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D oreen went home to start dinner but felt the excitement of something starting to break. When the coroner contacted her a little later, she asked, her voice bubbling over with excitement, “Did you find something?”

Elizabeth hesitated. “Wait. Did you find something?”

“Maybe,” Doreen replied. “Lilybeth had a visitor—or at least a visit with two of the Winters family.”

There was silence at the other end. “And what happened?”

“They both talked to her. One was Buck Winters, who is a resident there, and his son Clarence.”

“Clarence, the politician?” she asked, her voice rising.

“Yes, and then Lilybeth supposedly, and that’s according to the men,… wasn’t feeling very well. So, instead of going for breakfast, she headed back to her room but collapsed on the way. Later it was declared that she had a heart attack.”

“Good God,” Elizabeth muttered.

“So can any drug bring on a heart attack like that?”

“Of course,” the coroner stated. “I haven’t got the tox results back though.”

“Oh.… I was hoping you had results already.”

She laughed. “It takes a little longer than that.”

“Right, I keep forgetting. Mack is forever telling me that the process takes time.”

“It does take time, but it sounds as if you’re right about it.”

“So, no results yet, but you must have had a reason for calling me.”

“Yeah, I sure did,” Elizabeth replied. “I took a look at the two coroner reports on both of the sisters. Neither had been tested for any drugs.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. They weren’t tested presumably because, according to the family, that sort of thing runs in the family.”

“Right, of course it runs in the family, and, if people are letting it run in the family, that becomes pretty convenient.”

“What do you mean?” Elizabeth asked.

“They’re saying it runs in the family because of Iris, right?”

“Yes, I understand she had a heart condition.”

Doreen asked, “Can you pull her medical records?”

“Why?” Elizabeth asked, the doubt evident in her tone.

“What if she also died of a heart attack that wasn’t natural?”

“So, you’re saying they set it up as a potential pathway to get rid of the sisters?”

“Exactly, but I would need somebody to take a look at what they gained by all these deaths, but it’s possible, isn’t it?”

“I suppose it’s possible,” Elizabeth noted cautiously, “but it certainly isn’t something I can put any proof to.”

“No, we would have to exhume Iris’s body, and that’s not an easy process.”

“No, it’s definitely not,” she agreed.

“It has happened in a couple of my cases,” Doreen shared, “but I presume we would get a lot more of an argument because I don’t think the three Winters men still living, or at least the three senior men still living would have anything to do with it.”

“Right, but now you’ve really got me wondering. So I’ll pull Iris’s file and see just what is there.”

Doreen asked, “Like right now?”

First came silence, and then Elizabeth laughed. “You definitely are into this, aren’t you?”

“With Lilybeth having just passed away, I don’t want to take any chances.”

“But who else could they possibly be concerned about?”

“The Riverdale receptionist just told Nan this morning that Lilybeth had visitors before her demise, that she spoke to both of those men. So, if they have any idea that Tabitha’s talking about it, it only makes sense that she could be in danger too.”

“But they could have been seen talking in one of the hallways of Riverdale,” Elizabeth suggested. “There’s no reason for them to be worried about that getting out.”

“Yet, if they had something to do with Lilybeth’s death, then Buck and Clarence will act as natural and as calm as they can. On the other hand, sometimes these killers get cocky. At other times they start to worry and think they’re better off just dealing with potential issues by tying up loose ends.”

“And, if Tabitha had a heart attack, that would be a little too obvious. She would need to have a condition that carried the possibility of a heart attack at the very least.”

“But it could also be just a car accident.”

There was silence at first, then Elizabeth added, “And some people think I’m disturbed in my thinking.”

Doreen winced. “I understand,” she muttered, her tone low. “I think a lot of people wonder about me too.”

“It’s just the way your mind works,” Elizabeth stated.

“It certainly is now. I didn’t use to be like this, connecting various stuff. However, after seeing so many people and what they do and how far they’re willing to go to keep things quiet, well, it’s just the way I think now.”

Elizabeth sighed. “Let me take a look at things, and I’ll get back to you.” And, with that, she disconnected.

As that was all Doreen would get out of the coroner for now, Doreen had to be satisfied, at least for the moment. It did bother her to think that Iris may have had a little bit of help along the way getting to her death too. Plus, Iris didn’t seem to be a very happy person at any time in her life. What a sad commentary of her existence.

As Doreen scanned through the Winters family list, she realized that each of the siblings had only ever had one child each, so the two sisters had left behind one daughter each.

