Chapter 6

Saturday Morning…

When Doreen woke up the next morning, she smiled as she looked around her bedroom, surrounded by her animals. Then the memories hit her, and her smile fell away, tears welling up in her eyes. She didn't even know why she was crying. It's not that she mourned the loss of Mathew, but she mourned the promise of what he could have done and been, if he had made different choices in his life and if he hadn't been murdered.

Of course she was assuming that he'd been murdered. She didn't even know that much. She hadn't asked Mack, and she should have. She'd caught him and Nick talking privately in her kitchen last night, and neither would budge when she'd asked what they were talking about. She finally walked away from them, frustrated and in tears, but she understood that they wouldn't let her in on everything. Clearly she would have to do some investigating herself.

On that note, when her phone buzzed just now, she took a look at the text. Nan was asking if Doreen was okay. She quickly phoned her grandmother. "Hey, Nan. I'm still in bed."

"I'm not surprised," Nan replied, her tone worried. "I did talk to Mack last night, and he suggested that I give you a little bit longer to deal with the fallout."

"I don't think even time will help me deal with this fallout," she admitted. "I had Bernard's son here yesterday, taking pictures of me to post and to sell. He wanted to be sure people knew all about the local sleuth who learned enough to murder her own husband," she shared bitterly.

"Oh my," Nan said in horror. "Will Bernard stop him?"

"He told me that he would, but I don't know. I'm scared to even look at the news or anything."

"I haven't heard anything yet," Nan shared. "Obviously we'd heard about somebody found dead, and then Richie heard about who had died."

"Yeah, he probably heard it from Darren. And did you know that Mack's been taken off the case, and it's headed by some new detective?" Doreen asked in disgust. "A new female detective who doesn't like me."

At that, Nan replied in a soft tone, "Come on now. You probably don't like her either."

"She certainly isn't the same as talking to any of the regular detectives," Doreen muttered. "She thinks that I did kill Mathew and how I must have had plenty of reasons to. She was taking all kinds of notes."

"Well, dear, you have to put your faith in the captain and Mack. I'm sure they won't let this investigation become a farce or otherwise allow you to get railroaded right into prison," Nan stated firmly.

"Maybe not," Doreen murmured, "but it won't be an easy time for me, waiting while they figure it all out."

"No, of course not," Nan agreed. "Even though you didn't want to be married to Mathew anymore, that doesn't mean that you wanted him dead. Yet a lot of people in your situation would have wanted him dead—but that doesn't mean you would do anything about it."

"Definitely not. But nobody wants to believe that."

"No, of course not." Nan asked cheerfully, "How about breakfast? I'm sure we can come up with something for breakfast."

"I don't dare step foot out of my house without people taking pictures, yelling how I killed my husband," Doreen muttered. "I'm feeling pretty… I guess raw is the word I would use."

"How about I come up a little bit later then, with a little treat basket?"

Doreen laughed. "I'm eating, Nan, and Nick is staying here at my house."

"Nick, not Mack?" she questioned.

"Yeah, Nick." Doreen hesitated, then added, "I also had a man come to the front door, threatening me and telling me to give him what he wanted, that he knew I had something of his."

"Oh my," Nan noted, "you did have a full day."

"It was a terrible day," Doreen muttered. Mugs rolled over and snuffled beside her. "The animals have been doing their best to keep me sane," she shared.

"Of course they have. That's what animals are good for. You just stay the course and trust," Nan shared. "Remember that, even though Mack may not be on the case, he won't let them railroad you into something terrible."

"Maybe not," Doreen agreed, "but the new detective is out of control, so it all feels pretty terrible right now."

"Get up, have a shower, get some coffee," Nan stated firmly, "and I'll come up in a little bit." With that, her grandmother ended the call.

Doreen pulled a protesting Goliath into her arms and gave him a big hug and a cuddle, then did the same with Mugs. Next she got up and walked into her bathroom and had a hot shower. By the time she was dressed, Thaddeus was awake and staring at her with that unblinking gaze.

She whispered, "Love you, Thaddeus," and he dropped his head against her cheek.

"Thaddeus loves Doreen. Thaddeus loves Doreen."

With tears pricking her eyes, she picked him up carefully, placed him on her shoulder, and replied, "And Doreen loves Thaddeus."

She crept downstairs, not wanting to wake Nick, if he was sound asleep, but instead found the kitchen back door wide open and him sitting outside, his papers all over the place and his laptop out. He looked up when she stepped outside.

