“Oh yes. Tom and I both knew. Since they’re friends, Norman told Tom in the strictest confidence.”
“But when we were playing bridge after dinner, Willis bullied Tom so deliberately that I was puzzled Tom allowed it. At first I assumed he was just being a gracious guest, but once I learned about your asking Willis for financial help of some sort, I determined Tom didn’t want to jeopardize your chances.”
“It was a tricky situation. Willis kept telling Norman that he was going to deny the loan, but Willis never told Tom and me. Jessica, we’d approached every possible source and been turned down. A private loan from Willis was our last chance. So when Norman told us, completely off the record, that the loan was a no go, we decided it was best to keep sucking up to Willis on the off chance he would change his mind. Then he died. So now it’s a completely new ball game.”
I said, “It certainly is. You and Tom went from the certainty that Willis was going to deny your loan to the real possibility that when the dust settles, Dolores will grant it.”
“When we heard about Willis— I mean, it was a great shock, as you can imagine, but for us there was a silver lining. We were sure Dolores would be much easier to work with and we’d be able to get a nice loan at a decent rate. But now that the sheriff is looking at her for Willis’s murder . . .” Candy clasped her hand over her mouth.
That was what I had been waiting to hear. “I suspect you heard that from Marjory, and she swore you to secrecy in the bargain.”
“Yes,” Candy answered in a tiny voice. “I feel terrible. Please don’t tell her I slipped.”
I stood up. “You needn’t worry. All your secrets are safe with me.”
“Thank you, Jessica, and please, if there is anything we can do for Dolores, anything at all, just call us and we will come a-running.”
I walked along the garden path to the driveway, deep in thought. I’d told Marjory about Dolores’s being a person of interest in the hope that she would pass that knowledge along to the Blomquists. I hoped it might rattle them, and sure enough, it had. They’d gone from being confident that Dolores would help them financially to being unsure of Dolores’s status in relation to Willis’s estate. And Candy went from worrying about her past becoming common knowledge to having it safely tucked away because the sheriff was busy looking in a completely different direction for Willis Nickens’s killer.
If either of them thought killing Willis would be a solution to their problems, well, as it turned out, even after his death they were still in major turmoil.
By the time I got to the car, Elton was standing next to the open passenger door.
“Do you have a next stop in mind?” he asked as I settled into my seat.
“Actually, I do. I’d like to talk to Sheriff Halvorson again, if I can get a few minutes of his time. Let’s go to his office.”
We’d barely gotten to the main road when my cell phone rang. Seth Hazlitt.
“Woman, where did you get these pictures of such a fancy putting green? Here I thought you were staying at the home of an old college friend and comforting her after a loss. Next thing, I find texts from some fancy country club all over my phone.”
I couldn’t help laughing. “Seth, that putting green is on Dolores’s property. Her husband, Willis, was an avid golfer.”
“More like a rich golfer, I would say.” Seth harrumphed. “Ayuh, Jessica, Doris Ann over at the library is wondering, do you have any idea when you might be coming home? She says the furniture committee is sure to run amok and spend too much money for unsuitable tables and chairs without its most levelheaded member.”
“I wish I could give you a date, but for Dolores’s sake I want to stay for the funeral, and the coroner hasn’t released the body yet.”
“Jessica, that’s not a good sign. Not at all.”
“I know, and I’ve yet to tell you the worst part. The sheriff has declared Dolores a person of interest, which means it’s likely he’s not looking too hard at anyone else.”
“Well, that settles it. I’ll tell Doris Ann not to make any committee meeting plans. You won’t be home anytime soon. And, Jess, you take care of yourself. Keep a watchful eye.”
“Thank you, Seth. That is exactly what I intend to do.”
Elton turned into the driveway of the Sheriff’s Department. “I’d feel better, ma’am, if you allowed me to park the car and escort you inside.”
“Actually, Elton, I’d prefer you to wait here at the curb.” I smiled. “The sheriff tends to get annoyed by my very presence, so this may be the time we really do need to make a quick getaway.”
Elton looked alarmed. “When I said that the last time we were here, I was joking. You look serious.”
“Not really, although, as I said, the sheriff does tend to lose patience with me. For some reason my very existence seems to push his buttons.”
“I can see why that would be. You are such a good friend to Miss Dolores, the sheriff sees you as getting in his way.”
“Well, when you put it like that . . .”
“I hear a lot of talk when I drive people around, and one thing I have learned is that the talk goes much smoother if you try to see how the other person views things. Sheriff Halvorson is not at all interested in your opinion, but you might do well to understand his.”
“Elton, you are a genius. I just might change my approach.”
Deputy Remington was sitting behind the counter. Bright sunlight streamed through the window and reflected off the wide blond streaks in her hair. She looked like an angel with a halo.
“Mrs. Fletcher.” She greeted me with a smile. “How can I help you today?”
“I’m flattered you remember me.”
“Everyone who was in this
