As she continued home, she pondered why no mention of Ella had been in any of the notes Doreen had on Bob Small. Of course not, because everything I had read came from Hinja so far. With that irking thought in mind, Doreen headed home, thinking she needed to go to the library and to search anything and everything else she could find on Ella, Hinja, and Bob Small.
After she locked up the animals in the house, she drove off, headed to the library. The librarian raised an eyebrow, but she was busy checking people through. As Doreen raced to the back of the building where the microfiche section was, she couldn’t help but feel that, for some reason, time was now of the essence. At the self-help desk, she sat down and started researching these people.
Shortly thereafter she was deep into her research when her phone buzzed again. She looked down to see it was Nan. Being in the library, Doreen had to keep her voice low. She hesitated and then decided not to answer it, turning off her phone instead, finishing up what she was doing. She would call her grandmother as soon as she left. She directed her attention back to the screen in front of her, saving as many articles that she could, sending them to her email to read later. By the time she was done, Nan had called two more times.
Feeling bad, Doreen raced out of the library, without even saying anything to the librarian, knowing that would cause more eyebrows to go up. But it wasn’t the time or the place to explain. As soon as she got outside, she took out her phone and called Nan. “What’s the matter?” she asked.
Nan groaned when she heard her voice. “There you are,” she cried out. “Why didn’t you answer me?”
“I was in the library, and we’re not allowed to talk in there.”
Nan went silent for a moment. “Oh.” Then her tone turned brisk. “Nelly is calling for you.”
Doreen wasn’t sure what to say to that, knowing that Mack should be there already, talking with Nelly.
“She wants to talk to you again.”
Doreen winced, knowing that this was delicate ground. “Has Mack talked to her yet?”
“I don’t think so. Nelly was just talking to you.”
“Fine, I’ll head back down again.” And this time, leaving the library in her car, she drove straight to Nan’s, parked, walked into the little patio area, where Nan sat, waiting for her. Doreen studied her grandmother. “Are you okay?”
Nan nodded, but her features worked with various emotions. “I’m fine,” she murmured. “It’s been a tough morning.”
“It has,” Doreen agreed in an undertone, “but we’ll get to the bottom of this.”
Nan smiled up at her. “You’re a good child. I know you will.”
She laughed. “Hardly a child anymore,” Doreen corrected affectionately.
“Do you really think Nelly killed Ella?”
“No, I don’t,” Doreen stated.
Nan looked at her in surprise. “But she’s telling everybody she killed her.”
“I think, in her mind, she did, but she hit her on the side of her head with a book.” Doreen lowered her voice and added, “You can’t tell anybody because it’s not public information yet, but Ella was shot.”
Nan looked at her in horror and then in relief. “That’s an entirely different case then,” she cried out, her hand going to her chest.
“Exactly, but it doesn’t change the fact that the police must talk to Nelly because that hit to Ella’s face or anywhere else will show up in autopsy.”
“Yes, of course. Oh my. Why the devil would Nelly hit Ella with a book of all things?” Nan asked, staring at her granddaughter. “It’s hardly effective.” Nan gave Doreen a hug and muttered, “I’m glad one of us has some common sense. Come along. You need to talk to her, so we can put an end to this.”
Doreen wasn’t quite so sure it was that easy, but, hey, if it were so simple, she was all for it. As she headed to Nelly’s room, Nan looked at her.
“She’s worried about not being able to stay.”
Doreen nodded. “Nelly needs to sort out her finances. I don’t know if she has any money of her own or if Ella handled it all.”
“Ella did? Why?” Nan stared at Doreen, then gave a dipped nod.
“Right, that’s a very good question,” Doreen noted. “If it wasn’t Nelly’s money, then it’ll depend on Ella’s will, won’t it?”
“It’ll depend on her will and whether there are any stipulations on previous wills,” Nan reminded her. “It’s possible that Nelly’s care was some kind of a legacy from their parents.”
“I wondered about that too.” Doreen tapped her cheek thoughtfully.
“Let’s solve one problem right now,” Nan stated, “and then we can work on solving the others.”
“Not so easy to do,” Doreen reminded her grandmother. “Lots of pieces come into play, and, having said that, Nelly thinks she killed her sister, so absolutely no way she could inherit.”
Nan winced at that. “Well, as you mentioned, she did hit her with a book of all things.” Nan frowned at that. “Good God, I can’t imagine.”
“I don’t think we always are rational in these emotional states,” Doreen suggested. “Nelly probably just reacted to something her sister said.”
“Maybe, but I will tell you one thing,” Nan stated, clearly thinking over how to proceed with the upcoming conversation with Nelly. “Ella was not a nice person. We saw her here irregularly, and we certainly saw the negative effect she had on Nelly with every visit, as Ella came and went.”
“Maybe, but you also don’t know the family dynamic,” Doreen mentioned. “So let’s withhold judgment on that.” When Nan frowned at her, Doreen smiled in response.
Finally Nan gave a hard sigh. “Fine, but you’re starting to sound more and more like Mack.”
Doreen stared at her in shock at those words. “Seriously?” she cried out. “That’s what you say to me?”
“Well, you are,” Nan muttered. “The old Doreen wouldn’t have been anywhere near quite so logical or reasonable,” Nan declared. “I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. It’s just something we all must get used to.”
“As I learn a little more from each of these cases,” Doreen began cautiously, “yeah, we do pick up a bit more of the rhyme and reason of how things happen. If Ella was murdered, we want to ensure that whoever did it pays, don’t we?”
At that, Nan turned to her. “Absolutely. I still don’t understand what you mean.”
“We must follow protocol to get the case tried and won. We must follow rules so we don’t get the case thrown out,” Doreen explained. “That’s what I’ve learned from Mack,” she stated simply. Wherever this conversation was headed, she needed to steer it toward a productive side. “As much as I don’t like it, as much as there are bits and pieces that I would just as soon throw out the window—and I get into trouble for that myself all the time—we still must follow a certain legal system so that criminals can get prosecuted. We don’t want any of these people to get away with their crimes. Look at some of these old cases. See how many killers would have gotten away with murder? Plus now, with my interference in a couple of the early ones, well, they could still get away with murder.”