"There you are." Nick smiled. "I wasn't sure when you would get up, but I was getting a mighty craving for coffee. I tried avoiding the stuff, but…"

"You didn't make any?" she asked.

"No, I figured that I shouldn't steal any of your coffee."

"It's not stealing," she replied. "You're a guest. Besides, I was secretly hoping you would have it ready," she admitted, giving him a fat grin.

"Go put some on then, and it will be ready before you know it," he suggested. He looked up at the animals and shook his head. "I can't imagine living with a bird."

"It's a very special experience," she murmured. She put Thaddeus on the patio table and said, "I'll be right back." Goliath and Mugs had stepped out into the garden and were busy sniffing out the morning smells. She put on the coffee and then stepped back out again. "Do you always work this early in the morning?"

"Yes, especially when I'm not at home," Nick explained. "I'll be here for a little bit this morning, and then I'm heading over to visit my mother."

"Oh, good, that would make her very happy."

He nodded. "She keeps asking when I'm moving here, but it's just that much harder to move here when I've got so much else going on."

"Eventually, instead of flying up here, you'll be flying down there, until that becomes less and less."

"That's what I was thinking," Nick agreed. "You certainly are stirring things up around here."

"Of course I am, and apparently that's what I do." She plunked down on the chair beside him, looking at the paperwork, and sighed. "I don't like paperwork."

"Really?" he asked. "I wonder why. You certainly generate enough for other people to deal with."

She laughed. "Now you've been talking to Mack."

He flashed her a bright grin and agreed. "I also talked to Mathew's lawyer this morning," he shared.

She stiffened and nodded. "Is it the same lawyer who handled the divorce?"

"It is. He was handling both, and he told me that he knows you."

She looked at him. "Was that Roger?"

He nodded. "Yes. What do you know about Roger?"

"Not a whole lot. During our marriage, he was there at the house quite a bit," she shared, thinking back. "I was the ghost in the hallway."

Nick smiled and nodded. "Roger mentioned that you were the nicest of Mathew's lady friends and that he's waiting to hear from the police. They also want to know the contents of the will."

"Right. Did he tell you?"

"Only that he will get back to me this afternoon, as soon as he has the chance."

"What does Mathew's death do to our divorce?" she asked.

"Mathew did not sign off on the paperwork. I did talk to Roger about that, and he shared that Mathew was really struggling with the whole finality of it and had told him recently that he'd made a mistake with you and never should have let you walk away."

She slowly sagged in her chair. "Seriously?"

Nick nodded. "Still, I'm not sure how that affects you right now."

"It's not that it affects me," she clarified, "but it just adds to that whole confusion of emotions."

"I agree. The good news is that you will have a little bit of time to process it all."

"Maybe, but maybe not."

"Of course what does confuse the issue is whether you had anything to do with his murder."

"And you already know I did not."

"Exactly, but Mathew's lawyer doesn't know that."

She sighed. "I suppose if I did have something to do with it, I'm not allowed any inheritance, right?"

"Exactly," Nick confirmed, with the briefest of smiles. "However, that doesn't stop people from murdering each other."

"No, but I do wonder why though."

"If they're not caught and not charged, then they get to inherit anyway. There is only trouble if you're found guilty."

"Great, so even if I am charged, none of this gets solved until I end up in court."

"Which won't happen," Nick declared.

"I didn't kill him, so…"

"I hear you, and, in this case, that's a good thing, and maybe it's a good thing he had a change of heart about you at the end."

"Why is that?" Doreen asked.

"It depends on what the will looks like," he replied, "but I don't think he took you out of it."

She shrugged. "I was never in it, as far as I know."

"He did put you in, but that doesn't mean a whole lot at this point."

"Right. Have you heard from Mack yet?"

Nick shook his head. "No, he did go to work this morning, and that's all I've heard."

"Good enough," she muttered. "I was wondering about taking a hand at this myself."

"Doreen, that's not a good idea."

"No, probably not," she agreed, "but I'm not really feeling very comfortable about letting that woman handle it."

"That woman is a detective and should do a good job. Plus she won't be working alone. The rest of the team is there to work with her."

"Yeah, but not Mack," Doreen pointed out, "and Mack would have my best interests at heart."

"He does, yes, which is also why he's not on the case," Nick added, with a note of humor.

She sighed, her shoulders slumping. "Okay, so what do we even know?"

"I can tell you one thing. Mathew was shot."

She stared at him in shock. "What?"

He nodded. "Mack told me last night."

