Trudy's Diary Read online

  Daisy stared at him for a moment. “Don’t you see? The more people who knew about the affair between Fiona and Walt, the better it is for you. Brian not only introduced Fiona and Walt, but he felt terrible about what happened between them. He begged--his own words--Fiona to stop seeing Walt.”

  “How do you know this?” Grover asked, taking a sip of wine and looking over the top of his glass at her.

  “How else? I was eavesdropping.”

  Grover stared at her, his eyes wide. “You shouldn’t have done that. What if one of them killed Fiona--and Walt--and got mad that you were listening? You could be next,” he said in a low, urgent voice.

  “Oh, please. That’s not the point. The point is that Brian felt very strongly about the affair and wanted it to stop.”

  Grover set his glass down slowly.

  “You know what else?” Daisy asked.

  “There’s more?”

  “Remember I told you I saw Fiona and Walt at the wine bar the afternoon of the retirement party? She was there to break up with him. He was so upset he called Mark John the next day and told him everything. And then Fiona was so angry about what Walt did that she called Melody and told her. Of course, Melody had seen them together, so she already knew about it.”

  “So where does that leave the whole investigation?” Grover asked.

  “The only thing we know for sure is that Fiona didn’t kill Walt. She was already dead,” Daisy said. She looked around to make sure no one was listening. She didn’t mind eavesdropping now and then, but she didn’t want to be the target of someone else doing the same thing.

  “There were a lot of people who were angry with Fiona,” Daisy said, lowering her voice even more. She started to tick names off on her fingers. “Mark John, obviously. Walt, because Fiona broke off their relationship. Melody, because she was the spurned wife. And even Brian, because he was fiercely against any romantic relationship between Fiona and Walt. Not to mention the burglars who have been in Mark John’s neighborhood recently.”

  Suddenly Daisy stopped.

  “What’s the matter? You’re turning white,” Grover said in alarm.

  “I just thought of something,” Daisy whispered. “What if Jude killed Fiona because she wanted Mark John to herself?”

  “I don’t know, Daisy,” Grover said. “Do you think she’s capable of doing something like that?”

  “I don’t know Jude very well,” Daisy conceded. “I really don’t know anything about her except that she has feelings for Mark John. Suppose she killed Fiona to get her out of the way so she could have a future with Mark John?” Daisy shivered as she thought of all the time she’d spent in the office with Jude the past week.

  “Okay, so the list of people who could have killed Fiona is long. What about Walt?” Grover asked. “We know Fiona didn’t do it. But anyone else on that list could have killed him, too. Mark John, Brian, Melody; even Jude, though I’m not sure what her motive would have been. But probably not the burglars.”

  “You’re right--probably not the burglars. And as much as I hate to say it, we have to remember that as far as the police are concerned, you’re on that list, too.”

  Chapter 15

  With that, lunch took a decidedly depressing turn.

  “Don’t remind me,” Grover said.

  “Have the police been back to ask you any questions?”

  “I had to go into the police station to give a formal statement,” Grover said.

  “Did you take a lawyer with you?”

  “No,” Grover answered, a sheepish look coming over his face.

  “Why not?” Daisy asked, putting her fork down and staring at her friend.

  “Because it makes me look guilty, don’t you think?” Grover asked.

  “No. It makes you look smart. Grover, you have to take this thing seriously.”

  “I am,” Grover said in a beseeching voice. He made a pleading gesture with his hands. “I just think that the minute I take a lawyer in with me, they’re going to think I have something to hide.”

  “I just don’t want to see you get in deeper,” Daisy said, her gaze softening. “I can’t stand the thought of you being arrested. It would ruin your career, your life, everything.”

  “I know. Believe me, I’ve thought of that,” Grover replied. He put his elbow on the table and set his chin miserably in his hand.

  “I’m sure the police are going to investigate all the links between the two victims, if they haven’t already,” Daisy said in an effort to cheer him up. “That’ll take any focus away from you, I would think.

  “And there’s something I didn’t tell you yet,” Daisy continued. “Melody was in the parking lot of the funeral home after the funeral. Just watching. She didn’t go into the funeral home, as far as I know.”

  Grover’s eyes widened. “Why do you suppose she was there?”

  Daisy shrugged. “I don’t know. Morbid curiosity, maybe. Or maybe she just wanted to assure herself that Fiona was dead.”

  “They say murderers sometimes do stuff like that--like visiting the cemetery or showing up at the funeral home or even revisiting the scene of the crime. I’ll bet she killed both of them, Daisy.”

  “You might be right,” Daisy said. They sat in silence for a couple minutes.

  “Speaking of leaving things out, there’s also something I didn’t tell you,” Grover finally said.

  Daisy didn’t like the way that sounded. “What do you talking about?” she asked, drawing her words out slowly.

  “I should have said something sooner, but Walt disagreed about the amount of the catering bill,” Grover explained.

  “Tell me that’s not true, Grover.”

  “It is true.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” Daisy asked.

  “I didn’t think it was important at first,” Grover said, shaking his head.

  “You definitely should have said something sooner. Do the police know?”

  “Yes. Brian told them.” Daisy closed her eyes and shook her head.

