Charlotte considered this before saying slowly, “You know, I think I want to talk this over a little bit.That might be better than me running it all through my head by myself.Do you mind?”
“Are you kidding?I live to entertain,” said Sam, totally truthfully.“Would you like me to drive you?I can drive you back later to get your car.”
“No, I’m good to drive.I’ll meet you at your place.”
Chapter Four
Afew minutes later, Sam and Charlotte were walking into Sam’s house.Sam said, “Have a seat anywhere.Would you like coffee, tea, something stronger?”
Charlotte gave a small laugh.“I think if I have something stronger then I’d fall asleep.I’ll stick with a coffee.”
Sam joined Charlotte a few minutes later with a tray holding two coffees, cream, sugar, and muffins.
Charlotte gave her a wry look.“I’d never know you just found a body unless I’d been right there with you.”
“Yes, but the body wasn’t in my bookshop.That must have been a really awful jolt for you.And you knew Margaret well, too.I didn’t.”
Charlotte added a lot of cream and sugar to her coffee cup.“I feel horrible that it happened.I’m just not even sure what to think.Did she have a heart attack or something?I really hope it was a natural death.Not that I wanted Margaret to die foranyreason, but it would be so much worse if she was murdered.”
“Do you think she might have been?”asked Sam quietly.
Charlotte was quiet as she took a couple of sips of her coffee.“I’m not sure.I hate to even think somebody I know is a killer.I really do.I mean, I’m with those folks at least once a month.I’ve gotten to know them to the point where they feel like friends instead of just customers.It’s pretty hard to imagine any of them could do something like that.”
Sam said, “When I was at the meeting last night, I didn’t get the best impression of Margaret.I’m not sure if she was having a really off night or if she was always like that.”She remembered Olivia saying that was normal for Margaret, but wanted to hear Charlotte’s opinion, too.
“Unfortunately, that was typical behavior for Margaret.She was a tough woman.She must have been a nightmare in the classroom.”Charlotte paused, sighing.“She spent thirty years teaching English literature.Maybe it was natural for her to take a dissenting position in every discussion.But she could be a very harsh critic and not just on the books we were reading.The book club members came under the gun, too.She made several members uncomfortable over time.”
Sam said, “Was there ever a point where you felt you needed to talk to her about that?Ask her to tone it down?”
“Sure.A couple of times I gently brought it up, privately.But Margaret didn’t listen.”
Sam asked, “Did you ever consider asking her to leave the club?”
“No.We all talked about that one week when Margaret didn’t attend.We decided she could be difficult, but everyone tolerated her because she did contribute to the discussions.Recently, though, there has been more tension than usual in the club.”
“With anyone in particular?”asked Sam.