"Good Lord," she muttered, then stopped. "With his own gun?"

He looked up at her. "He had a weapon?"

"Yeah, sure," she shared, "at least one, if not two. They were usually in the safe in his office."

"Okay. Can you tell me anything else about that?"

"He was a good shot, and he told me that he kept them at home for protection."

"Did he ever need it?"

"Oh, yeah," she confirmed. "He had all kinds of business deals going on at any given time. According to how that was going, he sometimes owed people money but didn't have it, and people wouldn't take no for an answer."

"Right, and that was another part of why the killer could be anybody who was after him."

"That's just the thing. It's pretty hard to know who out of many would have wanted to kill him. As you mentioned, there are probably an awful lot in the running."

"As long as it's not you," he said.

"We still have to find an avenue the authorities can go after," she declared. "Otherwise they'll continue to assume it's me—or Mack—and keep coming back, asking stupid questions, wasting time."

He stared at her. "I sure hope not, because that would mean they aren't doing their jobs."

"They'll do what's easy," she stated. "And, in this woman's case, I don't know what to think, but she's bound to be trying to prove herself to the department."

"Maybe so," Nick agreed, "but just because she's new to the department doesn't mean she's new to this work."

"Maybe not, but she sure didn't like my questions and was defensive when I asked about her prior experience."

"Of course, because she was trying to be the one in control in an uncomfortable situation, where she was up against the girlfriend of one of her coworkers and the girlfriend's lawyer, who happens to be her coworker's brother."

"She was the one who was uncomfortable?" Doreen shook her head and snorted.

"Can we at least agree that her discomfort was making her a little more abrasive, and that set you off?"

She stared at him and frowned. "So, does that mean I'm in the wrong? I would really hate having to apologize to her."

He burst out laughing. "I won't say that you were in the wrong. I'm just saying that maybe you could try to understand where she was coming from and understand she wasn't in an easy place."

"Or maybe she should consider the position I'm in and not be so rude. This isn't exactly an easy place for me to be in either. I'm sitting here with a possible murder rap on my head, which she is determined to pin on me."

"Which won't happen," he declared.

She smiled at him. "I'm really glad I have your vote of confidence on that."

"You do absolutely," he murmured. "So remember that and stay strong, and it will all work out."

Just then her phone rang. She looked down at the screen. "Hello, Bernard. Did you stop him?"

"I did," he confirmed, "but I don't know where he's getting all this from. He seems to think that he's fully justified because you did murder the man."

"How would he know who is the murderer?" she asked.

"That's the part I'm not sure about. He says he saw you."

She put her cell on Speakerphone, then looked over at Nick. "Saw me when?"

"Saw you at the Chinese food place, where the body was."

"Yeah, that's because I found the body," she replied.

"Oh, you did?"

"Yes, I did. I went to order Chinese food and was waiting to bring it back here to have with Mack. Goliath raced into the shrubbery, the yellow bushes, after the tomcat, although I didn't know another tomcat was there at the time. There was a bunch of howling and yelling, so I headed in there to ensure Goliath was okay. He came out with a plastic card in his mouth, and the tomcat took off. I headed around the corner to see what else might have been there, in case somebody's wallet or something was there, and instead found Mathew."

"That explains it then," Bernard said, with relief. "He saw you coming out from the yellow brush and figured that's when you conked him."

"He wasn't conked. He was shot. I don't even know when he died," she replied in exasperation, "but I'm the one who found him, and I'm the one who reported it."

"I am sorry," Bernard muttered. "You do appear to be the one who's always on the spot."

"Unfortunately on the spot, and not in a good way," she muttered. "So maybe you'll want to explain that to your son, before he completely crucifies me on the internet and convinces everybody I'm guilty."

"I've taken the camera away from him."

"But, if his phone and his camera were linked, which they probably were, then he'll already have those photos uploaded and possibly even posted." She looked over at Nick. "In which case, should it show up on the internet or elsewhere, I will be forced to take him to the cleaners."

"I'm working on it," Bernard said hurriedly. "I'll get back to you." With that, he disconnected.

Doreen stared at the phone in her hand. She shook her head. "I didn't think I was vengeful, but the thought of that little snot putting pictures and headlines on the internet, saying that I killed my ex, just makes me really angry."

"That's because it's an injustice," Nick stated gently. "Now, the fact of the matter is, I'm waiting to hear when Mathew… died," he reported, "and hopefully that will help a lot with getting you away from the spotlight."

She nodded.

"Did you touch the body?"

