Death Among the Doilies by Mollie Cox Bryan Page A

“Well, as far as Cashel and the rest of the town know, we are going to do what we do best. Crafting. Retreating. Being nice and friendly.”
    â€œBut?”
    â€œBut we also need to find a murderer.”
    Jane took a long drink of water and set the glass down. “You aren’t suggesting, again, what I think you are? That we somehow investigate Sarah’s murder on our own?”
    â€œThat’s exactly what I mean.”
    â€œGirl, you have lost your ever-loving mind.”
    â€œNo, I haven’t. It doesn’t look like the police are getting anywhere. Why shouldn’t we poke around a bit?”
    â€œBecause, um, murder? If we piss the killer off, they might come after us. Besides, we could make the police mad. I don’t need that.”
    â€œNo, you don’t,” Cora said after a minute. “Which is why we need to be careful.”
    Jane knew then that Cora had her mind set. There was no turning back. Not now. And it scared Jane to death. Only Cora would attempt something like this, so blinded by her absolute need to help.
    â€œI don’t think this is a good idea,” Jane said.
    â€œRelax,” Cora said, crossing her arms and leaning on the counter. “It will be fine. Trust me.”
    She did trust Cora. But she was talking about investigating a murder case. It wasn’t the same thing as starting a new business together—or even working with abused women, tough as it was. This was life and death, and they had no idea what they were doing. She’d have to keep a close eye on Cora, who often went into situations purely on instinct, without much thought. This could get downright messy.

Chapter 15
    â€œI’m sorry, ladies,” Officer Shimer said, walking toward them as they came out the back door. “We haven’t been able to find anybody. None of your neighbors witnessed anything, other than the usual UPS delivery, catering van, a florist, and so on. In fact, most of the neighbors are not even home. It’s the middle of the day. Everybody must be away at work.”
    â€œThe grass over that way was bent in such a way that we could follow the trail for a few minutes. We even got a dog involved. We checked down by the river as well,” the officer explained.
    The river was a couple of miles from Kildare House, down a rocky landscape. If someone had run in that direction, he or she would have had an unpleasant time of it, unless they were familiar with the area.
    â€œWhat are the chances we can get the door painted over before Jane’s daughter comes home from school?” Cora asked.
    â€œDepends on if you have paint. We’ve taken photos and gathered all the evidence,” Officer Glass replied.
    â€œEvidence?” Cora said.
    â€œWe took a sample of the paint, which will tell us what kind it is and then we might be able to figure out where it was purchased,” he said.
    The officers of Indigo Gap wore indigo blue. Officer Glass’s uniform seemed to almost blend in to the sky as he stood in the garden between the big house and the two smaller houses on the property.
    â€œCan you get back to me and let me know?” Cora said.
    â€œThat’s police business.”
    â€œIt’s just that this is my property,” she replied. “It would make me feel more secure to be kept informed. Besides which, I was thinking maybe the vandal is also the person who killed Sarah Waters.”
    â€œWhoa,” he said.
    â€œWhoa indeed,” Jane said.
    â€œThat’s quite a leap of logic,” Glass said.
    â€œNot really. Who else would want to make it look like Jane is guilty, but the guilty person?” Cora said, as if he should know.
    Officer Glass shook his head. “It’s never that simple with cases like this. I get what you’re saying. But it’s probably a local kid looking for mischief.”
    Glass was called away by another officer.
    â€œA local kid looking for mischief