“It’s there,” Mary Turner said. “I checked, but when my husband is worried or aggravated about something, he walks. Sometimes for miles, until he’s figured out the answer to a problem or he’s worn off his aggravation.”

“Then that’s probably what he’s doing now,” Dickce said.

“I wouldn’t worry, except that he always tells me when he’s going for one of these walks. This isn’t like him.”

“He may have stopped somewhere for a bite to eat,” An’gel said. “He never did get breakfast this morning, with all that was going on. He simply forgot to tell you he was going for a walk, and he’s too distracted to notice that you’ve texted. I’m sure it’s as simple as that.”

“I hope you’re right,” Mary Turner said.

“Come sit right here by me and stop worrying about Henry Howard for a few minutes.” Dickce patted a spot next to her on the trunk. “We need to talk to you about other things, if you’re up to it.”

“All right.” Mary Turner did as Dickce asked. “What do you want to talk about?”

“First let me say that neither Dickce nor I believe you had anything to do with your cousin’s death,” An’gel said.

“Thank you,” Mary Turner replied. “Your support means a great deal to me. Serenity is being hateful. That’s the way she is.”

“I warned her to be careful about accusing you the way she has,” An’gel said. “The threat of a lawsuit got through to her, I think.”

“Her ex-husband is looking for anything he can get on her to keep her from having joint custody of their children,” Mary Turner said. “She really needs to be careful.”

“She seems to be in desperate need of money,” Dickce said. “All to do with this custody battle, from what I’ve heard.”

“I think so,” Mary Turner said.

“She seems to think her brother had plenty of money,” An’gel said. “Do you know whether she would benefit significantly from his death, by any chance?”