A Justified Murder (Medlar Mystery #2)(20)

“Have you recently asked her what she meant?” Sara asked.

“I did. She said it just seemed like Sylvia and Janet had to be together. Couldn’t bear to be parted.”

“What happened when you called Sylvia’s family?” Sara asked.

“It took a while to get to a person who knew her. I had to go through three household staff, all the way up to the butler. Who has a butler nowadays?”

No one answered him.

“So finally, I got Sylvia’s older brother on the phone. He was a real bastard. Very cold. Said that his sister had turned her back on her family when she married. And the way she’d passed was an embarrassment to them. He was going to hang up on me, but I asked if he could give me the name and number of Tom’s family. He said that they knew nothing about that man. Then he hung up.” Sheriff Flynn looked at them in silence.

Kate spoke up. “In essence, Mrs. Alden had no real family except her husband, and after he died, she had no one. Mrs. Beeson must have been a godsend to her.”

“Any children?” Sara asked.

“A daughter, Lisa. Married a lawyer named Wellman. They live in Boston, no kids. I didn’t contact her, but the fact that no one in Lachlan seems to have ever met the daughter says a lot.”

“I’m beginning to see why Sylvia killed herself,” Kate said. “She must have been miserable. Do you know if she was ill?”

“Her doctor said no.”

“How does all this connect to Janet Beeson’s murder?” Jack asked.

“No idea,” Sheriff Flynn said. “But we hit a dead end with Janet. No passport. As far as we can tell, she gave a false birth certificate to get a Florida driver’s license.”

“She was hiding,” Kate said.

“Sounds like they both were,” Sara said. “Sylvia ran off with Tom—that man as her family called him—and Janet was hiding from...” She looked up.

“From someone who finally caught up with her,” Jack said.

“Is it possible that the same person who killed Janet also killed Sylvia?” Sara asked.

“Very possible,” Daryl said. “The autopsy showed that Sylvia died of oleander poison. It was ground up and put over a plate of spicy food.”

“But there was no investigation?” Jack asked.

“She left a signed suicide note and we all thought...” Sheriff Flynn gave a sidelong look at Sara.

“You don’t have to say it,” Sara said. “Older woman living alone. Widowed. Of course she did herself in. She didn’t have a man so why bother to breathe? That’s what people think. Read a cruise guide. Their one page on women cruising alone is all about how she can get a man. They think a woman is too afraid to walk into dinner unless a man is holding on to her arm.”

Sheriff Flynn looked at Jack and Kate. “How long’s she been like this?”

“Since seeing Mrs. Beeson’s body,” Kate said. “But she does have a point. Two older women, best friends, both reclusive, died in unusual ways. The first death was passed over for investigation and the second one is being blamed on somebody in California.”

“Or maybe not.” Jack looked at the sheriff, but he wouldn’t meet his eyes. “What is it that you want from us?”

“Nothing,” Sheriff Flynn said quickly. “I’ve been told that no civilians are to stick their noses into this and risk getting themselves killed.”

“Like last time,” Kate said. “By the way, is anyone admitting that we found out the truth about the Morris murders?”

“Nope. No one says that.” Sheriff Flynn seemed to be waiting for something.

“What now?” Sara asked. “We jump up and down, clap our hands, and tell you how we are dying to help find a vicious murderer? And ‘dying’ is the key word here.”

The sheriff stood up. “I better get home. Evie said she’d let the dogs out and cause chaos so I could sneak in the side door. This has been a nice visit. Sorry nobody knows anything.” He looked at Jack. “You planning to sing at Janet’s memorial service?”

“No.” Jack stood up.

Daryl looked at Kate. “The house has been searched and they found nothing that gave any hint to Janet’s origins. She was an extraordinarily clean and tidy person. Not so much as a grocery receipt could be found. We didn’t find a personal computer although she used one at church.”

“But she was on Facebook and saw Britney taking pills,” Sara said.

Sheriff Flynn thought about that, then turned to Kate. “I persuaded Cotilla to let you have the house listing of Janet’s house so you could sell it and get the commission. That okay with you?”

“Sure,” Kate said.

“What about her will?” Jack asked.

“Didn’t find one. Bea called several lawyers in the vicinity but they’d never heard of Janet Beeson. Did I mention that she paid for that house in cash? Almost a million. But her bank account had just four hundred and thirty-two dollars in it. Kind of odd, isn’t it? Wonder where her money came from? Mr. Beeson? Or whatever his name is.”

“No, you didn’t mention any of that,” Sara said.

“Almost a million?” Kate said. “But that house sold for one and a quarter mil. I saw the records.”