“Journals that focus on metaphysics.” Maggie’s voice was glacial now.
“Forget I asked.”
“That won’t be difficult.”
“Notice any long-distance calls on the latest phone bill?”
“No.”
Sam thought for a moment. “Any chance she might have an anonymous mailbox at the post office?”
“Not that I know of.” Maggie paused. “That’s an interesting idea, though. A post office box would be an excellent way to keep certain types of correspondence a secret from others in the household. In this case, however, the question is, why bother? Miss Dewhurst lives alone.”
Sam got the ghostly whisper of awareness. “You appear to be one of the very few people who are close to Lillian Dewhurst.”
“Trust me, that did occur to me,” Maggie said, her voice sharp but not defensive. “The only secret I’m aware of is that she is AuntCornelia. I’m not the one blackmailing my employer. If I was, I wouldn’t have hired you.”
“It would be an interesting way of diverting suspicion from yourself.”
“Hmm.”
He thought he heard paper rustling. It was a small, insignificant sound, but it set off warning bells.
“Miss Lodge? What are you doing?”
“Just making a few notes,” she said a little too smoothly. “Please go on.”
She was taking notes? That did not sound good. He wasn’t sure why it didn’t sound good, but his intuition told him it was ominous.
“You’ve worked for Dewhurst for a couple of months and now you’re writing the columns,” he said.
“I didn’t get rid of her in order to get her job, if that’s what you’re implying.”
“Just trying to establish the facts.”
“I don’t want her job. It’s a good career but it’s not my calling. It is Miss Dewhurst’s calling, however. She has a talent for giving the right advice.”
“Why isn’t it a calling for you?” he asked, distracted.
“One never knows how the story ends.”
“What?”
“An advice columnist almost never finds out if the person who asked for help took the advice and, if so, how things worked out,” Maggie explained. “I find the work somewhat unsatisfying. I want to know the outcome.”
So do I,Sam thought. Back to business. “Why Burning Cove?”
“Pardon?”
“The extortionist thinks the conference at the Guilfoyle Institute will be a good place to collect the blackmail payment. You said that Dewhurst had thought about attending the event?”
“We talked about it, but in the end we both changed our minds.”
“Why?”
“Lillian decided to take the voyage to the South Pacific instead. I changed my mind after I discovered that Dr. Emerson Oxlade would be the guest lecturer.”
“You consider him a quack?”