  “How did Brian know that Walt disputed the catering bill?”

  “I guess Brian is on that retirement committee with Walt, or was, and Walt mentioned it to him. When the police talked to Brian, apparently he told them about his conversation with Walt.”

  “Did Walt talk to you about the bill, or just Brian?”

  “He mentioned it to me.”

  Daisy closed her eyes and shook her head. “Grover, this looks bad. What did you say when he brought up the amount of the bill?”

  “I told him that was the amount I had quoted before the party and that he had an obligation to pay it.”

  “Did you have the conversation at his house?”

  “No--over the phone before I got there.”

  “And how was it resolved?”

  “I knocked three hundred dollars off the bill just to collect the money and be done with him.”

  “That’s probably not a good thing for you.” A cold worry was beginning to gnaw the inside of Daisy’s stomach.

  “Why not?”

  “Because he refused to pay the whole bill and now he’s dead.”

  “Who would kill someone over three hundred dollars?” Grover asked.

  “Don’t you read the news?” Daisy asked, exasperated. “It happens more often than you’d think.”

  Grover took a deep breath in an effort to calm himself. “Daisy, what am I going to do?”

  “If the police ask any follow-up questions about it, just tell the truth. There are enough people who could have killed Walt that hopefully they’ll be investigating other suspects. In the meantime, maybe I can find out more about...I don’t know, about anything.”

  “Okay. You’ll keep me posted?”

  “Of course. It helps that I work with Jude and Mark John, so maybe I can glean some information at the office. Mark John should be returning to work before long.”

  “I have a party tonight,” Grover said, signaling for the checks. “I’ve got to run
.”

  “Need any help?” Daisy asked.

  “This is a small one,” he said. “Tish and I can handle it.”

  “Maybe I should come along anyway, just to make sure you don’t do or say anything stupid,” Daisy said with a grin. Her attempt to lighten the mood fell flat, though.

  “You’re probably right,” Grover said with a grimace. “Maybe I should just wear a muzzle.”

  He paid his bill and gave Daisy a sad smile before leaving. Daisy knew she was going to have to work fast if she was going to clear Grover’s name.

  Chapter 16

  On Monday Daisy was relieved to see that Mark John was back in the office. She knocked on his door and he called for her to come in.

  “Hi, Mark John. How are you doing?”

  “About as well as can be expected, I guess,” he answered. “They finally let me back in my house and I just couldn’t stay alone there any longer. I had to come in to work.”

  “I don’t blame you,” Daisy replied. “I’m going to head over to the Library of Congress today to get started on the women’s history research, okay?”

  “All right,” he said tersely. “Please call in and let me know how it goes.”

  “Will do.” Daisy left his office and returned to her own, where Jude was waiting for her.

  “I heard the funeral was well-attended,” Jude said when Daisy sat down.

  “Yes. How did you hear that?”

  “Mark John called me Saturday afternoon.” So they were talking outside the office. That wouldn’t look good to investigators.

  “It’s probably a good thing you didn’t go,” Daisy said pointedly.

  Jude sighed, showing no signs of leaving.

  “Listen, I need to get to the library. We can talk about this later,” Daisy said She stood up and Jude finally left.

  She took the Metro to the Capitol South stop and when she emerged from underground it was raining. She hoisted her tote bag over her shoulder as she made her way up the long block toward the Madison Building, one of the three main buildings of the Library of Congress.

  Once inside, she went straight to the reader registration room to renew her library card, noting along the labyrinthine corridors that there were several people milling around who looked decidedly lost. She tried to help them as best she could, and was glad when it turned out some of them were looking for the reader registration room. She arrived in the large office space leading a parade of bedraggled researchers, all of whom were overwhelmed by the size and scope of the Madison Building. Since Daisy only had to renew her reader identification card, it was a quick in-and-out of the office. She smiled as she left the room, grateful that she didn’t have to sit and wait for her identification card. It wouldn’t have been a long wait, but she was eager to get started in the Main Reading Room of the Jefferson Building.

  She traversed the distance to the Jefferson Building in the underground tunnel connecting the two library buildings. Its light-colored walls, security cameras, and exposed pipes had always reminded Daisy vaguely of the tunnel leading to the S train in Times Square.

  After a walk that saved her from having to go out in the drizzling rain, Daisy arrived at the elevator to the main floor of the Jefferson Building. A quick elevator ride, another long walk through a maze of hallways, and she found herself at the information desk and coat check where she emptied her tote bag and placed all her belongings, as per Library of Congress rules, in a clear plastic bag provided by the coat check attendant. She lugged the plastic bag containing her laptop, pencils, and personal items down another twisting hallway until she found the opulent elevators that would take her to her final destination, the Main Reading Room.

  When she exited the elevator she made her way to the security station, where she had to sign in and present her reader identification card. From there she walked toward the Main Reading Room. She passed through a much smaller room filled with desks and reference librarians—she might need their help eventually, but she was excited to get to the Main Room. And when she walked under the marble arch into the soaring space, she stopped short for a moment, as she had always done, simply to gaze in awe at the magnificence around her.

