Brooks, Roger, and Karen were relieved now that St. Elizabeth's could return to normal. Sandy Brashiers, at the head of the envelope line, told them to pipe down.
Gretchen, Mim's cook, served drinks.
When Cynthia walked through the door, everyone cheered. Accorded center stage, she endured question after question.
"One at a time." Cynthia laughed.
"Why did he do it?" Sandy Brashiers asked.
Cynthia waited a moment, then said, "These were crimes of passion, in a sense. I don't want to offend anyone but—"
"Murder is the offense," Sandy said. "We can handle his reasons."
"Well—Roscoe was carrying on an affair with Irene Miller and Kendrick blew up."
"Roscoe? What about Maury?" Fair Haristeen, tired from a day in the operating room, sat in a chair. Enough people were folding and stuffing. He needed a break.
"Kendrick has identified the poison used. He said Maury was on to him, knew he'd killed Roscoe, and was going to prove it. He killed him to shut him up."
Harry listened with interest. She felt such relief even as she felt sorrow for Irene and Jody. Irene had had an affair. No cheers for that, but to have a husband snap and go on a killing spree had to be dreadful. No wonder Jody had beaned Maury McKinchie at the hockey game. The tension in the Miller household must have been unbearable. "Nouveau riche," Mini cried.
"I'd rather be nouveau riche than not riche at all," Fair rejoined, and since Mim adored her vet, he could get away with it.
Everyone truly laughed this time.
"How did Kendrick get such powerful poison?" Reverend Herb Jones wondered.
"The nursery and gardening business needs pesticides."
Harry noticed BoomBoom's unusual reticence. "Aren't you relieved?"
"Uh—yes," said the baffled beauty. She'd had no idea about Roscoe and Irene. Why didn't Maury tell her? He'd relished sexual tidbits.
Sandy Brashiers put his hands on his hips. "This still doesn't get April Shively off the hook. After all, she is withholding papers relevant to school operation."
"Maybe she will come forward now," Little Mim hoped out loud.
"How do you know for sure it was Mr. Miller?" Karen said to everyone's amazement.
Cynthia answered, "A detailed confession is about as close to a lock as you can get."
"Why'd he tell?" Harry wondered aloud.
Cynthia winked at her. "Couldn't live with the guilt. Said he confessed to Father Michael first, and over time realized he had to give himself up."
"Well, it's over. Let's praise the Lord for our deliverance," Miranda instructed them.
"Amen," Herb agreed and the others joined in.
"You know, I keep thinking about Irene and Jody sitting home alone. They must be wretched. We should extend our sympathy." Miranda folded her hands as if in prayer.
Everyone looked at Mrs. Hogendobber, thought for a moment, and then agreed that she had a point. It might not be fun to go over to the Millers', but it was the right thing to do.
After the work party, Harry, Fair, Big Mim, Little Mim, Herb Jones, Miranda, and Susan Tucker drove over. The kids piled into Roger's old car. Father Michael had been with the family since Ken-drick gave himself up late that afternoon. It was the priest who answered the door. Surprised to see so many people, he asked Irene if she would be willing to see her neighbors. She burst into tears and nodded "yes."
The first person Irene greeted was Big Mim, who after the formalities offered them a sojourn in one of her farm dependencies if they should need privacy from the press.
Irene thanked her and began crying again.
Miranda put her arm around her. "There, there, Irene. This is too strange to contemplate. You must be feeling confused and terrible."
"Bizarre," Jody said forthrightly. "I can't believe he lost it like that."
Irene, not ready to give up on her husband, sputtered, "He's no murderer!"
"He confessed," Jody said flatly.
"We're your friends, no matter what." Softhearted Roger couldn't bear to see Jody's mother cry.
"Mom, I want to go back to school. I know this won't go away, but something in our lives has to be normal."
"Jody, that only puts more pressure on you." Irene worried about the reaction of the other students.
"Hey, I'm not responsible for Dad. I need my friends."
"We'll see."
"Mom, I'm going."
"We'll watch over her," Karen volunteered.
As this issue was hashed out, Father Michael and Herb Jones huddled in a corner. Father Michael, secure in the company of another cleric, whispered to him that he was tremendously relieved that Kendrick was behind bars. After all, he himself was likely to be the next victim.
"Bragging?"
"Not exactly. The first confession was straightforward. The second one, he said he liked killing. He liked the power. I can't say I ever recognized his voice."
"Was there a sense of vindication?" Herb inclined his head close to Father Michael's.
"I couldn't say."
"A touch dramatic."
"The entire episode was certainly that."
Later that evening Harry told Mrs. Murphy, Tucker, and Pewter all that had transpired at Big Mim's and then over at Irene Miller's. Angry though they were at not being included, they listened as she babbled while doing her chores.
"They're so far away from the truth it hurts," Tucker said and Pewter agreed, since Mrs. Murphy had briefed them on what she felt was truly going on.
"It's going to hurt a whole lot more." Mrs. Murphy stared out the window into the black night. Try as she might, she couldn't think of what to do.
64
Typical of central Virginia in late November, a rush of warm wind rolled up from the Gulf of Mexico. Temperatures soared into the low sixties.
Students were now back at St. Elizabeth's, thanks to Kendrick's midnight confession.
Harry and Miranda shoveled through the landslide of mail.
Jody Miller and Karen Jensen pulled in front of Market Shiflett's store.
"Things are finally settling down." Miranda watched the girls, smiling, enter the grocery store.
"Thank God." Harry tossed a catalog into the Tucker post box. "Now if my truck would just get fixed! I'm getting spoiled driving Blair's Dually and I don't want to wear out my welcome."
"Think of all the string and rubber bands they have to remove," Pewter quipped sarcastically. "What are Jody and Karen doing out of school?"
"Hookey," Tucker thought out loud.
Mrs. Murphy said, "There's a big field hockey game after school today, and a huge football game Friday. Maybe their coach got them out of class."
"Wish we'd get out of work early." Pewter rubbed the plastic comb Harry had just installed on the corner of the post boxes. It was advertised as a cat-grooming aid.
" 'Course St. E's won't be worth squat—they lost too much practice time, but Crozet High ought to have a good game." The tiger enjoyed sports.
"St. E's practiced," Tucker said. "Of course, how well they practiced with all the uproar is anyone's guess."
Jody and Karen came out of the store, placed a big carton in the back of Karen's old car, and drove off.
Susan zoomed into the post office through the backdoor. "Good news!"
"What?" came the animal and human chorus.
"Sean Hallahan has regained consciousness." She beamed. "He's not out of the woods yet, but he knows his name, where he is, he recognizes his parents. He's still in intensive care. Still no visitors."
"That's great news." Harry smiled.
"Once he's really clear, off some of the painkillers, he'll have other pains to deal with . . . still, isn't it wonderful?"
65
The deep golden rays of the late afternoon sun slanted over the manicured field hockey pitch. The high winds and snow of the previous week had stripped the trees of their leaves, but the mild temperature balanced the starkness of early winter.