“That’s something the police are looking into,” said Sam.
“I just can’t believe it.I mean, a lot of folks had their issues with Margaret, but I don’t see anybody in our book club as a killer.”She gave a short laugh.“I can’t even believe I’m saying those words.Ofcourseno one in our book club is a killer.Margaret must have had a stroke or something.She wasn’t the healthiest person out there, or the youngest.”
“Maybe that’s what the police will learn after the autopsy.”
Claire said, “Hey, I’m so sorry about all this.You thought you were joining a harmless little book club.And you’ve stepped into a real hornet’s nest.”
“It’s not anybody’s fault.The group seems great.I did notice some tension among the members and Margaret.”
Claire sighed.“Yeah, I guess that’s totally obvious.Margaret, bless her, could be a tough person to get along with.But she always had a different take on the book discussions.”She shook her head wryly.“We might have all loved a story, but Margaret would find something horribly wrong with it.”
“What did everybody make of that?”
Claire said, “At first, I think we all took it personally.But the point of art is what it makes you feel, right?And to pay attention to that, whether it’s a painting or a book.It’s okay not to like something.Eventually, we got used to Margaret filling the role of the devil’s advocate.Honestly, she added a lot to the book discussions.It would have been a pretty boring club if all of us loved every book and didn’t have much to say about it.”
“Did anyone seem to have anything against Margaret personally?Like I said, it did sometimes seem tense in the group last night.”
Claire rubbed her face as if she were exhausted.“Not to the degree that someone would decide to take her life, no.Of course not.But we probably all had our beefs with Margaret.”She hesitated.“I did, too.I’ve been working on writing a romance for, oh, what feels like most of my life.”
“Really?That’s amazing.”
Claire gave Sam a rueful look.“Is it?It feels like such a slog right now.And every time I think I’m done with it, I keep fiddling with the plot or the characters.Or I’ll read an article online about a cool writing technique and try to add it to the story.I’ve probably edited all the life out of it at this point.Anyway, I was stupid enough to give it to Margaret to read.”
“That took a lot of courage.”
“You’re not kidding,” said Claire.“I must have been out of my mind.But then, in some ways it makes sense.Margaret was a literature professor for her entire career.She was an expert at ferreting out what’s wrong with a book or a paper and telling you how to fix it.I thought that might be the best way to get an objective opinion on my story.Because, by that time, I’d totally lost my perspective on the book.I didn’t know if it was good or bad anymore.”
“I’m guessing sharing it with Margaret didn’t go well?”asked Sam.
Claire gave a short laugh.“It did not.She ripped it to shreds.But then, I’d basically asked for it.The last thing I wanted was to give it to someone like my mom, who’d tell me it was absolutely perfect.That would have been useless feedback.”
Claire sounded as if she’d handled the critique very well.But Sam could see stress lines appearing at the corners of her eyes and mouth.She wondered if it had been as easy to accept the feedback as Claire made it sound.
Claire continued, “I wasn’t the only one Margaret hurt, of course.I don’t even know what happened between Gerald and Margaret.He’s been acting so strange lately.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.Just very nervous and jumpy.Agitated, I guess you’d say.He barely said a word at the meeting and that’s not like him,” said Claire.Then she frowned.“But I love Gerald.I’m not saying he had anything to do with whatever happened to Margaret.I think everybody in the book club has probably run afoul of her at some point.It makes me wince whenever we have a new member.Margaret did make things uncomfortable sometimes.I figured you’d pick up on that.”She gave Sam a small smile.“Are we going to be able to tempt you to come back?”
“Absolutely.I’ve already started readingMiddlemarchfor next month and am making notes.”
“Perfect,” said Claire.She gave Arlo one last rub, then stood up.“I should be heading out.Thanks for filling me in.If you do happen to hear anything else, please feel free to let me know.As president of the book club, I should know what’s happening.”
“Of course I will,” said Sam.
After Claire left, Sam said to Arlo, “Maybe you and I need to have a walk.”
Arlo’s ears pricked up, and he gave Sam a doggy grin before making a quick run in a circle.She laughed.“Okay, you think so, too.We need to stretch our legs.And maybe I need some air while I process everything.”
Arlo gave joyful leaps as Sam got his leash and harness out of the coat closet.They headed outside, sunshine beaming through the trees.They’d barely made it past the third house when Nora emerged from her front door.Nora was Sam’s elderly neighbor.She kept the entire neighborhood on its toes.And somehow, she managed to know just about everything that was going on.
“Here we go,” said Sam in an undertone to Arlo.Arlo wagged his tail in agreement, although he really liked Nora.But then, his relationship with Nora was less complicated.
The old woman strode up to them.“Good morning, Sam.I saw you had a visitor early this morning.Wasn’t it Claire Mills?”
Sam smiled at Nora.“You’re right.She was coming by for a brief visit.I’ve joined her book club at Twice-Told Tales.”Sam had no intention of sharing anything else with Nora, who would take it and run with the information.That was how the entire town of Sunset Ridge would find out.
But Sam should have known that Nora was already aware of what had happened.She said, “I heard what happened at the bookstore this morning.”Her mouth twisted down in a frown.“Horrible.I don’t know what the world is coming to.Margaret Brennan, of all people.”