"No, it was obvious he was dead."

"When you say obvious, what do you mean?"

"His face was turned up to the sky, and his eyes weren't moving, and some debris was on his face—maybe from the cats, I don't know—plus a pinkish tinge around his lips." She stared at him. "Oh my, I wonder if that was from cyanide."

"Or drinking strawberry Kool-Aid," Nick quipped.

Then she stopped and added, "But you mentioned Mathew was shot."

Nick nodded. "Mathew was shot in the chest, and it exited out his back."

"The ground would have soaked up any blood, but I didn't even see a bullet hole or blood on his clothes," she muttered, frowning, considering the scene. "But again, maybe the cats did something so the jacket flipped one way or the other."

Nick suggested, "The other thing is, because of the way he was positioned on the ground, you may not have seen any of the blood anyway. One bullet that went straight through? It could have been a small hole."

"Right," she muttered. "We always think of these big damaging holes, don't we?"

"And yet it isn't always," Nick said, "or the exit wound is bigger."

She just nodded, not knowing what to say. "It would be helpful to know when he died though, wouldn't it?"

"They're waiting for the autopsy now," Nick shared.

"Right, and what are we doing about that lovely guy who came to my doorway?"

"I did contact Corey, your private eye referral. He'd already heard the news and has volunteered to help you out."

"What? He doesn't want payment?" Then her gaze narrowed, as she stared at Nick suspiciously. "Why would he do that?"

"Because he says that you've done a lot for this town, and it's time that somebody helped you out for a change."

"A lot of people have helped me out in many ways, you included," she shared, then motioned to the deck. "This deck is just another example."

Nick nodded. "I do remember all the work that went into this deck." He smiled, as he looked around. "And that's a good example to hold on to. Have faith that people are not deserting you and that they will get to the bottom of it."

She smiled. "I'm really glad to hear that, because some of this stuff is just a little too hard to believe."

"It is, indeed."

"So, Corey and you talked? Now what?"

"He wants to talk to you."

"Right," she muttered, then groaned. "In other words, he's coming today, isn't he?"

"Yeah, he'll be here soon."

"It would be nice if he came and left before my grandmother gets here. Otherwise he'll be in for a heck of a talking to."

Nick laughed. "I'll tell him to speed it up." And, with that, he brought out his phone and sent off a series of texts. "If your nan's coming, I want to be out of here before then too."

She nodded. "I would think so," she muttered, with a weak smile. "She won't be very happy to find I am still under enough scrutiny to warrant my attorney being on hand to this extent."

"I understand that, but, hey, that's what family is all about."

"Maybe so," she admitted, "but there's family, and then there's the situation when you only have each other. That's a whole different level of family."

"Meaning that your grandmother will be terrorizing everybody until this is resolved?"

"Oh, I would imagine so." Doreen smiled. "Part of her will look forward to it and will enjoy it, while the other part will be terrified that she'll do something wrong and get me convicted."

At that, he burst out laughing. "It's not that easy to get convicted in these kinds of crimes."

"I don't know about that. It sure seems to be pretty easy in some cases."

"I can see why you would think that, with your cold-case history. Yet we have to stay strong and take this one day at a time."

"Oh, I've heard that message already… in spades," she muttered.

After that, they sat here quietly and had coffee. When the doorbell rang about twenty minutes later, she looked at him and asked, "Is that Corey, or do you think it's our unfortunate previous visitor?"

Nick hopped up and said, "Let's go find out."

Together they walked to the front door, and, sure enough, it was Corey. He stepped inside, saw her, and gave her a big fat grin. When Goliath took a liking to him, he picked up the huge cat, giving him some loving.

Doreen was happy to see the interaction and wondered why Goliath was drawn to Corey. He was a stranger to Goliath, plus the cat didn't warm up to many people.

Corey greeted her. "This time, it's you on the hot seat."

"Right. Whoever would have thought?"

"Hey, it happens." He shrugged. "We'll sort it out."

"Sooner rather than later, I trust," she muttered. "I can't say I'm terribly comfortable being on this side of it."

He burst out laughing at that. "I don't know anybody who's ever comfortable on this side of it," he muttered. "However, it's a really good experience and good empathy training for you, if you'll keep doing these cases."

"I was trying to stick to cold cases," she muttered, "but, every once in a while, I get caught up in some of the current ones."

"Every once in a while?" he repeated, with an eye roll. "I'm pretty sure you're stepping on the toes of the local detectives all the time."

