Chapter 5

Grace drove Molly back to her apartment to pick up the few things she would need for the next couple of days.

Molly led Grace up the two flights of stairs to her apartment door and used her key to let herself in.

Molly's roommates, Samantha and Vickie, were both at home when Molly and Grace walked into the apartment.

Vickie looked stunned; her mouth popped open, and her eyes widened. "What are you doing here?"

Molly frowned at her. "I live here."

"Not anymore you don't." Samantha cried. "We don't have killers living in our apartment. I'm calling the police." She grabbed her phone and dialed.

"I'm not a killer!" Molly cried. Her hands curled into tight fists at her side, and Grace could see her trembling.

"That's not what everyone is saying." Vickie wrapped her arms around herselfas if for protection and took several steps away from Molly. "They said your boyfriend was found dead in the hay maze. The two of you were in on it. You killed him!"

Molly shook her head. " Ex- boyfriend, and I didn't kill him. Neither did Grace. We just found the body, that's all."

"Well, I heard from Ginny Windom that you killed him and cut him up into little pieces so you could bag him and get him out of the maze, but the police came before you could do it." Samantha said.

Vickie talked rapidly into her phone. "Yes, they're both here. They just burst into our apartment! You have to send someone right away."

"I didn't burst into anywhere." Molly cried. "I used my key to let myself in, for God's sake. And Ginny Windom is a nutcase who thinks it's still the eighties, and that her cats are telepathic."

"That's what you think. She invested with your boyfriend, she says, through Albert Herves' investment firm, and your boyfriend lost all her money. She says you have it and she wants it back!"

"I don't have anyone's money. I broke up with Jeremy Prada a year ago, before any of that Ponzi crap happened. If anyone lost money, then it's Jeremy's and maybe Herves' fault."

"Yeah, well, the police are on the way. They're going to arrest the two of you for murder." Vickie spat. She slipped behind the dining room table, putting more space between herself and Molly and Grace.

"You two are crazy! We didn't kill anybody." Molly cried. Her voice quavered, and Grace knew she was near tears.

"They don't know what they're talking about. Let's just get your stuff and get out of here," Grace said.

"Oh, no. You're not taking anything, and you're not going anywhere!" Vickie cried. "I just said the police are on the way."

Grace felt anger gurgle up in a noxious bubble. "You have no right to hold her things or us, hostage."

Outside, sirens could be heard.

"See? They're here." Vickie sounded triumphant. "You're not getting away this time!"

"What are you talking about? We didn't ‘get away' before either." Grace said.

"You can both just shut up until the police get up here." Samantha hurried into the kitchen and grabbed a knife from the block on the counter. She stood behind the dining room table with Vickie and brandished it. "We're armed now. You need to back up."

"You're both out of your minds!" Molly yelled. Molly's phone chose that moment to jangle, but she sent it to voicemail.

There was a banging at the door. "Summit Springs Sheriff's Department!"

"Come in!" Vickie and Samantha screamed together.

Two officers stepped inside the apartment. Both had their hands on the butts of their weapons but hadn't drawn them.

"DeputyTom Padgett. This is Deputy Britney Aldridge. What's going on here? We got a report of a break-in. You! Put the knife down!"

"These two women are the murderers you've been looking for." Vickie said, pointing her finger at Molly and Grace.

Officer Padgett blinked. "Looking for? Murderers? Ladies, are you talking about the body we found at the maze? These two women reported the body. Yes, they're persons of interest, but only until we check out their alibis. They aren't under arrest. Put the knife down now ." He turned to Molly and Grace. "What are you two doing here?"

"I live here. Or I used to. Seems like I'm unwelcome now. I just wanted to get my things," Molly retorted. "We didn't break in, either. I have my key."

Deputy Aldridge was quiet until then. "Maybe we should bring them in. Sheriff Maverick is very interested in the two of them."

Deputy Padgett shook his head. "They are not suspects, just persons of interest. Unless we find evidence that they're connected to the murder, they are free. All we ask is that they don't leave town." He turned to Vickie and Samantha. "And you two should stop listening to rumors and making snap judgments. It could end up getting you in trouble."

He turned to Grace and Molly. "Go ahead and get your things. We'll wait here for you to make sure there are no more misunderstandings."

"Thank you, Officer," Molly mumbled. She was still shaking with what Grace assumed was anger. Molly stalked into one of the back bedrooms and could be heard banging around, slamming drawers and closet doors, and soon returned with a duffle bag and a small valise. "This is it. Everything I own."

"How do we know she didn't take something that belongs to us?" Vickie asked, scowling at Molly.

"How many of your possessions do you usually keep in your roommate's room?" Deputy Padgett asked. "What specifically?"

"Well, um…" Vickie stuttered.

"I mean there are things…:" Samantha put in.

