“And you didn’t check the back room again.Why would you?”
Charlotte said, “That’s right.The light switch for that room is in the main room.Everyone is always really good about cleaning up after themselves, so I figured I’d just tidy the room this morning, if it even needed it at all.”She said in a whisper, “I never dreamed Margaret would still be in there.Do you think she had a heart attack?Could she have been dying in there while the rest of us were in the other room?”Charlotte had a horrified expression on her face.
“I’m not sure.But the police will get to the bottom of it.”
A sedan drove to the front of the store.The police chief, Harold Hawkins, quickly got out.He was in his late-fifties, with a stocky build.
“Ms.Prescott.Of course you’re here,” he said.
Sam had the feeling Chief Hawkins thought she had an uncanny ability to be around when crimes occurred.It was a trait that didn’t appear to endear her to him, although she thought they’d reached something of a detente during the last investigation she was part of.“Chief Hawkins,” she said.
Charlotte said, “She’s in the back room of the store.”
They watched silently as he swiftly strode into Twice-Told Tales.A few minutes later, he came back outside, wearing a grim expression.He reached into his car, pulling out crime scene tape.Charlotte looked even more worried than she had before as he strung it up outside her store.
After securing the scene, the chief stepped away to make a couple of phone calls.Then he joined them again, eyes serious.“Do you know who the woman is?”
Charlotte nodded miserably.“It’s Dr.Margaret Brennan.She’s a retired professor.”
Hawkins had taken out a small notebook and pencil.He carefully jotted this information down before asking, “And how long as she been in the shop?”
Charlotte took another deep breath.“Overnight.”
Hawkins raised his eyebrows at this as he made a note of this.“Can you explain that a little further?”
That was when Charlotte burst into tears.Sam reached into her purse and pulled out a packet of tissues, gently putting it into her friend’s hand.
The chief was now looking at Sam somewhat impatiently.Sam said, “Charlotte hosted the monthly book club meeting in the shop’s back room last night.The professor was one of the members.Obviously, we all thought she’d left, but she hadn’t.Charlotte locked up and went home without realizing anyone was still in the store.”
Another police car pulled up, and Officer Martinez, an officer in her early 30s wearing a crisp uniform, joined them.The chief looked glad to see her.He said, “Martinez, could you speak with Charlotte Webb?Maybe get her a cup of coffee from the shop down the street?Actually, if the shop is quiet enough, that might be a better place to get a statement.”
Martinez gently took Charlotte by the arm and led her off, still quietly sobbing, toward the coffeehouse.
Hawkins turned back toward Sam.“Okay, give me a rundown of what happened last night.”
Sam cleared her throat.“I’m guessing this is a suspicious death.”
“Until we know otherwise, I’m treating it that way.The medical examiner and the crime scene techs are on their way.I’ll need to contact the state police, too.Now, the rundown?”
Sam said slowly, “It was my first time at the book club, so everything was new to me.”
Hawkins gave her a wry look.“I have the feeling you went home and took notes.”
Sam didn’t answer this because it was true, and she didn’t want to become a cliché.“Charlotte hosts the club in the back room of the store.We had tea to kind of set the vibe coming in.Except for Margaret Brennan.”
“What did she drink?”asked the chief.
“Coffee.”
“This was at night, though?”Hawkins frowned.
“That’s right.Seven-thirty.Maybe Margaret was used to consuming caffeine at night.Anyway, she had a different drink from everyone else, so it would definitely have been easy to identify it, if someone was wanting to poison her.”
Hawkins raised his eyebrows.“You seem pretty positive about that poison.”
“It’s just a guess.She could have had some sort of major medical event, of course.I’m just covering the bases.”
“What makes you think it could have been a homicide?”asked Hawkins.
