Free 52 Steps to Murder by Steve Demaree

murderer.”
    “Didn’t his mother die suddenly?”
    “I’m not sure. But he was devoted to his mother. I don’t think he killed her.”
    “Who would be at the top of your list, Miss Nelson?”
    “I can’t see anyone who knew my grandmother doing this, and I can’t see how anyone else could have gotten into the house.”
    “Well, someone did, Miss Nelson. You didn’t happen to notice a glass on the floor when you found your grandmother, did you?”
    “No. You mean you found the murder weapon, so to speak?”
    “So to speak. By the way, is there anything you might have forgotten to tell me yesterday?”
    “Not that I can think of. Oh, when I got home there were three calls on my answering machine from Irene Penrod. The first time she called was a few days after I left, and she informed me that my grandmother had fallen, broken some bones, and was pretty bruised up. From what I can tell, she called the second time a couple of days later. She phoned to see if I got her message about my grandmother. The third call was Friday night. She said that when she didn’t hear from me she  called  my  employer  and  my employer told her that I was out of town and that I would be back yesterday morning. Normally, my boss wouldn’t do that, but Miss Penrod explained that she was my grandmother’s next-door neighbor, and I had mentioned her name to my boss.
    “Anyway, on Friday, Miss Penrod called to ask me to look in on my grandmother, because she was leaving town Saturday for a week. I guess that’s why she wasn’t home when I knocked Saturday morning. She’d already left.”
    “Speaking of leaving town, Miss Nelson, will you be leaving on another buying trip anytime soon?”
    “Even if I was, I’d cancel it for my grandmother’s funeral, but as it turns out I won’t be leaving again for a least at week, and maybe two.”
    “Well, thanks for your time, Miss Nelson. I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Call me if you need anything or if you think of anything else.”
    “I will, Lieutenant. By the way, do you have any idea when my grandmother was poisoned, or is that confidential information?”
    “We’re still working on that, Miss Nelson. I’ll call you if I have any questions or answers.”
    “Thanks, Lieutenant.”

10
     
     
    Even though Lou and I attack each case like a hungry Doberman mauls a piece of raw steak, both of us spend some time with God before we begin each day. Each month, I pick up a devotional booklet from my church, and each morning I spend time reading a devotional and the comments that accompany it. I also take time to reflect upon it and spend a few moments in prayer before I head off to pick up Lou.
    Lou, who requires less sleep than I do, rises early and spends time in a more-involved Bible study, which includes a booklet with spaces to write answers to the questions that accompany what he reads. He too spends time in prayer before I pick him up each day. This helps both of us get through the trying times that confront us.
     
    +++
         
    Before I left the house on Sunday morning, I reached into the refrigerator and selected three Hershey bars. As far as I’m concerned, nothing else removes stress as well. I took three because I didn’t want to run out. I secured the candy bars in my coat pocket and stepped out onto my front porch, which is much smaller and sets much closer to the street level than the porches on Hilltop Place. I noticed that the sun was a little higher in the sky than when I usually leave for work, and then turned to close and lock the door.
    “Good morning, Cyrus,” said the voice that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
    The all-too-familiar voice sounded like fingernails on a chalk board. I turned to face my next-door neighbor, Heloise Humphert, and her white toy poodle, Twinkle Toes. Surely no one else has a next-door neighbor they despise as much.
    “Miss Humphert, if I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times. It’s