That’s what she’d said, wasn’t it?That someone had been on their way in?
There’d been no sign of forced entry the next morning.That’s when I’d been skulking around Araminta’s house, and also when Mendoza had taken me inside, a little later in the afternoon.If someone had tried to force the back door then, the way they had the following night, one of us would have noticed.The way we’d noticed the following day, after Konstantin and Yuri had made their visit.
So had the person who shot Griselda had a key?
Who’d have a key to Araminta’s house other than Anastasia?Steven, presumably, but he’d been home with Diana.
Griselda might have.Araminta’s sister-in-law and neighbor.Patton’s sister.The one who stuck her nose into everything.Yes, Griselda had surely had a key to her brother’s house next door.And it was possible that whoever shot Griselda had gotten the key to Araminta’s house from Griselda’s house.But that still left me with an unknown murderer.
And of course Araminta would have a key to her own house.All landlords do, just in case.
So maybe Araminta killed Griselda.
I turned that thought over a couple of times.
Mendoza had said it once, that she was the obvious suspect.I’d laughed at the idea, but he was right, of course.She lived next door, or used to.She was Griselda’s sister-in-law.They didn’t like each other.And she inherited the money.
Assisted living isn’t cheap.That nice million dollar life insurance policy would probably come in very handy.
The hundred thousand dollars from Diana would be helpful, too.
Araminta had been at the Arena last night.She was the only person involved in the case—that I knew about—who had been.
As Sherlock Holmes used to say—I think it was Sherlock Holmes—when you’ve eliminated all the other possibilities, the only suspect that’s left is the murderer, even if it doesn’t make any sense.
Or something like that.
Maybe I’d just go pay her a friendly little visit.Make sure she made it home from the Arena in one piece last night.Tell her that Konstantin and Yuri were in prison and that we’d found Anastasia and Steven.And see what she said.
I grabbed the phone again, and dialed Mendoza back.And got his voicemail again.“I’m going to see Araminta,” I told him, and laid out the reasons why.“I’ll be careful.It won’t be like last time.I won’t be taken by surprise.I won’t eat or drink anything.And I’m sure she’s not going to pull out a gun and blow me away right in the middle of the assisted living facility.I’ll just see what she says—if she lets anything slip—and then get back to you.”
Maybe I’d tell her I’d like to keep Edwina, and that I’d be happy to pay for her.If Araminta accepted money, that might be a clue that she was guilty.
I hung up the phone and tiptoed up to the second floor to check on Rachel.She was sound asleep, so I left a note next to the bed telling her where I’d gone and why.After hesitating, I added a post-script:If I’m not back in three hours, call Mendoza.
I tiptoed back down.Edwina lifted her head to look at me, but seemed pretty content to be stretched out on the rug in the kitchen.“I’ll be back,” I told her.“Rachel’s here.I don’t want to bring you, just in case Araminta takes one look at you and changes her mind about wanting to keep you.”
Of course, if she had killed her sister-in-law and was going to prison, she couldn’t take Edwina with her.But I wasn’t willing to take any chances.So I left the dog on the kitchen rug and headed back out.
I spent the drive going over the case in my head, fitting the pieces together in different ways.Had I overlooked anything?Was there another solution?Another suspect I hadn’t thought of?Was it possible that Anastasia was lying and she actually had shot Griselda, and the story about someone trying to get into the house was just that: a story?
Yes, of course it was possible.I only had Anastasia’s word for what had happened.So it could be a lie.
But what would be her reason for wanting Griselda dead?
The only person who had a solid motive for that was Araminta.And the only person who had showed up for the money drop at the Arena was Araminta.
Everything pointed to Araminta.No matter how I turned the pieces of evidence around and tried to put them together in different ways, I came back to Araminta.
The first thingI saw when I drove into the parking lot of the assisted living facility was Mendoza’s car.
Or not the first thing.I saw a lot of other cars first, along with several spindly trees and dry grass.
But I did see a car that looked like Mendoza’s, parked in one of the visitor slots.It was the right color, with Davidson County government plates, and the extra antennae and mirrors that differentiate plain police cars from regular cars.
I pulled the Lexus into the slot next to it and got out.And peered through the window of the sedan.
It was empty.If it was Mendoza’s, there was no way to tell for sure.
