Free Body in the Woods (A Reverend Annabelle Dixon Cozy Mystery Book 3) by Alison Golden, Jamie Vougeot

Miss Montgomery, that it would be a good idea to assist the police in their investigation into your sister’s disappearance.”
    The close attention Miss Montgomery had been paying to securing the vegetables in her bag was suddenly replaced with a look of astonishment that she shot toward the Vicar. Annabelle held her gaze, waiting for Louisa to take the next step.
    After looking up and down the road and swallowing, Louisa gestured for Annabelle to walk up the path to her house.
    “Please come in, Reverend.”
    Annabelle duly obliged.
    Louisa unlocked her door and stepped inside. She was shaking as Annabelle followed her. As soon as Annabelle had passed into the hallway, Louisa quickly shut the door and addressed her visitor.
    “How do you know? The Inspector insisted that nobody knew about this.”
    “Actually, it seems like most people in the village are aware of the new developments in your sister’s case – more so than me. As for the body found in the woods, I witnessed the scene myself last night.”
    “It can’t be my sister,” Louisa said, as if to herself.
    Annabelle hung her head solemnly.
    “The body was… It’s been there for a long time.”
    “That doesn’t mean anything.”
    “Maybe we should sit down and talk about this.”
    “What is there to talk about?!” Louisa cried, desperation suddenly sparking fiercely in her eyes. “My sister is gone! That’s it! Talking won’t bring her back!”
    Louisa grabbed her bag in frustration and marched into her kitchen, where she angrily began unpacking her groceries. Annabelle turned to the door, then back to the kitchen, wondering what she should do. The teacher seemed entirely unable to discuss anything right now, let alone the matter of her sister’s death, but Annabelle was certain that such an opportunity would not present itself again. Slowly, she inched forward into the kitchen, where she saw Miss Montgomery grabbing and stacking groceries with alarming fury.
    She watched for a few moments, searching her mind for words that would both calm the angry woman and encourage her to reveal something pertinent. Sensing her presence, Louisa spun around to face Annabelle, a bunch of carrots in her hand, clutched as forcefully as a weapon.
    “There is simply no use in digging up the past. What’s done is done. I don’t see why it’s anybody’s business but my own.”
    “I understand,” Annabelle said sympathetically, stepping forward. “But there will be a police investigation. They will most likely reopen the case now they have new evidence.”
    “If they could have found out who did it, they would have found out back then!” Louisa said in a pleading voice. “This will achieve nothing!”
    “But don’t you want to know who did this?”
    Louisa seemed to crumble, falling into a chair like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
    “I don’t care who did it,” she said, mournfully, “I just don’t want to deal with all the gossip again. The half-truths, the wild stories, the speculation. About my sister. About me. About Daniel.”
    “Daniel?” Annabelle said, quickly.
    “Her boyfriend,” Louisa said, softly, before adding, “at the time.”
    Annabelle mused over the name for a few seconds.
    “Was he suspected of having something to do with her disappearance?”
    Louisa closed her eyes and nodded slowly.
    “What happened to him?”
    Louisa – her eyes still closed – merely shrugged.
    Taking note of Louisa’s growing reluctance to talk about Daniel, Annabelle decided to change tack.
    “You had a boyfriend at the time too, didn’t you?”
    Louisa looked at Annabelle, her eyes hardening. “I did.”
    “Wh… What happened?” Annabelle asked, as gently as she could, hoping that Louisa would not have another outburst.
    Instead, Louisa snorted derisively.
    “We got married. And then we got divorced.”
    “Why?” asked Annabelle again, feeling she were pushing her luck somewhat.
    She watched Louisa stare into the distance, silent and