Charlotte gave a short laugh.“With just about everybody.For example, Margaret gave a scathing critique of Claire’s manuscript.”
“Her manuscript?I didn’t know Claire was a writer.”She knew the club president seemed to be a very organized person.That might translate well over into writing.
Charlotte said, “Claire wrote a romance.She’d been working and reworking the story for years, trying to get every word just the way she wanted it.And Margaret tore it apart.”
“I’m surprised Claire would want Margaret to read it at all.She must have known it wasn’t Margaret’s usual genre to read.Plus, Margaret seemed like a really critical person.”
Charlotte nodded.“I know.But Claire was at the point where she’d revised the book so much, she didn’t have any perspective on it anymore.She thought Margaret could look at it with fresh eyes.But it wasn’t ideal.Margaret always sneers about genre fiction, especially romance.I was worried about it from the very start.I had the feeling Claire thought she could handle feedback better than she actually could.After all, that book was almost like her baby.She’d been working on it for ages.”
“That must have been devastating for Claire, especially after all the hard work she put into writing the book.Did anybody else cross Margaret lately?”
Charlotte considered this.“Dylan had a really disastrous open mic night at the coffeehouse.Margaret played a big part in that.”
“He was reading his poetry?”
“That’s right,” said Charlotte.She set down her cup.“He was really upset.Dylan seems pretty sensitive to me.I kept telling both him and Claire to take no notice of Margaret.Both of them were really hurt.And the others have been nervous or uncomfortable around Margaret lately, so there might have been other issues that I don’t know about.She had a way of ferreting out information on others.Like she enjoyed finding weak spots.”
“Do you think she was bored and that’s why she was acting that way?I know Margaret was retired.Or was that simply her personality?”
Charlotte said, “Both.She definitely had a difficult personality.But she probably missed the classroom in some ways.After all, she was in charge there.She was the kind of person who liked being in control.”She set down her coffee cup.“Hey, thanks for this, Sam.I feel a lot better now, which is probably a combination of the coffee, talking it out, and Arlo.”
Arlo gave her a fetching doggy grin and nuzzled her hand.“You’ll have to come by the shop,” Charlotte said to the little dog.“I have a jar of dog treats there for my canine visitors.”She stood.“I’m going to get out of your hair now.I think I’ll go home and do some housework.I still feel sort of restless, so that might be good for me.”
Sam and Arlo walked her to the door.“Let me know if you need anything later,” Sam said.“I’m always here if you need an ear.”
Charlotte gave her a hug and Arlo a rub before she headed out the door to her car.
The mention of housework made Sam decide to do some of her own.She felt just as restless as Charlotte, and cleaning up was traditionally the best way for her to handle it.
She was just tidying up her linen closet when the phone rang.It was Aiden.“Hey there.I heard what happened.Are you okay?”
Sam felt her heart lift at the sound of Aiden’s voice.They were in that gray area where they were seeing a fair amount of each other, but hadn’t labeled their status.He was a former police officer turned teacher, so she wasn’t surprised that he’d heard the news about Margaret’s death.He still had a lot of friends on the local force.
“I’m okay, thanks.I feel bad for poor Charlotte, though.Aren’t you at school?”
“I am, but I’m on my planning period right now.I can spare a few minutes.So you and Charlotte were the ones to discover her?”he asked.
“That’s right.I’d only just met Margaret last night at the book club meeting, but Charlotte knew her for a while.And, of course, she died at Charlotte’s shop, which also makes it especially tough.”
Aiden said, “I’d forgotten you started book club last night.”
“Did your source at the police station mention how Margaret died?”
Aiden said, “Only that they were treating it as a suspicious death until they knew otherwise.But forensics will have to confirm whether it was a natural event or not.I understand Margaret didn’t have many friends in the group.”
“Unfortunately not.But then, Margaret kind of did that to herself, from what I heard.She was very opinionated and not worried about sharing what was on her mind.A real straight-shooter.”
Aiden said, “And you’re planning on looking into Margaret’s death.”
“I wouldn’t say I’m lookingintoit.But I do feel personally invested, considering I was with Charlotte when Margaret was found.I might do some digging.I’ll keep the police informed, of course.”Sam paused.“And I’d love to have you help me out.”
“You know I will,” said Aiden, sounding rueful.“Listen, I’ve got to run for now.I’ll check back in with you later.Please be careful.”
