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L ater that night Doreen was warming up the leftover pasta from the previous evening when Mack arrived. She smiled up at him as he walked over and gave her a big hug.

“You okay?” he asked Doreen.

She winced at the fatigue in his expression. “Hard day?”

“Yeah,” he said. “Sometimes court can be the worst part of the job, but, with any luck, it’s over now.”

“That would be nice,” she agreed.

“How have you been doing?”

“Getting into trouble by just asking questions,” she admitted, followed by a shrug. “Something I seem to do quite naturally.”

“That you do,” he confirmed. “So, what happened now?” So, she explained the information she had ferreted out. “Good Lord.”

She nodded. “I know. It’s kind of shocking, kind of scary, kind of mean,” she muttered. “And people all over the place are terrified of that old man.”

“Interesting,” he murmured, as he sat down and tucked into the leftovers with her. He didn’t say a whole lot while they were eating, but, when he pushed away his empty plate, he asked, “Do you want me to go talk to the old man?”

“I don’t know if it’ll do any good,” she replied. “He certainly seems to think he’s above the law or he can bypass the law. He apparently can’t get kicked out of Riverdale because of the agreement with the current owners and the amount of money the Winters family donates to Riverdale and things like that.”

“And yet it wouldn’t matter what agreement he had with the owners if any of the women filed a formal complaint. He would be dealt with, by lawyers and the court.”

“But then the women would have been kicked out of their homes, and I’m sure he made them very much aware of that eventuality.”

“Of course,” Mack muttered in disgust. “It sure doesn’t make him look very good, does it?”

“Not only him but I’m still questioning the involvement of his sons.”

“And that’s a whole different kettle of fish.”

“I know. Believe me,… I know.”

“The question is, how do we find out if they were involved? And, if they were, the only way we’ll find out is through a confession.”

“Even if you got the old man talking, he would recant anyway,” she declared, with a wave of her hand. “He’s just that kind of a guy.”

Mack burst out laughing. “You really don’t like him, do you?”

“You should have seen him,” she stated. “That sense of power gone wrong,… that sense of righteous arrogance, while doing whatever he wanted, knowing that nobody had any way to stop him.” She shook her head. “You wouldn’t like him at all.”

“No, I can tell I wouldn’t,” he agreed with a smile, as he looked at her. “And it’s obvious you don’t either.”

“No, I don’t,” she stated. “It’s hard to like anybody like that, but at least he’s kind of contained where he’s at right now.”

“So, what are you thinking?”

“I think Buck killed Iris’s child from her lover,” she declared. “I think Buck buried it in the garden of some nearby rental place, told her what he’d done, then used it against her all the time to keep her with him. At this point, I’m not sure that Iris was killed, now that I see how this all played out. She may very well have committed suicide, which they may have covered up because of the church’s teachings.”

“Are they a church-going family?”

“They were at one time, but I suspect Buck probably figures he’s better than God and may have left the church.”

“Right,” Mack noted, “or it could be that Buck still is part of the church.”

“Maybe, but I don’t know which church would have him.”

Mack chuckled. “No, and I could get into trouble for saying this, but you know when you tithe, and you tithe a lot, that money is something a lot of people will protect.”

“It’s still wrong though,” she pointed out. “There is nothing nice about this man.”

“So, a lot of people would say he needed the church even more then. Somebody needed to save his soul.”

She shrugged. “Or we could just toss him out and let the devil deal with him.”

He burst out laughing. “You do know that many would take umbrage against you for that.”

“I know, and I don’t mean it the wrong way,” she added. “But say Buck did this, say he killed an innocent child, because it was a child Iris absolutely adored, and, if Buck found out something about the child, such as its not being his, that’s a reason why he would have killed the child. And then he would have held it over Iris’s head from then on, and I’m sure that would have just worn her down.”

“And the death of Sandra’s mother, Claudia?”

“Apparently, after Iris’s death, Claudia started asking questions that made people angry. I guess when the child was killed, Iris went to pieces, was put on drugs, and everybody kept it quiet. However, Claudia suspected something more was involved that nobody was talking about. She had also found a baby book but didn’t really investigate that child until after her mother passed away, as it upset Iris so much.”

“Of course, nobody was talking about the dead child,” he stated, staring at her, “particularly back in those days.”

