Page 102 of Death on Riddle Road

I sidestepped.

“Let’s go back and break this down.There were two possibilities.”I felt a tautness from those in the room, but not specific to any one person.“Either one person killed both Jaylynn and Derrick or different people killed them.”

Before Emil’s smirk could become words, I kept going.“If different people killed them, the motive for killing Derrick certainly seemed connected to his conviction for killing Jaylynn.”

“My girl, my girl,” Olive moaned.

“But looking into Jaylynn’s murder was harder because of the time lapse — memories fade, landscapes reshape, and beliefs harden.As for Derrick’s death, that posed other challenges.Especially opportunity, because Kentucky Manor doesn’t curtail visitors to their hospice patients.”

“People come and go,” Sally said with some cheer.“It can be hard on our routines, but people come to be with their loved one as they can.”

I nodded.“Exactly.For example, the night before Derrick’s death — twenty-four hours or more before — there were people in and out.We know Beverly, Dova, and Robbie were here.That’s not to say any of the rest of you weren’t.”

Denials gushed into the air.

“And—” I said loudly enough to crest the noise.“There’s nothing to say that any one of you couldn’t have come back the next night, being careful not to be seen.”

I did not mention that we knew for sure Robbie had been here.It would raise him as a suspect, which would require an explanation of his efforts to hide Dova’s prescription pills and how that indicated hehadn’tbeen involved in his father’s death.

The shortcut was to not mention it.

“After a dry run the night before, they’d know the routine and the lay of the land better,” Clara said.

“Very true.”

The others glared at her, which gave me a moment’s respite from being the eye-target.

They all had motives or we wouldn’t have brought them here.They all had opportunity.That left means.

“It’s natural for any of you to want to see him.”

I aimed for a sympathetic tone and didn’t point out the Carnells’ reason for wanting to see him wouldn’t have been positive.Possibly Evan Ferguson’s either.

Call me Ms.Tactful.

“Bringing him flowers or something special to eat—”

“He couldn’t really eat,” Sally said.“Still swallow, but—”

“Sally,” Rose said.

I continued before she could completely quiet the aide.“Or a special blanket, a pillow, a—”

“I brought him both,” Beverly said.“And flowers.No one else brought a thing.”

She glared at Dova, Robbie, then Emil.

He rose to the bait.“Hey, I stuck by him all those years.Going to see him in prison.So what I didn’t bring him a bouquet?”

“You went to rub it in that you were free and he wasn’t,” Dova said.

“Then came to us like you cared, but actually sucking up in hopes of getting in our will,” Beverly said.

Yale’s mouth opened in surprise.Really?He hadn’t considered that?

Emil looked indifferent.

“You said the prison called you when they couldn’t reach Dova.Why was that?”