"But not on purpose," she stated defensively. Mugs came over to settle by her feet, as if to calm her down. She reached out to pet him, thankful to have her animals.

He grinned at her. "Maybe not on purpose, but that doesn't make it any more appealing to them."

She sighed. "Come on in. I was just about to make another pot of coffee."

"Good, though I don't have a whole lot of time. So let's get as much of this information down as we can, and we'll go from there."

And, with fresh coffee, they sat outside, and she prepared to go over the whole thing again. "This time I'm recording it," she stated, "so then maybe I won't have to tell everybody over and over again."

"Good idea," he replied. "Now, what is going on with this kid with the camera?" She then explained about Bernard and his son. Corey shook his head. "Man, we don't need guys like that getting in our way. Do you believe Bernard will keep a lid on him?"

"Oh, I'm hoping so," she replied, "but the kid's pretty slippery. He's young and trying to prove himself, and that motivation tends to complicate things."

"I can see about a restraining order," Nick suggested, "but we must have proof that he's doing something."

"He was definitely trespassing," she muttered. "Surely that's good for something."

"It is, particularly the way his threats have been flying around, and the fact that we don't really know who and where they're coming from," Corey noted, looking at Nick. "Considering that his visit was very close to the same time as the angry guy was at your front door, it's always possible the kid was just here to rattle you, so the other guy can come back and steal whatever he wants."

"That's a theory I hadn't considered," she muttered, frowning.

"So, if they could be in cahoots, you'll have a much easier time getting the kid and his camera in trouble."

"I just want him in trouble for being the idiot he is," she stated. "I don't need to make it worse than it is, and I'm sincerely hoping Bernard can stop him. But, if he doesn't, we'll deal with the fallout, I guess," she muttered. "I'm far more concerned about the unknown guy at my front door."

Corey nodded, then asked, "On the day that you found Mathew's body, did your ex meet you? Or say anything? Text? Phone?"

"No," she stated. "He didn't come around here much…" She stopped and corrected herself. "More accurately, he did not come here recently. Earlier, there were times of him coming around, asking me to reduce what I was asking for in the divorce."

"You talked?"

"A few times. I tried to do exactly what my lawyer told me every time, trying not to speak to Mathew, whether on the phone or in person," she explained, with an eye roll. "I did fail a couple times."

"Why is that?" Corey asked.

"I didn't do it on purpose. I did open the front door without checking who it was all the time," she admitted. "Sometimes I didn't realize who was on the other end of the phone. Maybe Mathew had a new phone number or had called from a different number. While I wouldn't say those calls were amiable, they weren't angry either. Typically I said, You need to talk to my lawyer. I'm not allowed to talk to you anymore. That kind of conversation. Same thing if he suddenly showed up at my door. Ask Mack about those times."

"Good," Corey noted. "Did that upset Mathew? Did he get violent?"

She frowned at him. "You do know Mathew was an angry, violent man, right?"

He shrugged. "I don't know that. I only know what you're telling me."

"He was known to hit me, and, for the record—in case you were wondering—no, I didn't kill him."

"I'm not wondering," Corey replied. "I know you didn't kill him."

"Thanks for that," she muttered. "I wish everybody else knew that."

"Don't worry about it," he said, with a wave of his hand. "Everybody will have their opinions, and they'll all be wondering what's going on. That's why we have to solve this as quickly as we can."

"Sounds good to me. Yet I don't know how Mathew got into town because no vehicle was parked at the Chinese restaurant, not one that he would be seen driving," she shared. "Mathew always rented these big green Jaguars, and Mack had something set up to be alerted when Mathew came into town."

"Why is that?"

"Because Mathew got difficult one day, grabbing me, trying to force his way inside my house, and thankfully Mack drove up just then and was a witness to this event himself. So we had to get a court order to keep him away from me."

"Okay, so that means Mathew got very difficult."

"Yes, he did at times, and then, at some point, he calmed down, and the divorce proceedings were going forward, and he seemed to be okay. Obviously the time period after his girlfriend Robin got murdered was very difficult for him, and people were looking at Mathew for that as well."

Corey stared at her. "Do you think Mathew had anything to do with Robin's death?"

"Oh no," Doreen clarified. "We solved that one, and Mathew didn't do it. He was pretty upset about the whole thing, but he was done with Robin at the time."

"Right," Corey replied. "because being done with people is something your ex does, right?"

She stared at him, not comprehending. "I'm sure that may make sense to you, but I don't really get it."