Frowning, Doreen picked up the phone book and searched for a number for either of them. As soon as she found something that might be one of them, she contacted her. When an woman answered the phone, her voice quivering and tired, Doreen winced and began, “Hello, I’m looking for Sandra.”

“Yes, you found her,” she replied. “Who’s this?”

“I’m Doreen. I’m looking into a case that’s come up locally.”

Sandra asked, “What case?” There was no accusation in her tone but almost a sense of resignation.

“I’m pretty sure you have an idea,” Doreen said, without sharing very much.

Then Sandra started to cry. “Oh my God, I knew this day would come.”

“That depends on if we’re talking about the same case,” Doreen stated, not at all sure she should be talking to Sandra over the phone like this. “Do you want me to come down so we can talk about it in person?”

“I don’t know you,” she replied. “But, ever since my mother passed away, I always figured this day would come.”

“Okay, do you want to tell me what it is that you think this day will bring?”

“I think my mother was murdered,” she declared.

Doreen winced. “Right, that is on my list here.”

“Of course it is.” Sandra was still sobbing. “My beautiful mother,… she loved everybody.”

“And maybe loved somebody a little too much?”

“I don’t know about loving someone too much, but she was certainly inquisitive and questioning a lot of things.”

“Like the death of your grandmother?”

Sandra gasped. “Oh, my goodness, you do know.”

“I know some of it, but I am missing a few key things.”

“Oh my,” Sandra noted, her voice shaking. “This day should have come while my mother was alive.”

“Maybe, and yet maybe it’s something we can do now. At least then her death wouldn’t have been in vain.”

As Sandra sobbed heavily, Doreen frowned and asked, “Why don’t I come visit, so we can talk? No pressure, no worries, just a nice quiet little conversation about some of the things that have been so wrong for such a long time that have caused you so much torment.”

Sandra sobbed and sobbed.

Doreen tried again. “Let me come visit you, and we can go over this together. Are you okay with that?” Doreen asked again and then again.

Sandra never answered.

“I won’t come down if you don’t want me to,” Doreen added, “but you and I both know it’s past time.”

“Yes,” Sandra whispered. “It’s past time.”

“Then I can come?” Doreen asked.

The woman sobbed and sobbed and sobbed.

Doreen waited and waited but knew that she needed to get something clear. “I really do need an answer from you.”

“Yes,” she finally said. “Come.” And then she whispered, “But don’t tell anybody.” And, with that, she disconnected.

Doreen stared down at the phone and realized she hadn’t confirmed the address. And that might be a bit of an issue. She checked the address she had and decided to go with it. If nothing else, she could always phone Sandra and ask for clarity about where she was, if need be. Doreen quickly grabbed the animals, thinking that maybe today of all days Mugs could work his charm on this woman, who was so distraught and who apparently also believed her mother had been murdered.

As an afterthought, she gave Elizabeth Harley a quick phone call back. Elizabeth sounded almost annoyed. “I know I’m being persistent,” Doreen stated. “I’m just calling to tell you that I’m heading down to visit Sandra, Claudia’s daughter. She was almost incoherent on the phone, but she did give me the impression that it was time and that she believes her mother and her grandmother were both murdered.”

A shocked gasp came from Elizabeth on the other end. “Good God.”

“Yeah, so I’m heading down there. Since Mack is at a trial, I don’t have him as my backup, and I can’t even tell him where I’m going,” she shared, with a half laugh. “So, if the captain calls or gets after me, at least I told somebody.”

“Wait, what do you want me to do?” Elizabeth cried out. “This is really not my field.”

“Maybe contact the captain and just tell him.”

“Yeah, okay. I can do that,” Elizabeth agreed and then went off on another tirade. “Are you sure you should be going there?”

“Yes, I am sure I should go. I don’t know how long the window is open for Sandra to discuss what’s going on,” Doreen explained. “But what I do find is that often the window closes very rapidly, as soon as the family finds out what’s happening, so I need to go now. I just don’t know what I’ll find.” And, with that, she ended the call.

With the animals in tow, Doreen raced out to her car. As soon as she got down to the right neighborhood, she stopped and realized that either the house had changed or something was off on the address. She phoned Sandra, then waited and waited until finally the woman answered. “I’m trying to find your house,” Doreen said.

“Oh, I’m in the carriage house in the back.”

She gave the address, which was exactly where Doreen was.

“But you have to drive around to the section behind the main house,” she shared. “There’s a carriage house in the back, and I live there.”