Free Dead By Midnight by Carolyn Hart Page B

proof”—he emphasized the noun—“that a visitor came or that the mug without fingerprints has anything to do with the night Merridew died. Or that she was murdered.”
    Annie thought that battle had been won. She spoke sharply, “Nothing else makes any sense.”
    “I’m talking about proof. As for linking the people in the Jamison house to the Merridew death, that’s what I call imaginative reconstruction, like they do in political books these days. Of course, those writers claim to have deep background, they just don’t ever cite a source. You don’t have a source, deep or not.” He took a deep breath. “But thanks, Annie, I’ll add this information to the file.”
    H enny Brawley traced the red letters on her coffee mug: Murderer’s Mistake by E.C.R. Lorac. Her fine dark eyes were troubled. “After we caught the mug without fingerprints, thanks to you”—she gave a nod to Annie—“I thought we’d easily discover a motive. I haven’t had any luck. I’ve checked with everyone who knew Pat well. All of them tell the same story. She was upset about losing her job, mad as a hornet at Glen and Cleo, happy she’d found a job here”—Henny spread her hand to include the coffee area of Death on Demand—“but no one could suggest any reason anyone would want Pat dead. Not money”—she ticked off possibilities one by one—“not love, not hate, not revenge, not jealousy, not despair.”
    “Fear.” Annie was emphatic. “Pat knew something or threatened to do something that endangered the murderer. The murderer came to Pat’s house prepared to kill. That means a threat was made in advance.”
    “So”—Henny’s smile was wry—“maybe the motive is money, after all. I had lunch with Pat after she was fired and she was worried about having enough income to keep going. She didn’t want to touch her savings. She said that would be the last resort. That’s why I helped her get in touch with you. So I know she was concerned about money. Yet I discovered she was planning a cruise to Alaska. Kathy Kilgore—”
    Annie knew the travel agent. Travel More with Kilgore had planned several trips for Annie and Max.
    “—said Pat came in on Friday—”
    Annie’s eyes widened. Pat went to the travel agency the day she died.
    “—and picked up a bunch of brochures. If Billy’s still thinking Pat committed suicide, Kathy can certainly say that Pat was excited about planning her trip.”
    “Let’s call Billy and tell him,” Annie suggested. She swiveled to retrieve the portable phone. She clicked speaker and handed the receiver to Henny. “You do the honors. You talked to Kathy, plus he may be a little tired of hearing from me.”
    Henny called and Mavis Cameron answered. Henny asked for the chief.
    “Just a moment.”
    “Chief Cameron.” His deep voice was pleasant.
    “Henny Brawley. Billy, I have more evidence that Pat Merridew wasn’t suicidal.”
    He listened as Henny reported Pat’s interest in an Alaska cruise. “Yeah. It could indicate she was upbeat, looking forward to travel. It could also suggest she was trying to find something to dispel depression. We’ll never know.”
    Henny was emphatic. “Pat didn’t have the money to make that kind of trip. The fact that she planned the trip means money was available from some source. She told Kathy she’d be in this week to make the reservations. Where did she plan to get the money? If she was murdered, as I firmly believe, there had to be a compelling motive. We haven’t found anyone here who profited from her death. We haven’t found any apparent enemies. What does that leave? Maybe Pat made a big mistake. Maybe she knew something that threatened someone and she attempted blackmail.”
    Billy said calmly, “Maybe she was dreaming. People can plan trips and know they’ll never take them. Maybe picking up those brochures and knowing she couldn’t afford to go tipped her over to suicide. That seems more likely than the idea she