"Okay, let me try again. He's the person who has something to do with people, until he has nothing further to get from them. So, when he'd done, he's really done, and then they just don't matter anymore."

"Oh, yes, that's it exactly," she agreed. "That's a pretty good analysis."

"So, that's the kind of guy Mathew was," Corey muttered. He looked over at Nick. "Did you have any personal dealings with him?"

Nick shook his head. "No, not a whole lot. We had the divorce proceedings pending, but I am Doreen's lawyer, so I dealt with Mathew's lawyer, rather than with Mathew directly."

"Right, and that's a nice way to keep everything separate, isn't it?"

"It keeps business clean that way," Nick noted. "In this instance, his lawyer and I had an open channel. I did speak with him today because he had been handling the divorce, though things have come to a stop right now."

"How far did they get?" Corey asked.

"Mathew was supposed to have signed the final paperwork a few days ago. He told Doreen that he'd signed, but, when I contacted his lawyer, he realized that Mathew had missed a couple signatures. So the paperwork wasn't complete. You saw him back then, didn't you?"

She nodded. "Yes, Mathew told me too that he'd signed them and was just trying to get on with his life."

"Good, but, in fact, he'd had missed a couple spots, is that it?" Corey asked her.

She nodded. "That is my understanding from Nick here, but I don't know that myself. I didn't see any paperwork he'd signed. I don't even know what amount I'm settling for."

At that, Corey lifted his eyebrows and stared at her. "What? What do you mean, you don't know how much your divorce settlement is for?"

"I don't know how much it's for," she repeated. "I didn't care."

Corey turned and looked at Nick, who nodded. "Yes, that quite true. She never did get any actual figures as to what she was getting in the divorce."

Corey sat back, stumped. "That's very uncommon, to the point that it makes it hard to believe."

"I can't help that, but maybe I can explain it. We had differences, fundamental differences, as to what wealth meant, as to what money meant, or decent money meant. I didn't want to break Mathew nor cause him any hardship. Nick wanted me to get what I was entitled to, after fourteen years of marriage," she explained.

"When I realized we weren't really getting anywhere and were hung up on what that dollar figure should be, I told Nick to go ahead and to do what was fair and to not stress over little bits. My priority was to have enough to be comfortable here and to have the whole divorce process finished. I just wanted to be free of Mathew."

At that, Nick concurred.

Corey asked Nick, "At no point in time did she have any understanding of how much money was in the agreement?"

"That's right."

"Is the amount substantial?"

"Of course it's substantial," Nick confirmed, "and it still wasn't half of the marital assets, but it was enough that I was satisfied that Doreen would be okay, and it was enough under half that I thought Mathew would be more likely to sign and to be done with it."

"Okay," Corey replied, "so, do you know what happens now that he hasn't signed?"

"That all depends on who's in Mathew's will," Nick shared, "and how the will is set up."

"Right." Corey looked over at Doreen. "Are you in the will?"

"I don't know why I would be. He told me to leave, and he moved on with Robin."

"On the other hand," Nick interjected, explaining the conversation he had had with Mathew's attorney this morning—about Mathew being sad and upset about the pathway that he'd chosen, making a mistake with Doreen.

"Great," Corey muttered, "so maybe that was why he didn't sign. Maybe those missing signatures were on purpose. He was dragging his feet and wondering if there was another way."

"That's what I'm thinking," Nick agreed, with a nod.

"That still doesn't tell us who killed him," Doreen reminded them.

"No," Nick agreed, "and we need to find out who else might inherit and who might have inherited more, if Doreen were no longer in the picture."

"More important, Doreen," the PI stated gravely, "we've got to ensure that whoever the angry stranger is who is after you—or whatever it is that he's after—doesn't get a chance to hurt you." Then he turned back to Nick. "You must ensure her safety."

"Mack is in charge of keeping her physically safe." Then Nick looked over at her. "Do you have a will in place?"

She frowned and then slowly shook her head. "No, I don't."

At that, Nick sucked back his breath. "Guess what we're doing today?" he asked, his tone tight. "That is something that needs to be resolved fast."

She shook her head. "Why? What's the urgency?"

Nick looked at her and smiled. "Depending on Mathew's will, you could get all his money. That makes you a target of greedy people. Even without Mathew's money," Nick explained, an odd note in his tone, "you will be a wealthy woman just because of the antiques, and maybe Robin's estate and everything else happening in your life over the next few months. So, we need to get a proper will for you locked down."

She shook her head. "I only have Nan and Mack in my life."

