Framed For Murder (An Anna Nolan Mystery) by Cathy Spencer

the back of her hand.
    “Did he say where he was going?” I prompted.
    “No, he didn’t tell me. To be truthful, I was a tiny bit jealous. I heard Jack tell a guy once that he had some ‘business’ to take care of when he meant that he was coming to see me. I thought it was pretty cute at the time, referring to me as “business.” So, when he told me last Thursday that he had some business to see to, I thought that he was leaving me to see another woman.”
    “Was Jack seeing anyone else from the movie, Amy?”
    “I don’t know, Anna. I’m not there all that much. They only need me for a few scenes now and then. But Jack was good-looking and funny and he flirted with the actresses and the female crew members all the time, so he might have been seeing someone else and not told me.”
    “Would that have hurt your feelings, Amy?”
    She shrugged and smiled. “Not so much, Anna. Jack and I both knew that we were just having some fun together. I did ask him once if he was serious about someone, though. He wore this diamond and ruby ring all the time, you know, and I wondered if a girlfriend had given it to him. He told me that it was from an old flame, but she had died, so he wore it in memory of her. That’s why he was so lonely – he couldn’t get over her, even though she died years ago.” Amy sighed. “Jack was so romantic.”
    I just about gagged when I heard about the ring. I had given it to him the night before we were married. It had been my grandfather’s ring, a handsome, square-cut diamond with a fat ruby set on each side. Pretty valuable, but my father wouldn’t wear it because he thought it was too gaudy. He gave it to me to give to Jack, however, saying that it would suit an actor just fine. Jack loved that ring and wore it all the time. I tried to picture his body lying on the ground on the night of the murder. I couldn’t remember seeing the ring, and I was sure that it would have caught my eye if he had been wearing it.
    “Amy, did Jack wear the ring over to your house on Thursday?” I asked.
    She screwed up her eyes to think. “I’m pretty sure he did, Anna. He always wore it when he wasn’t filming.”
    “Any chance he left it behind with you?”
    “Oh, no, I’m sure he didn’t. He hardly ever took it off.”
    I thought for a moment. I couldn’t believe that this simple-minded woman had killed Jack, but whoever had done so must have taken the ring. Now we had both the ring and the missing gun to incriminate the murderer, if he – or she – still had them in his or her possession.
    “Amy, I think that we can help each other out,” I said. Her eyes widened and she looked hopeful. “Inspector Tremaine suspects me of killing Jack because Jack left me some insurance money, but I didn’t do it, and I want to find out who did. You know the people over at the movie set – are they still filming, by the way?”
    “Yes. They flew someone in yesterday to replace Jack. They’ll have to reshoot the scenes that he was in.”
    “Okay, I want you to find out all the gossip you can about Jack. Talk to the crew, talk to the other extras, and try to find out if Jack was seeing someone else. I know that your feelings could get hurt, Amy, but Sergeant Tremaine suspects both of us, so if we find out who really killed Jack, we’ll be off the hook.
    Amy nodded her head eagerly. “That’s a really good idea, Anna. But what should I do with the rest of Jack’s clothes?”
    I paused. The clothes were pretty important evidence. I didn’t want to rat Amy out to the police, but I was afraid to hold back something as crucial as Jack’s whereabouts on the day of his murder.
    “Look, Amy, I think that it would be a good idea if you told Sergeant Tremaine about last Thursday,” I said. She looked frightened and shook her head no. “Now, wait a minute, Amy. Just hear me out. Tremaine has to find out where Jack was the day he died, right? He’s not going to rest until he’s got Jack’s whole day