“It’s not even about those days ,” Doreen clarified. “It’s about that family, the Winters family, right? And the minute it involves family , everything goes bad.”

“We’ll have to work on your concept of family,” he muttered.

“It’s certainly getting a twisted view in this case when it comes to the Winters family,” she acknowledged.

“Anybody mention a name for this child?”

“No, but now that you mentioned it, I didn’t ask either.”

“I wonder if there’s any letter or anything from her grandmother that may be still around, something that would give some credence to this whole story.”

“You mean, the proof that I need?” she asked, looking at him. “Like maybe a baby book with the birth certificate and a photo of the child, hopefully?”

“Considering I’ve spent however many days it’s been in court, trying to back up all these charges with proof and more proof,” he shared, rolling his eyes, “yeah, that would help.”

“It is a question I’ll have to ask Sandra tomorrow,” Doreen noted. “I did promise to leave her alone for the rest of today. I guess I pushed it and was calling her a little too much with more questions.”

He nodded. “You can really badger people when you get going.”

She winced. “I’m not trying to,” she wailed soulfully. “I’m just trying to find answers.”

“And because you’re trying to find answers, and you’re a bit of a terror when you’re bothered,” he noted, “you tend to badger people.” She glared at him, and he chuckled. “Some people don’t mind. For other people, like this Sandra, it’s opening up wounds,” he pointed out. “You’ve got to remember that she is a victim too.”

“I know,” Doreen muttered. “And it’s really sad listening to her talk about the family, about what her life is like. Although she didn’t really share much, it’s obvious it’s been painful and not something she is really prepared to go into too much detail about.”

“You wouldn’t want to either,” Mack said, “so let’s give her a little bit of privacy.”

“I will, but you know what it’s like when you’ve got questions you need answered, and I can’t just… stop.”

He grinned. “I do know exactly what that’s like,” he stated, “but also remember that they are not obligated to talk to you at all. So you’ve really done pretty well, getting as much as you have from her.”

“I know.” Doreen groaned. “It’s just so frustrating when people keep all these secrets inside. If they would just answer the questions, then I’ll be happy to go away.”

“Except you don’t. You don’t go away,” he said, with a big smile. “You come back with more questions.”

She stared at him, and her shoulders sagged. “You’re right. I do, but it’s because I haven’t gotten to the bottom of it yet.”

“And, for Sandra, it’s something that she’s had to live with for a long time, and she’s successfully blocked it out. She has pushed it to the absolute limit of what she can handle, and now you’re opening it all back up again.”

“And yet it’s her mother, and it’s her grandmother, and it’s potentially her half-aunt. All these things should matter.”

“Oh, it matters,” Mack said. “Absolutely it matters, but these people also need time. They need time to process.”

“And what if there isn’t any time?” she asked, staring at him. “I raced to Riverdale to talk to Lilybeth because I just had that feeling, and yet I was already too late.”

“But you don’t know for sure that her death was murder. She may have just had a heart attack.”

“I know, and I’m still waiting for the tox screen from Elizabeth.”

He asked, “You’re on a first-name basis with the coroner already?”

She nodded. “Yeah, she’s been very good at answering my questions today.”

He stared at her and shook his head. “I wouldn’t have thought that was possible. She’s generally not considered to be all that friendly.”

“No, probably not.” Doreen shrugged. “Once I explained the whys and what questions I was asking, I think Elizabeth got just as involved in the outcome as I did.” Doreen laughed. “Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if she doesn’t call me next.”

“Oh, that’s interesting,” Mack muttered. “I hadn’t considered a possible friendship for you in that direction, but you know, maybe…”

“The captain said we were two peas in a pod, but I don’t think we have any similarities at all. What we do have in common is how our minds work, with all that delving, probing, and our insistent need to figure things out.”

“You absolutely do.” He smiled. “And, in that regard, I would agree. You do have a lot in common.”

“I don’t know,” she muttered. “She was getting a little irritated with me today too.”

He burst out laughing. “She does have a job, you know?”

“I know. I know, and I did apologize,” she shared, with a grin in his direction. “Elizabeth didn’t seem to be too upset.”

“No, believe me, if she wanted you to buzz off, she would just tell you to buzz off,” he stated. “Now, can we turn our attention to something not work related?”

