“You’ve got it,” Gussie said, as she moved quickly around her kitchen, clearly proud to be able to find everything exactly where it should be. “In fact, that sounds good to me, too. What about you, Diana? You’re twenty-one.”
“No, thanks. Plain tea for me, please. Jim said I’d better stay absolutely sober and rested in case Chief Irons decides he wants to ask me more questions.” Her eyes were still swollen, and her voice was strained.
“You’ve been to the police station?” Maggie asked, sitting down on a couch from Gussie’s former home that had now found a place near the fireplace.
“Yes. But Jim wouldn’t let me answer any questions. It was frustrating. I don’t have anything to hide! I had to sit there and keep my mouth closed.”
“What did Chief Irons ask you about?”
“Everything. Whether Dad and I had gotten along well, and when I’d found out he was still alive, and about the case my dad was supposed to testify about in Colorado. Why I’d come to Winslow, and how long I’d known Cordelia. Why she’d given me a gun.”
“Did Cordelia have a gun herself?”
Diana nodded. “I saw them in her room. She told me every woman living alone should have a gun.”
Maggie frowned. “Them? How many guns did she have?”
“I didn’t see exactly how many. They were under her bed, where she kept her doll supplies.” Diana looked embarrassed. “I shouldn’t have been in there. I knew she didn’t like her things disturbed. But I was curious. So one day when I knew she was out walking I went in and looked. She caught me. She was really angry.”
“And you asked her about the guns.”
Diana nodded. “I pointed at them and raised my shoulders, the way you do when you’re confused.”
“What did she do?”
“She took me by the arm and dragged me out of there and slammed the door. Then, later, she wrote me a note on her computer. She did that when she wanted to be sure I understood something. She said she had lived alone a long time and sometimes she got scared. She had the guns for protection. I told her I understood. Then a couple of days ago she told me she’d thought about it, and I should have a gun for protection, too. She gave me that little gun and told me to keep it with me, in my bedroom, and in my backpack. She showed me how it worked, and had me fire it a couple of times, out into the ocean when no one was around, so I’d know what it felt like. That’s all.”
Her fingerprints would be on the gun, and it had been fired recently, Maggie thought. But was it the same kind of gun that killed Cordelia?
“Did Cordelia ever say why you should be afraid?”
Diana shook her head. “She said life was unpredictable and unfair, and women had to take care of themselves.”
“Did you tell Jim all that?” said Maggie.
“Most of it,” said Diana. “But he didn’t want me to tell the police. He said we should wait and see what the forensic test results said first.”
“Then that’s what you should do,” said Maggie. “Can you think of anyone who would be angry with Cordelia?”
Diana shook her head. “She didn’t talk with many people. I mean, you know, see many people. She did business on eBay. She was frustrated sometimes that she couldn’t make herself understood.”
“Did she have any special friends in town that you knew of?”
Diana shook her head slowly. “People came after Dad died, like you and Gussie did. They brought food, or flowers. Before that, Chief Irons’s wife came over once. I’d been out on the beach. I came back and found her upstairs in Dad’s room. She said she was looking for Cordelia, and came in because she knew Cordelia couldn’t hear her knocking. I thought that was weird because everyone who visits knows about the light system. Anyway, she left as soon as I got there. She didn’t wait for Cordelia.”
“Did you tell Cordelia she’d been there?”
Diana nodded. “Cordelia was really mad. She said we had to remember to lock the doors when we went out so no animals would get in.” Diana smiled. “I remember because I thought that was funny. And Rocky Costa, the man who works at the Lazy Lobster, he called Cordelia sometimes. She got text messages a couple of times, but she grabbed her phone fast and gave me one of her looks. Like I shouldn’t touch it. But I saw the messages were from him. Once I saw him out on the beach with her. He was signing, like you do. But I don’t remember anyone else. People left food or flowers. They didn’t stay. I think they felt uncomfortable because Cordelia couldn’t hear them.”
“You may be right,” said Maggie. “Do you think Mrs. Irons was looking for something in your dad’s room?”
“There wasn’t anything to find. I looked through everything when he didn’t come home. I kept thinking I’d find a clue to where he’d gone. Or why he’d left. But there were just clothes. It was as though he used his room like a hotel room.” Diana looked up. “I kind of hoped he’d kept a picture of me, or my mother. Something to remember his old life. But there was nothing. So if Mrs. Irons was looking for something, I don’t know what it was.”
Or, thought Maggie, whatever it was had already disappeared.
“Time for those beers you owe us, Jim!” Andy and the others came in, flexing their muscles. “You’re safe from the storm now, Gussie, and this man of yours promised us beer as a reward.”
“It’s in the refrigerator, right over there.” Gussie pointed. “Help yourselves. There are chips on the counter. Sorry we’re not equipped to offer you more sustenance right now. Another week or so and we’ll be totally organized.”
“That’s my optimistic bride,” said Jim, giving her a kiss. “One week until we have all our cartons unpacked, the kitchen cabinets full, and life totally organized? Nice thought, my love. You hang on to that.”
Gussie asked him quietly, “Is Ike going to let Diana go back to her house tonight?”
Jim shook his head. “It’s a crime scene, and going to be that way for a while, I suspect, with storm preparation taking up police resources. I think he was tempted to find some reason to arrest her—at minimum, she didn’t have a license to carry the gun she had—but I convinced him I’d keep an eye on her.”
“Which means?” Gussie arched her eyebrows.
“Is it okay if she stays here tonight? I’d have to stay, too. It wouldn’t look good if only she and I stayed at my house, and I don’t feel comfortable with a murder suspect, even one we believe is innocent, staying here alone with you. Plus, I promised to keep her close.”
Gussie looked at him.
“I know, I know. This isn’t what we planned.”
Gussie nodded. “But she’s alone, and she needs us. Understood. It’s all right. She’s welcome. But there’s nothing set up in the guest bedroom right now. You get the guys to put the bed together. I’ll take care of the rest.”
Jim reached down and squeezed her shoulder. “Love you. Forty-eight hours to go before we prove it to the world.”
“And, Jim. One more thing. I don’t care where she is tonight. But promise me she’s gone before our wedding night,” Gussie said.
“Promise,” said Jim. “Don’t you worry about that!”
“Diana,” said Gussie, calling her over. “Jim says you can’t go back to your house tonight. We’d love to have you stay here with us, in our guest room.”
“But you’ve got so much to do for the wedding. And that room isn’t set up,” said Diana.
“A mere detail,” said Jim. “It won’t take long to set up a bed.”
“You and Maggie packed the sheets and blankets. See if you can dig some out of the cartons; they have to be unpacked some time anyway. That room has its own bathroom, so you’ll have some privacy,” Gussie pointed out.
“Thank you,” said Diana. “I’d much rather stay here than go back to that house by myself anyway. At least tonight.”
“Then that’s settled,” said Jim. “Don’t drink too much of that beer, guys. We have one more chore to take care of. Diana here needs a bed put together.”
“I’ll find you a T-shirt and sweats to sleep in,” said Gussie. “Come on, Maggie. Let’s get Diana organized before we all collapse after this day. Tomorrow night is the bachelorette party, you know!”