“I’d like to give my crown to the real winner tonight, to our very own disappearing Miss 2001, to the beauty pageant queen who thought she could get away with murder…”
Aunt DeeDee gasped, and no drumroll sounded this time.
“… to former winner and current judge, Ms. Katie Gilman.”
Despite the bright lights, I could see the outline of the sheriff hurrying forward just as Katie Gilman stood, eyeing an escape route. I could almost see understanding dawn on her face. The jig was up and she’d lost.
Sheriff Strong approached with his usual steadiness and pulled out his handcuffs, clasping her hands together behind her back. He might not have trusted my instincts when he’d first met me, but we’d learned that we made a decent team.
“Katie Gilman, alias Cathy Peabody, you have the right to remain silent,” the sheriff said, the microphone catching his voice and echoing through the Primrose Ballroom.
THIRTY-NINE
Except for the reporters, who were furiously scribbling into notebooks or mumbling into microphones, the crowd sat in stunned silence. Savilla’s mouth hung open in disbelief as she turned to Katie Gilman. From the front row of the audience, Mrs. Finch stood.
“Sit down, Gigi,” Katie hissed, her hands behind her back.
I scanned the stage, the crown in my hand, at first wondering to whom she was speaking. When the reality hit me, the last domino fell.
My eyes trailed to the banner on the far right wall, listing Mrs. Glenda Finch as the winner. I thought of the wedding announcement that I’d found in one of the storage boxes, which had also named her as Glenda Finch. Strangely, no maiden name had been used for Glenda—it was as if she’d forever and always been Mrs. Finch.
But in my first conversation with him, Mr. Finch had called his wife by the same name Katie had just used.Gigi.At the time, I’d assumed it was spelledG-i-g-i, like the classic film, but on his to-do list taped to Katie’s bathroom door, he’d written that he needed toAsk GG to send thank you notes to sponsors.The firstG was for Glenda, and the second G was for… Oh Lord, how had I not seen it?
Glenda Gilman, sister to Katie Gilman. This was a family-friendly show, after all.
The women didn’t look alike, not even in the enlarged cutout from 2001 when they were both younger and thinner. They didn’t have similar personalities from what I’d seen, but neither had Momma and Aunt DeeDee. What both women shared was their connection to Savilla—and the deceased Mr. Finch.
“Are you two… sisters?” I stammered.
The two women, only a few years apart in age, stared at one another before turning to me.
“He got me pregnant and then stole my child from me,” Katie finally said, as the crowd gasped.
“What else were we supposed to do?” Glenda followed, as if whatever they’d done had been a foregone conclusion.
Katie Gilman and Glenda Finch, née Gilman, had sat side by side on and off all week, and they’d been together in the Finches’ apartment my first night there. I wanted to hit myself for not seeing it earlier: their body language, the way they communicated so much in a glance. I’d assumed it was a longtime employer–employee relationship, but this was so much more. These were sisters who’d loved—and perhaps sometimes hated—one another over the years, but they were bonded, nonetheless.
Glenda looked protectively toward Katie, and the intensity of the look passing between the two women told me I’d guessed correctly.
“This isn’t her fault,” Glenda shouted across the aisle and to the audience at large.
Katie staggered slightly upon hearing her sister’s words.
“It’s mine,” Glenda insisted.
Katie’s eyes widened and she called, “Hush your mouth and sit down, Glenda. The police already have the culprit.” She looked at Charlie. “The person you want is Dr. Bellingham, and you already have him in custody.”
“We know he wasn’t working alone,” the sheriff said. “Now I’m wondering if he was even involved as much as I first thought.”
A universal shock went through the room.
Glenda almost seemed to bask in the surprise before continuing. “My name is Glenda Gilman Finch, and Dr. Bellingham and I are guilty of my husband’s murder.” She stared at the sheriff. “You can release Katie.”
“I’m afraid that’s not how this works,” Sheriff Strong said as he motioned for one of his men to approach Glenda as well.
Katie squared her shoulders, despite the handcuffs, making her appear more like the confident Miss 2001 she’d once been. Her eyes moved to her sister, and she spoke as if they were the only two in the room. “You don’t need to take the fall for me. You’ve… you’ve done enough.”
“It could never be enough,” Glenda countered. “After Frederick took everything from you. After he kicked you out of the estate. After he stole your child. He deserved what came to him.”
