I tapped my foot on the floorboards. A small squeak emanated from under my foot.
Note to self: check everything and maybe nail down a plank or two, I thought. That would give me something to do.
I wondered how much longer it would take until I heard something about the case. Or until the detective would appear again to break the shocking news to me.
Why wasn't he already here? Why did he lie to me? What did they all want?
I had another idea—or rather, a memory that came to me as I checked out three books for Mimi and her friends.
As soon as the opening hours were over and everybody had left, I locked the doors and ran upstairs.
My aunt had used a pill dispenser for years. Every Sunday, she put all her medication for the week in tiny compartments labeled with the contents, hours of the day, and days of the week so she wouldn't forget a single pill.
There were still capsules and tablets left for the rest of the week that she hadn't lived to take.
I grabbed a Kleenex to pick the dispenser up and put it in a Ziploc bag.
I was heading for the door when the detective turned up on my doorstep.
Chapter twenty-five
"Could I have a minute or two of your time?" he asked after he'd politely greeted me.
"Of course." I tried to keep my tone as unemotional as possible. I had no idea if he knew that I knew or what he was trying to figure out.
He had ruled me out as a suspect, hadn't he?
I hadn't even noticed that I was wringing my hands. When I saw him staring at them, I stopped fidgeting. "Come in.” Again, I took him to the library section.
"I should read more," he said. "There never seems to be enough time."
I bared my teeth in the semblance of a smile. "I've heard that a lot, and believe me, I'm the same. But I assume you're not here to talk about our leisure habits."
"No." His face grew solemn. "I'm afraid I have some disturbing news."
"Oh," I said. "I see."
"It appears as if your aunt… Well, there's no easy way to say it. We're either looking at a murder-suicide or a double homicide."
I clutched my amulet. "Oh no."
"You haven't heard anything?"
"Only rumors," I said. "And as you can imagine, I can't believe thatmy aunt—" I broke off.
"Understandable," he said.
"How did you find out so soon? I thought it takes days or weeks for the lab to complete their tests."
"There was a certain interest in getting to the bottom of this. We don't usually deal with major crimes here in Cannon Hill, and especially in Willowmere. It's been surprisingly peaceful for decades."
Cosmo stretched, as if to remind me that maybe he had something to do with all this peacefulness. Or maybe he simply didn't want to be overlooked.
"What happens next?" I asked the detective.
I wondered if I should hand over the pill dispenser to him. No, I'd wait, I told myself.
"I assume you have other leads or clues, or people of interest to investigate apart from my aunt? Because honestly—why on earth would Aunt Violet do something so horrible?"
