“Why would Margaret have printed out her emails?”asked Sam.“Was she sharing them with other people?She could have just forwarded them.”
Charlotte shook her head.“Margaret always said she didn’t trust technology.She’d delete emails after she printed them out.She thought she might get hacked or something.Anyway, take a look.”
Sam pulled out a sheaf of printed emails.The one on top caught her eye.It was from geraldine.hartwell22 at a gmail account.It regarded dues collection from the club members.And Margaret had written in black inkGeraldine = Gerald.
Sam stared at the email.“Geraldine Hartwell.Gerald?”
Charlotte nodded slowly.The silence was heavy in the back room.
“So Gerald has a double life?”
“No, nothing like what you’re thinking,” said Charlotte.“But it’s a pen name.Something he didn’t want anyone to know about.”
“But you know.When did you find out?When you read the email?”
Charlotte said tiredly, “I’ve known for months.I’m a bookstore owner.I read romances and know the authors.I’ve seen him researching Regency-era details in a book at the shop.Then one day he accidentally wrote me an email from that address, asking me to order a book.After that, I put it all together.But I didn’t realize Margaret had figured it out.”
“Clearly, he was still logged into his pen name email account by accident,” said Sam.
“Right.He was just sending out the reminder.He must have forgotten he was still logged in as Geraldine.”
Sam said, “Did anyone else notice?”
“No one said a word about it.I thought no one else had paid any attention.I should have known Margaret wouldn’t let something like that pass by her.”
“But she didn’t say anything to him during the next club meeting?”asked Sam.
“No.Although she had this expression on her face like a cat who’d eaten cream.Smug.But then, she could look smug regardless.She did spend more time bashing romances and romance readers than usual after that, but that was pretty typical Margaret behavior.I didn’t know until I came across this printed email that she knew.”Charlotte’s expression was miserable.“Do you think Margaret was trying to blackmail Gerald or something?”
“Is that something you could see Margaret doing?”
Charlotte gave a helpless shrug.“I’m not sure.She seemed to have plenty of money.But then, she kept saying she wanted to go on a trip to Dublin, Ireland and see the different literary sites there.So who knows?Or maybe she blackmailed him to just make Gerald suffer.That’s a possibility.She’s capable of it, for sure.”
“But you never asked Gerald about his pen name?”
“No,” said Charlotte, looking defeated.“I figured it was his business.Lots of authors use pen names.I thought if he’d wanted us to know, he’d tell us.But now I’m feeling guilty.Maybe if I’d been paying more attention, Margaret would still be alive.”
“You’re thinking Gerald murdered her to keep her quiet?And to keep her from taking more of his money, if she was blackmailing him?”
Charlotte sighed again.“When you put it that way, it sounds like a lot.I mean, obviously Gerald didn’t want information about his romance writing getting out, for whatever reason.But it’s not exactly a motive for killing someone, is it?If he were being blackmailed, though, it makes a little more sense.”
“He could have been furious at Margaret for putting him in the position to begin with.”
“I guess,” said Charlotte.“I just can’t see him being violent.Secretive and probably anxious, yes.But not violent.”
Sam liked Gerald.She didn’t want him to be guilty.But the motive was definitely there.“Do you have one of Gerald’s books in stock?”
Charlotte nodded and headed out of the back room.A few moments later, she returned with a beautiful historical romance.“He’s with a major publisher, too.”She hesitated.“Sometimes, male authors are worried about having their work accepted if they use their real identity.Maybe Gerald was worried about that, too.That his books wouldn’t be as popular if readers knew he wasn’t a woman.”
Sam said slowly, “I think I should talk to him.”She looked at her watch.“The bank is open on Saturday for a few hours, I think, right?”
“That’s right.I feel bad about exposing his secret, though.”
Sam said, “I know.But someone might have died and he’s free to kill again, if that’s the case.”
“You can’t just approach someone who might have committed a murder, Sam.”
“I’m going to see him at work.It’s still his lunch break, and he sits outside the bank there.It’s totally public, but also private enough to have a talk,” said Sam.“And I’ll text Aiden, too, to let him know.Maybe he can meet me there.But you need to call the police to tell them what you found.They must have thought it was just your book club records and didn’t realize the significance of it.”She took out her phone and took a picture of the printed email.Then she texted it to Aiden with a quick note about heading to the bank to speak to Gerald.
