Part 20 (2/2)

Doc sat on the edge of his desk and rubbed the bridge of his nose. ”Mrs. Sampson is worse off than I had originally thought.”

Gee, ya think? I wanted to shout. I was no doctor, but even I could tell she wasn't exactly all there. Instead, I smiled politely and inquired, ”Really? How so?”

”She's always complained of being tired, but that's a natural part of aging. Forgetting some minor things is also an inevitable part of growing old, but I think Mrs. Sampson's forgetfulness has gone beyond the norm.”

”What do you mean?” Mitch asked.

”Well, she's not just forgetting simple things. Part of her short-term memory is going as well. At times she seems to think she still works at the library. And she often forgets she's met someone a day later.”

”I can attest to that,” I said. ”I've met her several times, yet she never remembers. And she always forgets to take her ap.r.o.n off, sometimes even mismatches her shoes.”

”I'm afraid it's the early stages of Alzheimer's,” Doc Wilc.o.x admitted. ”Bernard isn't going to be able to take care of her on his own for much longer. It's a shame. Last I heard they were planning to retire in Florida. That's not likely to happen now. His daughters live a couple of hours from here nowhere near Florida. Without their help, I don't see how Bernard can swing it.”

”Thanks, Dr. Wilc.o.x.” Mitch stood up and shook his hand. ”I'm glad she's safe. The last thing Divinity needs is for someone else to die.”

”I couldn't agree more,” Dr. Wilc.o.x responded.

”Thank you, Doctor,” I said and followed Mitch out to the car. ”So where to, Detective?”

”The library. I'm in the mood to do some reading.” He looked at me as he started the car. ”You in?”

”Um, okay, sure.” I fastened my seat belt. ”What kind of reading?”

”Personnel files.”

”But I thought we pretty much ruled Carolyn Hanes out,” I said.

”Carolyn's not the one I'm interested in. I never checked out Maude. Something seems off about her retirement, and then there's the fact that we found her by the librarian's window.” He rubbed his jaw while turning down the road for the library. ”I want to know why.”

”Hasn't she been through enough?” I felt really bad for Mrs. Sanders. She was so confused, and she seemed to be getting worse every day. With her daughters gone and her husband working a lot of overtime, she was virtually alone.

”Tink, I'm not saying she's guilty.” Mitch's voice was low and gentle. ”I'm just saying she might need more help than we realize.”

”Fine, I'm in.” I was on a mission now. I pointed my finger in the detective's face. ”But only to prove there's no way that sweet little old lady could be a murderer.”

”Fair enough.”

A few minutes later, Mitch pulled into the parking lot of the library and cut the engine. I followed the detective inside, and we headed straight to the circulation desk where the new manager, Carolyn Hanes, was talking to one of her employees.

”Good afternoon, Miss Hanes,” Detective Stone said. ”You mind if we have a word with you?”

She looked warily at me, but she nodded, excused herself to her employee, and then to us said, ”Follow me.” She led the way in the back to her office and closed the door behind us.

I scanned the room but didn't see any signs left over from Lucinda or Holly having been there. Carolyn had definitely put her stamp on the room. ”I noticed the teddy bear I left is gone,” I said. ”What happened?”

Carolyn shrugged. ”Ms. Smith said it was a fire hazard. I guess it fell off the shelf and landed on her desk next to a candle and then burst into flames.”

”No kidding? Imagine that,” I said.

”I know. It could have burned down the whole library. That's why I issued a new policy.” She locked eyes with me, and I wondered if she'd somehow found out the bear held a nanny cam. ”No gifts that aren't of monetary value are to be accepted.”

I'll bet you did, I thought, but said, ”Hmmm. That's a shame.”

”Isn't it, though?” Carolyn turned to the detective. ”How can I help you?”

”I need to see the personnel records from when Amanda Robbins was manager here,” the detective answered.

”But you already looked through them.”

”Not all of them,” he explained.

She looked confused and a little troubled, but she complied. What choice did she have if she didn't want to look guilty and uncooperative? ”Certainly. You can use my office if you'd like.”

”Thank you. That would be wonderful,” I said all sugary sweet.

A few minutes later Detective Stone and I sat at Carolyn Hanes's desk with a large box between us. He took half of the files, while I took the other half. We decided to pore over every one once more in case he had missed something the first time around.

Finally he came to Maude Sampson's file. ”This can't be right.”

”What?”

”It says here that Maude didn't retire.” He looked up and met my eyes. ”She was fired.”

”You're kidding.” I leaned forward and scanned her file. ”Why would her husband lie about it?” I wondered aloud.

”Like he said, he's always protected her. He probably didn't want the scandal or embarra.s.sment to taint her name.” Mitch read on. ”You're not going to believe this one. Carolyn Hanes was the one who got her fired. Her report on Maude says she was incompetent, forgetting things, and messing up the catalog system.”

”You know,” I said as something occurred to me. ”Maude worked there much longer than Carolyn. If Maude hadn't gotten fired, she would have been in line for the management position. They might not have been able to discriminate against her because of her age, but the fact that she was incompetent was a whole different matter. I think Carolyn was desperate for a higher-paying job because of her shopping addiction. While she might not have murdered her best friend, I doubt she was above getting Maude fired.”

My cell phone buzzed. ”Hang on, Detective, I've got to take this.” I answered the call.

”Hey, Dad, what's up?” I listened in shock. ”Are you sure?” He filled me in on all the details. ”Wow, okay, I'll tell him.” I hung up and stared at Mitch with my mouth hanging open.

”What the h.e.l.l is it?” Mitch sat forward.

”Dad finally got the doctor to talk.” As much as it pained me to say this, I knew I had no choice. ”Maude Sampson was on digoxin for an irregular heartbeat.” I blew out a breath. ”I guess that means she could have committed murder, especially if she was angry at Amanda for firing her. She loved working at the library. It was her life, especially after her girls left.”

”Don't jump to conclusions, Tink. What else did your father say?”

I thought for a minute and then brightened a little. ”He did say the pharmacy revealed Amanda Robbins used to pick up Maude's prescription for her because Bernard worked overtime at the mill. Amanda would bring it to the library and give it to Maude at work before she was fired.”

”Carolyn would have had access to it,” Mitch pointed out. ”She still could have been playing both sides and given it to Pendleton to use on Amanda when the bookstore deal didn't go through. And then jumped s.h.i.+p with the FBI when things started to look bad for Alex and Gladys. And h.e.l.l, for that matter, I think Gladys Montgomery would do just about anything to have one of her treasures declared a national landmark.”

”Do any of them have an alibi?” I asked.

”They all claimed to be each other's alibi, has.h.i.+ng out the details of the deal and what the repercussions would be if it went through,” he answered. ”But no one saw them.”

<script>