Murder by Page One by Olivia Matthews (read aloud txt) 📗

The room felt heavy with their collective hesitation. Floyd’s booming voice broke the silence. “I could see Betty offing Fiona, if she was angry enough.”

“And Betty’s heartache is still fresh.” Viv sighed. “Her divorce from Buddy had been finalized only two years ago. Buddy and Fiona had been married for a year before Buddy died almost a year ago.”

Adrian blew out a breath. “Now, that would explain why Ms. Betty’s always madder than a puffed toad.”

“Betty’s definitely on our list of potential suspects to investigate. She has a plausible reason for murder: revenge.” I wrote her name in the notebook, along with her motive. “Who else?” I asked the room in general.

“No one in the writing group liked Fiona.” Floyd seemed to relish that point. “That gives you twelve suspects right there.”

“Let’s put that into context.” Corrinne raised both of her hands, palms out. “I had the impression it wasn’t that the other writers didn’t like her. They didn’t know her. Fiona was a difficult person to get close to.”

“I agree with Corrinne.” Viv leaned into the table. “Fiona used to come in for help with research for her novel. Her manner was cool, as though she was deliberately keeping me at a distance.”

Viv’s observation corroborated my initial impression of Fiona as secretive. “She kept you at a distance. She kept her writing group members at a distance. Her social media pages are sparse and impersonal. It’s as though she was trying to hide something.”

Spence balanced his elbows on the table. “Like what?”

A quick look at our dinner companions revealed a variety of baffled expressions. I set aside the idea of Fiona keeping secrets to pursue at a later date. “What brought Fiona to Peach Coast?”

“Fiona was from South Carolina. Beaufort,” Floyd said. “Her uncle had property here. When he died, he left that property to Fiona, and she hired Buddy to sell it.”

“Buddy was a really successful real estate agent.” Viv got a wistful look in her eyes. “They never sold the property, though. Instead, they got married.”

Floyd grunted. “I would’ve sold the property. Less of a headache.”

“What’s Bobby’s story?” My pen sped across my mini-notepad as I recorded their information.

Adrian’s blue eyes gleamed with intrigue. “The scuttlebutt is Mr. Buddy left Bobby’s inheritance in a trust to be managed by Ms. Fiona until his twenty-fifth birthday.”

My eyebrows rose. “How old is he now?”

“He just turned twenty-three.” Spence spoke with confidence. It amazed me what he recalled about the people in his town. His town. It fit. But whereas Spence seemed to know only the good things, Floyd appeared to dig up all the dirt.

“Fiona was supposed to oversee Bobby’s trust for two more years?” I remembered Betty mentioning Bobby worked at a repair shop/hardware store. Was that by choice? How big was his trust fund? “Does Bobby have a problem managing money?”

Corrinne shook her head. Her blond hair swung above her shoulders. “I’ve never heard any talk of Bobby having trouble with money.”

“This dinner is really eye-opening.” Spence sounded amused. “I never thought librarians would be in the center of the town’s rumor mill.”

Corrinne laughed. “People think of us as quiet and circumspect. We tend to fade into the décor, and the people around us feel free to say anything.”

Spence arched an eyebrow. “I’m going to have to be more careful of what I say around you.”

“A very wise decision,” I said dryly. “I wonder how Bobby felt about Fiona being in charge of his inheritance.”

Floyd crossed his arms and scowled. “Betty wasn’t shy about telling anyone with ears she wasn’t happy about the arrangement.”

“She told me twice,” Corrinne said. “And she claimed Bobby was angry about it too.”

Spence shook his head. “And she wanted me to report on it for the Crier.”

Floyd tapped my mini-notebook. “Money’s a powerful motive for murder.”

I added Bobby’s name and possible motive to the short list. “So far, it appears to me that Betty and Bobby have much stronger motives than the deputies have ascribed to Jo.”

Floyd grunted. “I’d have to agree with you there. Jealousy and money both outweigh a temper tantrum.”

“I went to school with Errol Cole.” Adrian sighed. “He’s good people, just new to the force. But Deputy Whatley…” He sighed again. “I’ve heard that once he’s made his mind up, he’s as stubborn as a mule.”

I totally agreed with that Southernism as it applied to Jed. “We have Betty and Bobby. Can you think of anyone else?”

“Zelda Taylor, president of the Coastal Fiction Writers.” Floyd offered the name without inflection.

That caught my attention. “Tell me more.”

“The tension between those two was thick enough to cut with a knife.”

Viv folded her arms on the table and leaned forward. “More than once, Ms. Zelda would be in the library. If she saw Ms. Fiona come in, she’d leave. Same thing would happen in On A Roll. I saw it myself. Ms. Zelda would be waiting in line at On A Roll. If Ms. Fiona came into the shop, Ms. Zelda’d get out of the line and walk out of the café—before she even placed her order.”

That seemed extreme. If I was already in line, I would’ve placed my order and asked for it to go. “What caused the tension between them?”

Floyd jumped in. “No one knows for sure, but it was around the time Fiona’s firm, Lyle and Duggan CPA Group, was auditing the books for the bank where Zelda worked. Right after the audit, Zelda upped and started her own business.”

“I thought that was odd as well.” Corrinne straightened on her chair. “Zelda had been very proud of her position with Malcovich Savings and Loan. She’d hinted she’d expected another promotion.”

I looked from Corrinne to Floyd. “Do you think her leaving was connected to the audit?”

Floyd shrugged. “It would explain why she suddenly soured on Fiona.”

Spence spoke after sitting in silence through most of the discussion. “You all have been talking as though the murderer had been at the bookstore’s signing: Ms.