A Body in the Trunk : Myrtle Clover Book 12

Chapter Twelve

Sally motioned wordlessly to them to sit down and they sat next to each other on a leather sofa. She put the soup in the kitchen and then joined them in the living room, sitting in an armchair. She shook her head and gave them a tight smile. "Can you believe it? Lyle! Who would want to hurt Lyle?"

Myrtle leaned forward on the sofa. "That's exactly what we were interested in finding out. Do you know who would want to hurt Lyle? It seems sort of incredible."

Sally said, "It wasn't like he was mugged or anything. There was no attempted robbery. Nothing was taken. So ... do you think it had something to do with Neil's death? Is some lunatic trying to eliminate all of the neighbors on Magnolia Lane?"

Miles said carefully, "I think that's extremely unlikely. But I think it's more likely that Neil's death and Lyle's death are related."

Sally looked baffled. "They didn't even like each other. Neil's yard was always such a disaster area and it drove Lyle crazy. They weren't friends. It's not as if Neil would have told Lyle anything that would have made the killer want to get rid of him."

Myrtle said, "I spoke to Lyle about Neil's death. He didn't think that he really knew anything—at least, nothing that was really incriminating against anyone."

Sally asked, "Did he mention the fact that Neil and Clara argued a lot?"

Myrtle nodded. "He sure did. He said that they yelled at each other and threw things."

"The spouse is always the most likely suspect, right? Isn't that what Red says?" asked Sally. She glared out the living room window at the house next door. She gave a short laugh. "I guess it's good that I had such a good alibi. I was with a church group at the crack of dawn this morning, helping feed breakfast at the soup kitchen in Lenoir."

"That will definitely deflect attention from you. And I'm sure Clara is considered a suspect. But, at the same time, she'd have had to really hurry, if she were the murderer. Let's say Neil called her right after he realized he had a flat tire. Clara would have had to speed over to him in the car, kill him, go home, and then run outside in alarm and notify Miles and me that she was worried about her husband."

Sally looked dubious, but nodded. "But couldn't she still have done it?"

"She certainly could have. But it's not as if the case is totally wrapped up. There's no definitive proof that Clara is responsible. There were other people who had issues with Neil," said Myrtle.

"Like Lyle?" asked Sally with a sigh. "You know, he just couldn't get Neil out of his mind. Lyle would drive past Neil's house and all he could think about was how terrible the yard looked and how he wanted the homeowner's association to put some pressure on Neil about it."

"Except there isn't a homeowner's association. Lyle and I talked about that, actually," said Myrtle.

Miles said, "Some people would think that having their neighbor's yard in such a state simply makes their own yard look better in comparison."

Sally said, "Yes, except with all the work that Lyle put into it, his yard looked better in comparison to everyone's yard."

Myrtle said, "Did Lyle say anything to you about Neil's death? Who might be responsible or the circumstances of his death? Maybe he remembered something about Neil? Really, just anything."

Sally hesitated. "He did say something. Lyle saw Neil. Probably right before Neil died, which made it even worse. Lyle had been on a nature walk and it started raining, so everyone had to go home. He realized that he needed to go by the ATM and get cash out, so he drove to the bank. On the way home, he saw Neil's car." She made a face. "Besides Neil's yard, Neil's car was something else Lyle hated. He thought he was being very ostentatious about it. Nobody really drives luxury cars in Bradley."