"What things?" Padgett asked.

"Just…things," Samantha mumbled.

Padgett turned to Molly. "Are you sure you have everything? By law, you are still a resident of this apartment, but I would suggest," he cast a side eye at Samantha and Vickie, "because of the animosity here, that you do not return without an escort. I would also suggest you contact the landlord to be taken off the lease."

He pointed at Samantha and Vickie. "And you two don't get to decide who is guilty and who is innocent unless you are officially on a jury. Don't spread malicious rumors. It'll only come back to bite you."

"Thank you, Officer," Molly said. She was clearly shaken, and angry, and Grace didn't blame her one bit. Grace was shaken and angry on her behalf.

"Let's go, Molly." Grace took the valise from Molly's hand. "We've stayed in this cesspit long enough."

***

They drove back to Zoe and Emily's house. Molly was tense and angry, frustrated and clearly frightened. "What am I going to do? It's not like I can afford to get another apartment without roommates." She gasped and then turned pale. "What if I lose my job? Rumors are already flying. What will I do if I get fired?"

"Don't worry about things that haven't happened yet. And if you do get fired, don't worry. Emily and Zoe won't mind if you stay with me until you get on your feet again." Grace patted Molly on the leg.

Grace smiled, and it was the first time she'd felt like smiling since they'd been questioned by the police. "Something good came out of all this, you know."

"What's that? I can't imagine anything good coming out of that train wreck."

"We learned that Ginny Windom lost money in investments she made with Albert Herves and Jeremy. Losing your life savings could be a motive for murder, couldn't it? I'm not saying she did it, but I am saying we now have two "people of interest" of our own that we can talk to."

They pulled up in front of the Victorian owned by Zoe and Emily and parked in the spacious driveway.

They knocked, not having a key, and were let in by Zoe. She looked worried.

Grace caught on quickly. "What's happened now?" she asked as they stepped into the house.

"There was a phone call for Molly." Zoe sighed and threaded her fingers into her hair. "It came on my phone. I don't know what they wanted, but it was one of the managers from the Whitewater. They asked if you were staying here, and said they want you to call them back as soon as possible. The number is written on a pad on the desk."

"I got a phone call while we were at the apartment. I didn't even look to see who it was — I just sent it to voicemail." Molly took out her phone and looked at the recent call log. "It was the Whitewater."

Grace frowned. "How did they know she was staying here? I swear, small towns are conduits for gossip and rumors."

Meanwhile, Molly was listening to her voicemail. She thumbed the end button. "They just said they need to speak to me as soon as possible. I'm getting fired, I just know it!"

"Don't freak out. They're really nice people, according to Zoe and Emily. We talked about this. Just call them back and get it over with," Grace urged. She patted Molly on the arm. "It's going to be okay."

Molly nodded and phoned the Whitewater. "Hello? Hey, it's Molly. Somebody called and…okay. Yeah, I'll hold." She rolled her eyes to the ceiling, obviously thinking she knew what was coming. "Hello? Yes, I. I'm not… Yes. Yes. Okay. Sure. Thank you so much." She sighed and looked at the phone in her hand. "They were really nice about all this. They told me to take a few days off until everything gets sorted out, and they didn't want me to have to worry about getting mobbed by curiosity-seekers at work."

Grace put her arms around Molly and hugged her. "That's great. It's going to be okay, Molly. You still have your job, and I'll help you find an apartment. Your life will be back on track before you know it. Now, let's get your stuff upstairs, then figure out what we want for dinner. I'm starving."

Molly looked a little gray but offered up a wobbly smile. "Okay." She turned to Zoe and Emily. "Thanks again for letting me stay. I really, really appreciate it, and I'm grateful some people in town believe me."

Emily and Zoe both came forward for a hug. "Of course, we believe you. You're very sweet, and we don't think you'd hurt a fly, let alone kill somebody!"

Zoe looked at Grace. "Are you going to hire an attorney?"

"If it comes down to that. Right now, we're just ‘persons of interest.' If I think things are going south for us, I'll hire the best in the state." Grace turned and urged Molly upstairs. "Let's go and try to be quiet. We don't want to wake the baby."

"Oh, don't worry about that. Lily can sleep through a stampede." Zoe smiled at them.

Nonetheless, they crept up the stairs and once in their room, kept their voices down to whispers.

"Okay, this is what's going to happen," Grace said. "We're going to get dinner, then we're going to get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow, we find Ginny Windom and figure out what she has to do with all of this."

"Do you think that's wise?" Molly asked. "Maybe we should just let the cops do their thing."

"Like I said before, they're focusing on us. The real murderer might get away while they're trying to tie us to the murder." Grace said. "Look at what's happened already. You lost your apartment and your job in one day because of rumors. We need to find out who did it and clear us."

Molly nodded. "Okay then. Let's go."