“Sure,” she replied.

As they got up and took their tea to the living room, he began, “I would bring up the wedding as a topic, but it’s probably a little too early.”

“It is a little too early.”

“Okay, well, maybe you could at least give me some idea of what quarter of the year you want to do it.”

“Fourth,” she replied instantly. When he looked at her, she shrugged. “That was instinctive.”

“Instinctive why?” he asked.

She groaned. “Because it gives me the most amount of time to adjust to the idea.”

He searched her face and then agreed. “And, because I know where you’re coming from, I’m fine with that.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Yes, I’m fine with it. The last thing I want is for you to feel pressured into this.” She looked at him, and her lips twitched. Mack groaned and added, “Okay, I don’t want you to feel pressured into this because I don’t want you to back out.”

“I don’t break promises,” she declared. “I just need time. It’s not been all that long for me, and I don’t want to get married again if I’m not ready.”

“Okay,” he said, but he looked a little worried.

“Do you think I should talk to a therapist?” she asked.

He now looked surprised and then shrugged. “If you want to, absolutely. If it’ll help you get over Mathew, I’m all for it. I keep forgetting that he was your husband for a long time and your marriage to him sucked, plus the manner of his death and the way the whole thing played out has to be added stress too.”

“The marriage itself was stressful enough,” she shared, “but a part of me says I’m still making too much of it.”

“No,” he disagreed. “If you need to talk to somebody about Mathew, then you should talk to them about it. I’m fine with that.”

She smiled. “I forget how reasonable you are.”

“How can you possibly forget that?” he teased, with a laugh. “I tell you all the time.”

She burst out laughing and agreed. “That you do, and I appreciate it.” Just then her phone rang. She looked down at it and laughed. “It’s Elizabeth.” He stared at her, and she answered the phone. “Hi, Elizabeth.”

“Hey, so—” And then she stopped.

“Problems?”

“I’m in a conundrum as to whether I should be talking to you or directly to the police.”

“As it turns out, Mack’s right here, so how about I put you on Speakerphone?”

“Oh, that’ll be perfect,” she replied. “Mack, how are you doing?”

“Been in court for too many days,” he grumbled.

“Oh, ouch. Sorry about that.”

“Thanks. I know it’s a necessary part of the job, and sometimes it’s a breeze, but then there are other days,” he muttered. “So, what have you found?”

“I’m calling to let you know that I found traces of a poison that can bring on a heart attack in Lilybeth’s system.” She took another moment to add, “It’s pretty rare, but it’s something that just a pinprick can bring on.”

“And how fast acting is it?”

“Lilybeth was very small, barely one hundred pounds from what I could see. Now, I didn’t weigh her, but considering her very slight stature, it would have happened very quickly.”

“As in her making her way back to her apartment maybe? Considering they were in the same building, or is that too fast?”

“I’m not an expert on toxicology,” she noted, “but I will say that was certainly within the realm of possibility.”

“That’s just very depressing,” he said, then shook his head. “You’ve released the body, correct?”

“I have,” she confirmed, “and honestly only because of Doreen did I take the samples that I did. I didn’t do an autopsy, but, when she brought this up, I decided to take samples for further testing, and sure enough she was right.”

There was such a note of admiration in Elizabeth’s tone that Mack rolled his eyes as he looked over at Doreen, who beamed at him. “I don’t know how, and I don’t know why,” he admitted, chuckling, “but, darn it,… she often is correct.”

Elizabeth laughed. “I don’t have to tell you that we can’t use her methods for our court cases, but it sure helps to point us in the right direction.”

He agreed, “Yeah, that sums up my life with her.”

At that, Elizabeth replied, “You guys need to tell me how you want to proceed. I’ll be changing the cause of death because of this, and I will inform the family tomorrow.”

“Is there any family?” Doreen asked. “I thought Lilybeth was the last of her line, or near enough.”

“Right. So I have a representative noted, a nurse, who apparently works at the home, at Riverdale.”

“Oh no,” Doreen muttered. “Are you by any chance talking about Tabitha?”

“Hang on. Yes, I am. Why? Do you know her?”

“Yes, because Tabitha works at Riverdale and is part of the Winters family.”