A couple of reporters tried to get my attention, probably because of Diesel. I knew cameras were busy snapping shots of us as we hurried up the walk toward the front door of the chapel. One reporter with a microphone and a cameraman tried to step around the cordon the police had placed, but a campus officer quickly stepped in and forced her back behind the barrier. Diesel and I scooted into the chapel. I hoped we could avoid them again after the service.
I paused at the entrance to the sanctuary, trying to find Julia and Justin in the crowd. There were very few open seats, and the sanctuary could easily hold three hundred people. I spotted Melba Gilley and Peter Vanderkeller near the front. Willie Clark was here too, in the back row to my left. Jordan Thompson sat nearby, two rows in front of Willie. Standing in the back to my right was Kanesha Berry, dressed in a black skirt and jacket instead of her usual uniform. She saw me and acknowledged me with a brief nod.
I scanned the crowd again and finally picked out Julia and Justin about halfway down on the right in the middle of a pew. There was an empty space next to Justin, and I led Diesel toward it.
I mumbled, “Excuse me,” several times as Diesel and I made our way to the middle of the pew. One woman hissed, “Well, I never.” A vaguely familiar man with her told her to hush. “That’s the cat I told you about,” I heard him tell her in an undertone.
I flashed him a quick smile, and then I reached the empty space. I sat, and Diesel moved between Justin’s legs and stared up at him.
“Thank you,” Justin whispered to me. He bent forward and began to rub Diesel’s head. I just hoped the cat wouldn’t purr too loudly and annoy the people sitting around us.
Julia glanced down and shook her head, but smiled. She had her arm around her son’s shoulders.
The organist began playing. The service had started.
The choir sang two hymns, and the chaplain spoke briefly about Godfrey’s accomplishments and lamented a life cut short by violence. The president also spoke and said a few words about Godfrey’s generosity to the school over the years. Godfrey had always given money on condition of anonymity, and that surprised me. He always seemed to want to be the center of attention. Knowing this made me think slightly better of him.
The president introduced Godfrey’s agent, a petite blonde named Andrea Ferris, who said a few words about the effect of his death on his millions of fans around the world. She herself didn’t seem all that grief stricken, however. Perhaps she was simply putting up a brave front. The president stepped back in front of the microphone to invite everyone to move into the chapel meeting room for a reception in the dear departed’s memory.
Then it was over. It was mercifully brief, but the whole time I had been aware of the tension coming from mother and son beside me. There had been no mention of Godfrey’s recently discovered son during the service, and I imagined that both Julia and Justin were greatly relieved. The last thing they wanted right now was that kind of attention, especially with the media waiting right outside.
I remained seated with mother, son, and cat while the pews around us slowly emptied. Julia was making no move to leave, and I wondered if she planned to go home now and skip the reception.
“Are you leaving now?” I asked when most of the people around us were gone.
“No,” Julia said. “We should put in an appearance at the reception. And I want to have a word with Godfrey’s agent.”
“So do I,” I said, smiling briefly. “Shall we?” I stood.
I exited the pew, leading Diesel on his leash, and Justin and Julia followed me through the sanctuary to the meeting room behind.
Not everyone who attended the service stayed for the reception. There were only about a hundred or so people in the room, and I was thankful for that. I tended to be a bit claustrophobic when a large number of people occupied a small space, and this room wasn’t really designed to hold as many people as the sanctuary.
Mindful of my lack of lunch today, I followed Julia and Justin as they joined the line of people at the buffet table. From my place in line I could see some of the food. It appeared to be mostly cocktail party-type snacks. Not ideal, but enough. I could easily fill up on cheese and crackers and fruit. There were also deviled eggs, a staple of this kind of gathering—at least in Mississippi. I would have to watch Diesel, though, in case he decided he wanted to investigate the food. When he stood on his hind legs, he was tall enough to reach out and scoop something from the table.
We made it through the line without incident, and along with Julia and Justin I found a place to stand against the wall. While the two of them nibbled at the few things on their plates, I had to restrain myself from gobbling it down. I was hungrier than I realized.
I was chewing my last bit of cheese and cracker when Kanesha Berry approached us.
“Good afternoon.” Her voice was low, her demeanor wary.
I returned her greeting, echoed by Julia and Justin. Diesel chirped at her, and she glanced down for a moment. I could almost swear I spotted a brief smile, but when she looked up, her expression was blandly official.
“Julia has something she needs to tell you,” I said, eager to the point of rudeness. Now that the solution to the murder was so close, I really wanted to see things happen. Once Willie was arrested—for at this point I had no doubt he, as X, had the best motive for murder, and according to Julia he also had opportunity—we would all rest much easier.
Kanesha turned to Julia with an expectant look.
Julia frowned slightly. “I’m not sure this is the place,” she said.
Justin surprised us all by interrupting. “Mr. Charlie, would you mind if I took Diesel for a walk?” He had a slightly desperate look, and I wondered whether the occasion was proving too much for him.
I handed over the leash. “Sure, but why don’t you just go into the sanctuary? It should be pretty quiet in there, and I don’t think going outside right now is a good idea.”
“Yes, sir,” Justin said. “Come on, Diesel.”
I watched boy and cat make their way through the crowd. Poor kid. So much had happened to him so quickly. No wonder he wanted to find a quiet place.
“You have something to tell me?” Kanesha spoke firmly to Julia.
“I suppose so,” Julia replied with a sidelong glance at me. “During a chat with Charlie before the service, I recalled something that happened when I went to the hotel to see Godfrey.”
“I see. What was that?” Kanesha shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
“It was talking about the writers’ group that brought it back to mind,” Julia said. “I remembered that, when I was leaving the hotel that day, I saw someone in the revolving door, entering as I was going out.” She paused for a moment. “It was Willie Clark. Charlie seems to think that’s significant for some reason.”
“How so?” Kanesha could have been discussing today’s weather, I thought. She didn’t seem particularly interested in Julia’s revelation.
I thought I could get her interested, however. I said, “Willie is X.”
THIRTY
Kanesha flashed me a warning look, her head moving ever so slightly in Julia’s direction.
“X? What does that mean?” Julia frowned at me. “Are you telling me that Willie murdered Godfrey?”
I was relieved that she kept her voice down, otherwise the people nearby would have heard it all.
“I really cannot discuss that with you, Mrs. Wardlaw. Do not repeat this conversation to anyone.”
Julia nodded. “Certainly I won’t.”
Kanesha was clearly annoyed with me for speaking in front of Julia. She took my arm and started leading me away. “I need to speak to Mr. Harris alone.”