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D oreen was still giggling when Nan called her right back.

“Now that was dirty pool, child,” she said crossly. “You shouldn’t hang up on me after dropping a bombshell.”

“Aha, and yet—”

“I know. I know. I’ve done it to you too,” she admitted, with a sigh. “Now, what do you mean she was murdered?”

“I was supposed to see her today. She called and told me that she left me a letter, and, if I was lucky, she wouldn’t change her mind before I got there. So, I dressed and raced down to Riverdale. When I got there, the receptionist told me that they’d had a resident pass that morning. And I just knew who it was.”

“Lilybeth,” Nan cried out.

“Yes, she supposedly had a heart attack.”

“Oh dear, that timing is definitely suspicious,” Nan noted, with determination in her tone. “And that completely changes things. We need a meeting. You need to come down here. I would normally put it off for another little bit,” she muttered, “but we can’t do that, not now that people are dying.”

“Not only that people are dying but that I’m not sure it’s over just yet.”

“Meaning?”

“She left me a letter, and it’s a doozy.”

“What’s in it?”

“She points a finger at the Winters family.”

“Oh, good Lord.”

“But, of course, she didn’t say which Winters.”

“Why would she do that? Why put out an accusation and not make it clear as to who was responsible?” Nan asked, clearly vexed. “That’s just wrong.”

“Maybe, but she was torn about putting into writing something she could only guess at and didn’t know for sure.”

“ Hmm , then I have to wonder what she was up to that she even mentioned anything.”

“I think because she knew I would want to talk to her again, and maybe she just wanted to clear her conscience. You know, to share something she knew that maybe had something to do with something.”

“Something to do with something to do with something, good God,” Nan stated crossly. “We don’t have time for this. We need answers. And none of us are getting any younger.… As Lilybeth just pointed out, all of us are in danger of a heart attack from one minute to the next.”

Doreen winced at that. “Thanks for the reminder.”

“You know as well as I do,” Nan stated in a cross tone, “that we just can’t afford to sit around and wait for people to think about it. We are old.”

“On the other hand, an awful lot of people are clearing their consciences and going to the great beyond in a whole lot better shape because of it.”

“But what good did it do her?” Nan snapped. “Particularly if she didn’t die of a heart attack, and we have to take that into account as well.”

“We absolutely do,” Doreen agreed. “I’ve just come from the police station, and I know how much they’re all on it as well.”

“You already told Mack?” she asked.

“Mack’s in court all day, so he doesn’t know yet,” Doreen shared, a shiver running down her spine. “I went directly to the captain.”

“Oh my,” Nan said, with admiration in her tone. “You’re really moving up these days.”

“I’m hardly moving anywhere,” she claimed, “and I just shivered at the thought of his booming voice. I went to him because he’s the one who asked me to look into this in the first place. So, when I find a case, a potential murder case, that looks to be connected, of course I have to say something.”

“Of course, of course,” Nan agreed. “You absolutely have to. Lilybeth may not have led a blameless life, but nobody deserves to have the last days of her existence on Earth taken from her like that.”

“How would anybody give her a heart attack though?” Doreen asked.

“It could have been something as simple as a threat, since you and I both know that some days aren’t so good, so it doesn’t take much to scare any of us. This cold case of yours was relatively new to Lilybeth though. So, if she had a guilty conscience or in any way felt as if she hadn’t done her full duty, then I could imagine it wouldn’t have taken much to tip her over. You’ll never prove murder then.”

“Maybe not,” Doreen murmured. “At least she left me the letter that stated she thought it was connected to the Winters family.”

“And yet you won’t read the letter to me and tell me a little more?” Nan asked in a coaxing tone.

“I’ll bring the letter down, but again it has to be top secret. You’re not allowed to spread this to anybody.”

“I would never,” she stated in horror.

“No, but you will with the crew, with Doreen’s Deputies, who you think are involved and helping us.”

“If they’re helping, they need to know of the evidence, child. We all need to be helping, and that can only happen if we know the truth.”

“Yes,” Doreen conceded, “but I also can’t have any sign of this information getting out.”

“Right, it is an active murder case now, isn’t it?”

“Lilybeth’s death absolutely is an active case. I don’t know what that’ll look like though. As you said, it’s pretty darn hard to charge a heart attack as a murder of somebody who was what? Eighty-seven? She could have had a heart attack worrying about the meeting she had coming up with me.”

“Oh, so does that make you a killer, dear?” Nan asked.

“No, it doesn’t make me a killer,” Doreen replied in exasperation. “It does make me a concerned citizen though.”

“And how would anybody know you were looking at any of this and that Lilybeth could be a danger?”

“She had spoken to a couple colleagues, after she and I first spoke. I don’t know if she told somebody about the letter she was writing. Maybe somebody knew I was looking into this case and had somehow stumbled onto Lilybeth and realized she had information they might be worried about. Maybe Lilybeth possibly mentioned something to someone,” she pointed out to Nan. “Even innocently, some people could have taken it the wrong way.”

“They absolutely would,” Nan agreed. “Let me talk to the gang, and let us know when you’re coming down.”

Doreen glanced at the time. “I could come down now. I didn’t get a whole lot of sleep last night, and I was hoping to take a nap.”

“A nap.” Nan giggled. “We’ll all have to start booking our naps now. If you’re so tired that you need them, you can only imagine how it is for us.”

“It’s not that I’m so tired,” she clarified, “but my mind does a whole lot better when I’m rested, when I am free and clear to think about all the things that can go wrong.”

“Of course you are,” she replied. “I’m just teasing you, my dear.”

“And you might be,” Doreen noted, “but I do take this extremely seriously.”

“I know you do,” she murmured, “and, just so you know, we do too.”

“You better. Particularly now that there’s a chance that somebody murdered Lilybeth. That’s not something we’ll be happy about.”

“Of course not,” Nan agreed.

“Anyway, I’ll come down in a couple hours, after you’ve all had your rest.”

“And your rest too,” Nan added, with a chuckle.

“And me too.” And she disconnected.