Nick nodded. "And I'm sure you would much rather have either of those two get your money than the other options, such as the government, for example."

She winced at that. "I'm not sure anybody likes to see the government take their money," she began, with a small smile. "On the other hand, somebody has to pay for schools and roads."

He chuckled. "Very true, but what if two people inherit Mathew's estate? You don't want the other person to take you out so they get the whole pie, do you? Especially not without a will in place. At least with a will, if you die, your share of Mathew's estate goes to Nan."

"Oh my." She nodded slowly. "Since I seem to still be married to Mathew, my own life is the problem, isn't it?"

Nick nodded. "As long as you remain married to Mathew, as his legal wife, you stand to gain everything, yes."

"I don't think Mathew would have killed me, but I could have been wrong. Maybe that's why he was taken out. Maybe he was here trying to do me in, and someone else knew about it and stopped him." She frowned, with a sad smile. "We won't know now."

"Not unless the police find anything or if Mathew's lawyer has anything on file to be given to you in the event of Mathew's death."

Her eyes widened at that. "Oh, good Lord," she muttered. "That is possible. Mathew's father did that very thing."

"What do you mean?" Nick asked, Corey frowning now.

"When Mathew's father died, he left Mathew a note. I remember he was pretty emotional about it."

"These things can be very emotional. When you think about it,… it's your last communication from somebody who cares about you," Nick suggested. "But I'm serious. Right after this, today even, we'll draft a will for you. We do need to sort out some things first though, like as to whether your marital home was in your name or not."

She nodded slowly. "A will won't be difficult. Basically everything goes to Nan."

"Good, except given her age, you need to have other options listed as well." Nick replied. "At least if we make that happen, then, in the event of anything, your estate would go to her. You can always change it later."

"Right, but that will be down the road though."

"Exactly," he said, with a gentle smile. "Let's just keep you safe, both physically and financially."

She stared at him. "Only Mathew would have benefitted if I died, since we are legally married still, so now I'm safe because he's gone first."

Corey shook his head. "But the question needs to be asked, did he leave you anything or did Mathew divide his estate among several people? The man beating on your door was looking for something."

"But I don't have anything for him or Mathew or whoever," she stated, looking between the two men helplessly. "I don't know where he would have gotten the idea that I did."

"If Mathew was tortured first, maybe he thought he could save himself by saying something of the sort."

She stared at him. "But that would mean he was knowingly sending someone like that to me."

"Quite true, but when people are in a tight spot, where they're trying to save their own life, in those moments, most people would say and do anything to make it happen."

"You're right," she murmured, "and I couldn't really blame them. Apparently Mathew was shot. I don't know if there was evidence of torture. We probably need to mention that to Mack."

Both men picked up their phones and started sending text messages.

Moments later, Doreen heard a woman calling her from the river. She looked out, and there was Nan, walking toward her. "Here's my grandmother," she announced.

Both men got up hurriedly, Corey saying, "I'll check in with you later. Keep me updated on what the cops do and find and on anything else you may need me to be on the lookout for." Then he left through the front door. By then, Nick was already on his way out the fence gate. He called back to Nan with a wave and told Doreen, "I'll talk to you later."

Nan just lifted a hand, and he disappeared. When Nan got closer, she noted, "It used to be that the men would stick around to see me. Lately it seems they can't wait to be gone before I arrive."

"I don't think that is it at all," Doreen countered, with a smile, as she walked over and gave Nan a hug.

"I know it isn't, dear. How are you holding up?" she asked, eyeing her granddaughter intently.

"I'm fine," she murmured.

"You're not fine, but you'll pretend to be fine, and I understand that too."

Doreen chuckled. "I do have coffee, if you want a cup."

"No, no coffee for me, but I did bring some treats, so maybe a cup of tea?" She looked at her granddaughter hopefully.

Doreen chuckled. "Tea it is." And she headed inside to put on the teakettle. When she came back out, Nan was sitting at the table, looking at her notes.

"What are these for?" Nan asked.

"Oh, just the conversation I had with the new detective who's handling this case," she muttered. "I didn't like her much, and the feeling was pretty mutual."

Nan frowned at her. "You don't want to piss off the law," she said cautiously. "Certainly not right now."

"No, I don't want to piss her off, Yet she wasn't being,… I guess she wasn't treating me the way that everybody else in the department always treats me. She had me pegged for Mathew's murder before she even began to ask me questions."

"Oh dear," Nan muttered, "and, of course, that would upset you right away."

