“I panicked!” Vivian’s voice rose. “I panicked and I ran. I thought— I thought everyone would think I did it. We’d been fighting about the booth fees, I had a key, I was there...” She pressed her hands to her face. “So I ran.”
“Did you get your bag?” Ida asked.
Vivian looked up, surprised by the question. “What? No. No, I just ran. I didn’t take anything. I didn’t even think about the bag. I just ran.”
Nans and Ruth exchanged glances.
Ruth turned to Nans. “When you peeked into the storage room, did you see a glittery bag?”
Nans shook her head slowly. “No. I saw papers scattered everywhere, but no craft tote and no lockbox.”
“Someone else took it,” Helen said quietly.
“But who?” Ida asked. “And why?”
Nans nodded slowly. “If Stanley was already dead when Vivian got there, that means he was dead when Eddie got there. So why was he so nervous when we talked to him.”
Helen’s face tightened. “Because he found Stanley after Vivian ran, and he did something he shouldn’t have.”
“Like what?”
Nans stood. “We need to talk to Eddie again.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
They found Eddie in the maintenance office, sitting at his desk with his head in his hands.
When he saw them, he looked like a man who’d been waiting for judgment.
“Eddie,” Nans said gently. “We need you to tell us the truth.”
Eddie’s shoulders sagged. “I didn’t kill him.”
“We have video footage. Stanley arrived at five-fifteen. He was the first person in the building.”
Eddie’s eyes widened. “You saw him?”
“We saw someone. We think it was Stanley.”
Eddie swallowed. “It was. I saw his truck in the lot when I came back in from salting.”
“What happened when you went inside?”
Eddie’s hands trembled. “I saw him laying there. He was dead.”
“And?”
Eddie’s voice cracked. “And I panicked.”
“Why?”
“Because the lockbox was on the floor. Smashed open. Papers everywhere. Cash scattered. And I knew—I knew—everyone would think I did it.”
Nans’ voice was calm. “Did you?”
“No! But Stanley spent the last week accusing me. Telling people I was careless. That I’d stolen from the toy drive last year. I have gambling debts—people know that. They already think the worst of me.”
“So what did you do?”
