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Authors: Jana DeLeon
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hundred.
“Where do we start?” I asked.
Gertie perked up. “I think we should make a list of everyone in Sinful, then eliminate them one at a time as we determine they couldn’t have done it.”
“That’s a great idea,” I said, “except for the part where according to Deputy LeBlanc’s questions, I gather Pansy was murdered around midnight. That means most people would be at home. We can hardly go asking every household to alibi themselves. Not only will it get back to Carter, but no one can be certain that another person was in bed sleeping if they were in bed sleeping.”
“Then we should eliminate them based on method,” Gertie said.
I nodded. “Definitely a better way as it takes into account ability, but there’s one big problem—I don’t know how she was killed. Deputy LeBlanc didn’t say and I’m sure that’s deliberate. All he said was Celia found her dead on the kitchen floor.”
“How she died must have been obvious,” Ida Belle pointed out, “for Carter to leap straight to murder.”
“Gunshot seems the most likely,” I said, “but Celia—and most of her neighbors—would have heard it. Unless they used a silencer.”
Ida Belle frowned. “There’s no need for a silencer unless you’re killing a person. I doubt many people in Sinful have them.”
“We don’t need many people,” I pointed out. “We just need one who hated Pansy.”
Gertie shook her head. “Fortune’s right. The first thing we’ve got to do is find out how she was killed. That information alone could eliminate a third of the town.”
“If someone in Sinful killed her, that would help,” I said, “but I still think we need to find out what Pansy has been up to all these years in California.”
“I agree,” Ida Belle said, “but we’re going to have to be careful. Carter will be following that angle as well. People are sure to mention it to him if they’re questioned twice.”
I nodded. “So we’ll be careful. We won’t ask questions that seem like they’re because of her death. I bet we can still find out quite a bit. At least give us an idea of what kind of person Pansy is as an adult. I know how she was before she left, but she could have developed dangerous habits in LA.”
“True,” Ida Belle agreed.
“But first things first,” I said. “I assume the Sinful grapevine has been hobbled as far as information goes, and I’m going to guess that Carter already told Celia to stay quiet about everything. Will she?”
Gertie and Ida Belle looked at each other, in their silent communication mode, then both looked back at me and nodded.
“If it were about anyone else,” Gertie said, “she’d have gone door-to-door like a Jehovah’s Witness, flapping more than clotheslined sheets in a hurricane, but she was always tight-lipped when it came to Pansy’s escapades.”
Ida Belle snorted. “That’s because most of Pansy’s escapades included being naked with someone else’s boyfriend. Not exactly the reputation Celia wants reflecting on her parenting skills, or lack thereof.”
“Maybe we should make a list of everyone Pansy slept with,” I suggested. “Then track back to angry girlfriends.”
“That’s easy,” Gertie said. “It’s the same list as the Sinful residents—just remove the women and the men past a certain age range. At least, I think we should remove the women.”
I waved a hand in dismissal, certain Gertie was exaggerating Pansy’s alley cat ways on some level, but not certain I wanted to know the true extent of her sexual reach on one cup of coffee. “Back to the task at hand. How do we find out how Pansy was killed?”
Ida Belle and Gertie looked at each other and I could tell before Ida Belle opened her mouth that I wasn’t going to like the answer.
“The only way is to see Carter’s files on the case.”
“Doesn’t one of your partners in crime work at the sheriff’s department?”
Ida Belle nodded. “That’s how we found out so quickly.
“Where do we start?” I asked.
Gertie perked up. “I think we should make a list of everyone in Sinful, then eliminate them one at a time as we determine they couldn’t have done it.”
“That’s a great idea,” I said, “except for the part where according to Deputy LeBlanc’s questions, I gather Pansy was murdered around midnight. That means most people would be at home. We can hardly go asking every household to alibi themselves. Not only will it get back to Carter, but no one can be certain that another person was in bed sleeping if they were in bed sleeping.”
“Then we should eliminate them based on method,” Gertie said.
I nodded. “Definitely a better way as it takes into account ability, but there’s one big problem—I don’t know how she was killed. Deputy LeBlanc didn’t say and I’m sure that’s deliberate. All he said was Celia found her dead on the kitchen floor.”
“How she died must have been obvious,” Ida Belle pointed out, “for Carter to leap straight to murder.”
“Gunshot seems the most likely,” I said, “but Celia—and most of her neighbors—would have heard it. Unless they used a silencer.”
Ida Belle frowned. “There’s no need for a silencer unless you’re killing a person. I doubt many people in Sinful have them.”
“We don’t need many people,” I pointed out. “We just need one who hated Pansy.”
Gertie shook her head. “Fortune’s right. The first thing we’ve got to do is find out how she was killed. That information alone could eliminate a third of the town.”
“If someone in Sinful killed her, that would help,” I said, “but I still think we need to find out what Pansy has been up to all these years in California.”
“I agree,” Ida Belle said, “but we’re going to have to be careful. Carter will be following that angle as well. People are sure to mention it to him if they’re questioned twice.”
I nodded. “So we’ll be careful. We won’t ask questions that seem like they’re because of her death. I bet we can still find out quite a bit. At least give us an idea of what kind of person Pansy is as an adult. I know how she was before she left, but she could have developed dangerous habits in LA.”
“True,” Ida Belle agreed.
“But first things first,” I said. “I assume the Sinful grapevine has been hobbled as far as information goes, and I’m going to guess that Carter already told Celia to stay quiet about everything. Will she?”
Gertie and Ida Belle looked at each other, in their silent communication mode, then both looked back at me and nodded.
“If it were about anyone else,” Gertie said, “she’d have gone door-to-door like a Jehovah’s Witness, flapping more than clotheslined sheets in a hurricane, but she was always tight-lipped when it came to Pansy’s escapades.”
Ida Belle snorted. “That’s because most of Pansy’s escapades included being naked with someone else’s boyfriend. Not exactly the reputation Celia wants reflecting on her parenting skills, or lack thereof.”
“Maybe we should make a list of everyone Pansy slept with,” I suggested. “Then track back to angry girlfriends.”
“That’s easy,” Gertie said. “It’s the same list as the Sinful residents—just remove the women and the men past a certain age range. At least, I think we should remove the women.”
I waved a hand in dismissal, certain Gertie was exaggerating Pansy’s alley cat ways on some level, but not certain I wanted to know the true extent of her sexual reach on one cup of coffee. “Back to the task at hand. How do we find out how Pansy was killed?”
Ida Belle and Gertie looked at each other and I could tell before Ida Belle opened her mouth that I wasn’t going to like the answer.
“The only way is to see Carter’s files on the case.”
“Doesn’t one of your partners in crime work at the sheriff’s department?”
Ida Belle nodded. “That’s how we found out so quickly.
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