“What was?” Mellgren grumbled, and Hazel shot him a look that saidshut it or I will weave your mouth shutbefore patting Tulip on the arm.
“Well, from what I found out, there were any number of women in town who’d been involved with Winston over the last few years, but according to Cora Mae, who works at the train station, Jim’s sister, Cindy, was the most heartbroken. As a matter of fact, she was so heartbroken she moved out of town about a year ago when Winston ended things.”
“I thought Cindy moved to take care of their grandmother,” Sandy said. “At least that’s what she said when she put her house on the market.”
“According to Cora Mae, that was a cover story to allow her to save face.”
Declan and I shared a look.
“So that’s another check mark by Jim’s name.”
“And you said you thought he was hiding something,” Az pointed out.
“He was. I’m sure of it.”
“Also,” Hazel continued, “Daisy said she’d heard a rumor that Winston had an unusual relationship with his assistant, Janis. She said some people thought maybe they were involved, but she thought maybe Janis had something on Winston and was forcing him to allow her to be more involved in the business.”
Tulip shrugged. “Janis is an intelligent, ambitious woman, so of course people are going to try to knock her down.”
“I don’t know if it’s because she’s ambitious or because something was going on between the two of them, but she seemed suspicious to me,” Declan insisted.
“She did, but so did Jim.” There was something else… right. “I also heard back from Winston’s attorney. She won’t tell us about the will until all the beneficiaries are contacted.”
“Oh, interesting.” Declan scribbled on his paper. “I wonder if Janis knows there are more people named in his will than just her.”
“So we have two good suspects—Jim and Janis,” Sandy said.
“And Leon. I didn’t like how quick he was to throw Elwood to the police. That makes me suspicious of him.”
I really didn’t think Leon had done it, but I understood why Declan felt the way he did. It couldn’t have been fun for him to see his grandfather being toted away like that.
“My money’s on Jim,” Sandy said. “He has the best motive. Not only was Winston not paying him for the work he’d done, but now we know that Winston ran his sister out of town.”
“That’s very suspicious,” Tulip agreed.
Mellgren looked at Elwood. “Is Grady finished with the building next door?”
Elwood nodded. “He is, or at least the crime scene tape is gone, so I assume so.”
“Maybe we should take a look. You three”—he motioned toward me, Declan, and Elwood—“saw the crime scene, but we didn’t. Grady is a great guy, but he could’ve missed something. I’d like to see it for myself.”
“Oh, me too!” Hazel said. “I’ve always wanted to visit a crime scene.”
Sandy pushed his plate away and stood. “I’m always up for a field trip.”
I looked to Elwood, and he just shrugged, so I sighed. “Alright, but remember—don’t touch anything.”
“I could whip up some gloves for everyone,” Hazel suggested.
“That’s nice of you, Hazel, but I don’t think that’s necessary.” Hazel was like an eccentric aunt to me, and I really cared for her, but the last thing I wanted was a pair of spiderweb mittens.
Elwood stood. “I’m sure the place is locked up, but I can give Grady a call and see if he can let us in.”
Az got up as well. “That’s not necessary, Witch. I’ll open the door.”
Elwood’s brow furrowed. “I didn’t realize you and Winston were good enough friends for him to give you a key.”
Az gave him a bored look. “I didn’t say I had a key. I said I would open the door. Are you all coming or not?”
