I leaned over and put my arms around her. “You are stronger than you realize. I promise you will get through this.”
“And can you promise that the vile murderer who took Willis from me will be caught and punished?”
I hesitated. “I can’t be sure, of course, but a few things have been bothering me. I can’t quite make the puzzle pieces fit, but it is possible that we will find out who killed Willis before too long.”
“Is your private detective friend still helping you?”
“Harry? Yes. Yes, he is. In fact, he may hold the final key,” I said with more confidence than I felt. “And I expect to hear from him soon.”
When we passed through the gate at Manning Hall and began winding along the driveway, I stretched my neck and peered over Dolores’s head. When we reached the koi pond I asked Elton to stop.
“Dolores, take a look. Your friends are home,” I said, hoping that what she saw would cheer her. That was a gamble I thought worth taking.
“Wh-what?” Dolores followed my gaze. “Jess, my koi! They’re back. How did you know?”
“Deputy Remington told me yesterday that they would be coming home today. With all that was going on, I forgot to tell you. This morning was so emotional—gathering Willis’s clothes, going to the funeral parlor—that, well, it slipped my mind. I thought once we got settled in the house I would tell you to expect the koi, but they are already here.”
“Jess, Willis died here, at this pond he had built especially for me. I think I’d like to stay here for a minute or so. You and Elton go on up to the house. I will walk up when I am ready.” Dolores got out of the car.
Elton jumped out of the car and ran up to the sitting garden. He came back with a white wicker chair with flowered cushions, set it next to Dolores, and got back into the car.
“Elton, that was very thoughtful,” I said.
“I figure Miss Dolores should be comfortable if she’s gonna stay even five minutes.” Then he asked, “Should I drive?”
“Yes,” I said. “Dolores needs this time alone with her koi and her memories.”
Just as Elton finished parking the car, my cell phone pinged. Harry! He wrote, Hit the mother lode.
I replied, Will call in ten.
I asked Elton to let Lucinda and Marla Mae know that Dolores was at the koi pond and that I would be in my room making some telephone calls.
“Sure ’nuff. Be happy to. I’ll be in the library if you need me to take you anywhere later on today.”
I knew I did have someplace to go, and I had an important question to ask, so I said, “Grab yourself a nice snack while you are in the kitchen, because we are definitely heading over to the Sheriff’s Department in a short while. Oh, and don’t say anything to Dolores. I don’t want to get her hopes up.”
As soon as I closed the door to my room, I hit the speed dial for Harry on my phone and he answered midring.
“My message got your attention, huh? I kind of figured it would.” Usually unruffled no matter what the situation, Harry sounded jubilant, and that told me he was sure he’d cracked into information that would draw the sheriff’s attention away from Dolores and point a finger squarely at someone else.
“Harry, my curiosity level is lighting up at around a thousand megawatts. What have you got?”
“Money, Jess, that’s what I got. Lots and lots of money, which is the reason that someone decided Willis Nickens had to go, and that someone sure wasn’t your friend Dolores.”
“Then who, Harry? Who are you talking about?”
“I’ll get to that, but first I have to tell you that I now owe dinner to the nicest lady at the South Carolina tourism board, should I ever get down that way—but you know how I hate to leave Boston. Even for work, I try to never travel south of New York.”
“Harry!” I knew I sounded sharper than I’d intended, but it brought him around.
“Okay, Jess, okay, I’m just playing with you. Here’s the skinny . . .”
I listened carefully, scribbling a word or two on a piece of the fancy stationery from the desk drawer. “Harry, say that again. Okay, got it.”
I asked a couple of questions, and then Harry had one for me. “So, how does my info square with what you’ve been digging up?”
“It squares flawlessly. I just need to confirm one thing, and then, hopefully, Dolores will be . . .”
“Off the hook.” Harry finished my sentence.
“Yes, Harry, thanks to you, Dolores will be off the hook.”
On my way downstairs I met Marla Mae coming up, carrying a tray. “Miss Dolores is going to have a snack in her room and then take a rest. She said she would be down for dinner.”
That fit my plan perfectly. I told her Elton and I would be out for a while but would return before dinner. At least I hoped we would.
* * *
Elton pulled into the parking lot of the Sheriff’s Department and asked again, “Are you sure you don’t want me to come inside with you?”
“Thank you, but I am very sure. I think I will do better on my own. People may speak to one person in confidence, but a second person too easily becomes a witness.”
“Be sure you have my number in your cell.” He held up his phone. “I have mine right here and can be there in a flash if you need me.”
“Elton, you are behaving more and more like a mother hen,” I said with a smile.
I was glad to see Deputy Remington at her usual spot behind the counter. That would save my having to explain who I was. Of course I would still have to explain what I wanted.
The deputy looked up and gave me a cheery smile. “Mrs. Fletcher, you are becoming