Doreen gave her a wry look. "It certainly didn't endear her to me, put it that way."

"No, of course not. I've decided that I don't like her either."

"Why don't you like her?" Doreen asked.

"If she'll treat you that way, I certainly won't like her."

"It's not always that simple."

"It's not always much harder either," Nan declared.

With the two of them sitting outside, Nan patted Doreen's hand and asked, "So, where do we start?" When Doreen looked at her in surprise, Nan raised an eyebrow. "Surely you won't sit here and let everybody else handle this one, will you?" she asked.

Doreen smiled. "That's exactly what I needed." She leaned over and brushed Nan's cheek with a kiss. "I needed somebody to put me on the right pathway."

"I would think so," Nan declared, "particularly if you don't like this new detective or whatever she is. Nobody will look after you quite the same way as you will."

"Except Mack," Doreen added, with a smile.

"I'm glad you recognize his value," Nan stated, with a bright smile, "but it seems he'll have his hands full keeping this new woman corralled. So, while he's doing that, you need to get on to solving this murder." Nan eyed her shrewdly. "If nothing else, at least you would know you'd done right by Mathew."

"I'm surprised to hear you say that," she said, looking over at her grandmother.

"I fully recognize the mix of feelings you must be going through right now. Mathew wasn't for you, and, in many ways, he was the absolute worst thing any woman could have encountered. But you don't have a mean bone in your body, and I can see you're struggling emotionally with his death."

"I'm not struggling with the loss of him," Doreen explained cautiously. "I think it's more the sadness that he didn't get a chance to live and to become the man he could have been." Nan almost snorted at that. Doreen glared at her. "I know. I know, but, hey, anybody can change," she added, holding up her hand.

"Just because I don't like the man, and he hurt you, I am well aware of the mix of feelings because I'm dealing with some of it myself," Nan murmured. "But the bottom line is, this is the hand we've been dealt, and this is what we have going forward. So, we need to figure out how to make the best of this and to ensure it gets correctly solved, first and foremost."

"I agree."

"We don't want the wrong person going to jail, but we also want to ensure that absolutely no suspicion falls on you."

"And Mack," she added automatically.

Nan smiled and then slowly nodded. "Or on Mack, good call, because he'll obviously be looked at pretty carefully as well."

"I think he has an alibi, but again we don't even know when Mathew died."

"Do we know how he died?" Nan asked rather delicately. Doreen filled her in on what she knew, which wasn't very much. Nan nodded. "So, we have to retrace his steps, to find out who he met, where he was at, and what happened to him. If he flew, we need to find out how and when. If he drove, we need to find his vehicle."

"Corey's helping on a lot of that. He and I and Nick were just now discussing this. I don't know where Mathew's rental car is, and, even if he did fly, Mathew was never without his green Jags. I certainly didn't see one at the restaurant."

"No, of course not, and those aren't exactly something you pick up at the airport."

"He would have rented or leased that on a private arrangement with someone or with one of the luxury car companies," Doreen murmured, with a nod. "Maybe we should find out from them too.… I also don't want to get snarled up with this other detective. If she thinks I'm interfering in her investigation, it'll only make things worse," Doreen shared cautiously.

At that, Nan spun on her and asked, "Why not? If you don't trust her, you must do whatever you need to do to ensure that you're safe and in the clear on all this."

Everything Nan said was correct, but somehow Doreen didn't think dealing with this Insley woman would be quite the same as dealing with Mack. "I'm also trying to keep the captain out of trouble as well," she shared.

Nan studied her. "In all of that, you still want to see that everyone gets what they need, and it all shows you come from the heart,… but this is one of those times when you must look after yourself," she stated with finality. "If you don't, you could find yourself up on a murder charge."

Doreen swallowed hard and nodded. "Why is it so much harder for me to defend myself versus going to bat for somebody else?"

"Ironically, because of Mathew," Nan declared. "He wore down your self-confidence and your self-esteem, and, deep down, you don't think you're worth it. You'll do everything for everybody else, but you won't do anything for yourself. This is a really good time to turn that around and to show me and the rest of the world that Mathew has been put in his place once and for all."

Taking a hard look at her granddaughter, Nan continued. "You don't need to let him control anything anymore, and he definitely shouldn't be allowed to control this scenario from the grave." Doreen stared at her grandmother for a moment. Nan added, "You know I'm right."

With a shrug of her shoulders, Doreen nodded, conceding the point.

The thing was, she did know it. Her grandmother had described the scenario perfectly, as only she could.