A Body at Bunco : Myrtle Clover #8

Chapter Sixteen

Miles said, "But the killer wasn't a safe person to approach. And it was the kind of person who would not only murder a friend at a party, but would break into someone's house in the middle of the night to silence them."

"That's the thing, though...everyone would know that Alma kept her windows open at night to stay cool. She's the only person I know of who wasn't running her a/c. Clearly, she was trying to keep costs down. The only problem with that, is that it ultimately cost her her life." Myrtle stretched her legs out. She'd been sitting for a little while now. "What other conclusions did you reach, Miles? Or what else stood out to you? You're doing a good job."

Miles said slowly, "I suppose the mysterious earring. Do we know who wears earrings and who doesn't?

Myrtle counted on her fingers. "Poppy doesn't wear earrings or have pierced ears. Florence does wear earrings. Estelle wears earrings but they're just those stud kinds—not the big, dangly kinds. And Poppy reported that Mimsy wears earrings. Actually, Mimsy apparently lost an earring at my party."

"It sounds as if Mimsy is the most likely suspect then," said Miles.

"It does sound that way, doesn't it?" asked Myrtle.

"But you're thinking something else, it appears." Miles sounded a bit stiff at his lack of imagination.

"That's right. I'm thinking that anyone could have set Mimsy up. It would be very easy to have planted Mimsy's earring at the crime scene. Then you've nicely diverted attention from yourself if you're the killer," explained Myrtle.

"How would someone have ended up with Mimsy's earring?" asked Miles in exasperation. "Did they break into her house, too?"

"No, that wouldn't have been necessary. Remember? Mimsy lost an earring at my party. Someone could have seen it, taken it as an insurance policy of sorts, and then cleverly planted it as evidence against Mimsy at Alma's crime scene."

"But why? Why would someone do that? And really—do you think the killer spent that much time planning ahead?" asked Miles. He rubbed his temple as if he were getting a headache.

"I do think the murderer thought the crimes through, yes. Luella's murder was a crime of opportunity, but it wasn't something the killer hadn't thought about. This wasn't some sort of crime of passion where the murderer is suddenly boiling over with rage during an argument. As far as we can tell, there was no argument. Luella went outside to smoke. No one reports hearing loud voices, or an argument, or anything at all," said Myrtle.

"Maybe it was simply so loud inside that the guests couldn't hear the argument going on outside," suggested Miles.

"And that's a very good point, Miles. Except for one important fact—Erma Sherman was next door. And Erma is the nosiest, most obnoxious neighbor ever. If there had been a violent argument taking place mere yards from her house, she'd have known about it. She probably had all her windows open trying to listen in," said Myrtle.

Miles said, "This still doesn't explain the 'why.' Why would someone try to set Mimsy up?"

"Plenty of reasons. It could have been a personal reason—maybe someone really dislikes Mimsy would like to see Mimsy hauled away in handcuffs. Or maybe it was just a very practical reason...the opportunity to divert suspicion away from the killer presented itself and the murderer leaped at the chance."

"So let's think who might have something against Mimsy," said Miles. He stared blankly at Myrtle's television. "You know, if I had to place a bet on someone, I'd pick Poppy."

"Maybe you're confused about who Poppy is. Remember, she's the one who's Mimsy's best friend. You might be thinking about Estelle," said Myrtle.

"I'm most definitely not thinking of Estelle. That's because I can't think of a reason on this earth why Estelle Rutledge would want to set up Mimsy Kessler."