  The Main Reading Room was adorned with dark red walls, marble columns, stained glass, and gleaming wood. Desks were arranged in concentric circles around the massive reference desk in the middle of the immense room. Looking skyward, Daisy admired the statues keeping watch over the room far below the domed ceilings.

  Daisy decided to sit at a desk facing the entrance of the room. That way she would be practically invisible to the people far above who could look down into the reading room via the visitors’ gallery off the main atrium of the Jefferson Building. Only researchers were allowed in the reading room, so that kept tourists who might disturb them to a minimum.

  Daisy pulled her laptop out of the plastic bag and plugged it in under the desk. She brought up the Library of Congress website. After a few carefully-worded searches, Daisy found a trove of articles paying homage to the history of American women from the days of the Jamestown settlement to the present. She spent the next several hours jotting down notes and making lists of items she would request from the reference librarians the next day. As five o’clock approached and the library staff shuffled around, clearly getting ready for the work day to end, Daisy saved her work, closed her laptop, and made her way back to the cloak room to retrieve her belongings.

  As much as she tried to focus on other things, her mind turned to the murders of Fiona and Walt as she rode the Metro to her Dupont Circle stop. A full day of work, and she had learned nothing except that Mark John and Jude had spoken after the funeral, outside the office.

  The whole thing was so confounding.

  She called Helena when she got home.

  “Want to grab dinner?” she asked.

  “Sure. Where?”

  “You choose,” Daisy said.

  “What’s the matter? Are you all right?” Helena asked.

  “I’m just going crazy at work,” Daisy said. “I’ll tell you more about it when I see you.”

  They met an hour later at a small cafe not far from Daisy’s apartment.

  “So what’s going on?” Helena asked as she slid into a booth across from Daisy. Daisy let out a long sigh and told her friend everything that had happened since the retirement party. Helena stared at Daisy, mouth agape, as Daisy told her the grisly story.

  “I can’t believe this,” she said. “Why didn’t anyone tell me? Grover is a suspect in a murder investigation and no one tells me?” Her eyes flashed.

  “He’s not technically a suspect, and don’t take it personally,” Daisy said in her best soothing voice. She wasn’t surprised at Helena’s reaction to the news--just disappointed. Rather than focusing on her friend’s plight, she seemed to be concentrating on having been left out of the loop.

  “And why shouldn’t I take it personally?” Helena demanded.

  “Because I’ve been a murder suspect, that’s why. Grover knows that. I’m probably the best person to talk to in this situation because I’ve been there and I know what he’s going through.” Daisy spoke in tight tones that she hoped would jolt Helena out of being sorry for herself.

  It worked.

  “You’re right. I’m sorry. I don’t mean to sound like a baby.”

  “That’s better. Let’s concentrate on helping Grover out of this mess, shall we?” Daisy smiled at her friend.

  Though the two women talked for over an hour while they ate dinner, they couldn’t come up with anything that might help Grover out of his predicament.

  “My money is on Walt’s wife,” Helena said.

  “Melody? It’s definitely possible,” Daisy said. “She had a good reason to kill both Fiona and Walt.”

  “It’s too bad we don’t know her,” Helena said, twirling her hair around her finger. “If we could just talk to her, we might be able to get a lot of information.”

  Helena’s musings were beginning to take
root in Daisy’s mind. There was one person she could talk to about Melody...Brian.

  “You know, you’ve given me a good idea,” Daisy said, pointing her dessert spoon at Helena.

  “Great. What was it?” Helena asked, grinning.

  “I’m going to talk to Brian. He knows everyone involved very well. His sister, Mark John, Walt, Walt’s wife, and even Jude. He sees her in the office quite often. He might know something and not even realize it. It’s odd if he doesn’t come into the office at least once a week, so I’m sure I’ll see him soon.”

  “That was a great idea I had,” Helena said. “You know, I’ve been thinking about something.”

  “What?” Daisy asked, returning her attention to a scoop of ice cream in front of her.

  “Once this is all over, I think you and Grover should start seeing each other.”

  All at once Daisy’s ice cream lost its appeal.

  “Don’t,” she said.

  “Don’t what?” Helena asked.

  “Don’t start anything,” Daisy warned. “I am not interested in a relationship right now. And certainly not with Grover. I know him too well.”

  “But that’s perfect--don’t you see?” Helena asked. Her pretty eyes twinkled. “You two were practically made for each other!”

  “No. End of discussion,” Daisy said firmly. “I’m already married. To my job. Remember?”

  Helena rolled her eyes. “Whatever you say. But you can’t stop me from thinking it’s another one of my great ideas.”

  “I’ve got to get home,” Daisy said. “And you should go home and take a long, hot bath. Get these silly ideas out of your head.”

  “Whatever you say,” Helena repeated. She was grinning.

  Chapter 17

  Daisy had been right to assume Brian would pay a visit to the offices of Global Human Rights before the week was out, but she was at the library when he arrived. She returned late that afternoon to find that he had been in to see Mark John right after school and that he hadn’t stayed long.

  Mark John was in his office when she returned from the library. She knocked on his door just as Jude opened it and came out, smiling coyly.