Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

I couldn’t get my conversation with Owen out of my head. I’d been thinking about it all last night and this morning. I’d asked him if he knew the man with whom he suspected Claire was having an affair. He did not. I followed that question up with another, asking how he knew she’d cheated. He admitted he didn’t know, not for certain. He had suspicions, but he was sure his suspicions were right.

My first stop of the day was the local elementary school where Claire had worked. I arrived during their lunch break, hoping to chat with a few of the teachers. As I walked down the hall, I peered into classrooms, noting the posters and decorations on the walls. It brought me back to my childhood and memories of my youth.

I rounded the corner and found the break room. As I walked in, several people glanced in my direction, no doubt wondering who I was and why I was there.

A twentysomething woman, wearing a red turtleneck and black slacks, pulled her eyeglasses down past the bridge of her nose and smiled at me. “Are you new here? Or are you lost?”

“Not new, and I’m not lost, no. My name is Georgiana Germaine, and I am a private detective. I’ve been hired to investigate Claire Cooperson’s murder.”

There were gasps all around.

“I thought her husband did it,” Red Turtleneck said. “That’s what we all heard. He’s been arrested for her murder, hasn’t he?”

“The fact he was arrested doesn’t mean he killed her. It means he’s been suspected of killing her. That’s where I come in. Were any of you friends with Claire?”

Red Turtleneck looked around, giving others the chance to speak. When no one did, she said, “I never saw Claire outside of work, but yeah, I considered her a friend. I’m Holly, by the way.”

“And I’m Colin,” one of the men said.

I focused on the others, those who hadn’t said anything yet. “And the rest of you?”

Using his pointer finger, Colin made the introductions. “This is Ann, Bruce, and Teresa.”

Bruce and Teresa smiled and made eye contact.

Ann did not, making her my primary focus.

“Ann, did you know Claire well?” I asked.

“I … we … Claire was … The thing is we …”

She burst into tears, speedwalking out of the break room, the door slamming shut behind her.

I looked at the others. “Is she all right?”

Holly swished a hand through the air. “She’ll be fine. She’s just a bit tender about the whole thing. We all are.”

“Holly’s right,” Colin said. “Ever since Claire died, we’ve been thinking of a way to honor her. Claire always had a soft spot for animals, so we held a potluck dinner a few nights ago here at the school. We donated the money we made to the local animal shelter.”

“Did Claire have any pets of her own?”

“She didn’t,” Colin said. “Something about her husband being allergic.”

“Did Claire talk much about her personal life to any of you?”

“Like what?”

“I guess what I’m wondering is if any of you knew Claire and Owen were having marital problems.”

There were surprised looks all around, and in unison, they all shook their heads.

“If they were having marital issues, Claire was tightlipped about it,” Holly said. “She never said much about her personal life.”

“What kind of problems were they having, if you don’t mind me asking?” Colin said.

I didn’t.

“Owen was planning to file for divorce,” I said.

“Oh, wow. I don’t think any of us knew about that.”

“I’m not even sure Claire knew,” I said. “Owen never mentioned it to her before she died.”

Holly tapped her shoe on the floor, thinking. “You should talk to Claire’s best friend. I bet she’d know.”

“Do you know her name?”

“I believe it’s Leah. Not sure about the last name.”

“Do you know anything else about Leah?”

Holly paused, then said, “Claire mentioned something once about Leah having her own business. I believe she owns a flower shop in San Luis Obispo.”

“Good to know.”

“Who hired you to investigate Claire’s murder?” Colin asked.

“Owen’s mother hired me,” I said.

“What are you going to do if he ends up being the murderer?”

“There won’t be anything to do. If he’s guilty, it won’t be the outcome his mother is hoping for, but I will have done my job.”

“Do you have any other suspects?” Colin asked.

“I’ve just been hired to investigate, which is why I’m here. Can any of you think of anyone who may have had a motive to kill Claire?”

They all said no.

“Claire was such a nice person,” Holly said. “If she had any enemies, I’d be surprised. When we heard she was murdered, we thought it was a robbery gone wrong, because any other reason just doesn’t make sense.”

The break room door opened, and Ann walked back in. She took a seat, then looked in my direction. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to rush out the way I did.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “Are you all right?”

She paused for a time. “Before Claire died, we had a … well, it wasn’t an argument, more of a heated verbal exchange. We weren’t yelling or anything. Still, I didn’t feel good about it, and I planned on apologizing. I … I never got the chance.”

“What was the argument about?”

“One of my students. He was in Claire’s office, and she said something to him about her mother dying. He went home and told his parents, and his mother called me, giving me an earful about how angry she was about their conversation.”

“Why was she upset?”

“She didn’t think it was an appropriate topic of conversation to have with her son. I thought the mother was overreacting, but I told his parents I’d speak to Claire. When I did, she didn’t take it well. She put it back on me, acting like I should have stood up for her with the parents. She thought they were overreacting and being insensitive about it all.”

“How did the conversation between the two of you end?”

“She got emotional and took off. I thought about it all weekend. I decided I’d clear everything up when I arrived at school on Monday, but then I found out she died.”

Her head dropped, and she stared at her lap.

“I appreciate you telling me about what happened between the two of you.” I turned toward the quiet ones, Bruce and Teresa. “Do either of you have anything to add?”

“I just started here a couple of months ago,” Bruce said. “I didn’t know her as well as the others.”

“We talked from time to time,” Teresa said. “I guess I’d say I considered her a friend. But like the others, I have no idea who murdered her or why.”