Martin gave Louise a pat on the shoulder before he called to Alec James and went after him. They could hear him saying, “She’s been under a strain lately.” He might as well have added, “She’s crazy.”
It was sweet of him to try to smooth things over, but no amount of smoothing could explain away this mess.
“I guess we did jump to conclusions,” she said to Gilda. It was so embarrassing. She’d never be able to look the man in the eye again.
“Maybe, but better safe than sorry,” Gilda replied. “I mean, what if something was going on next door? You’d feel even worse if that had been the case and you hadn’t done anything. Just like the neighbors of the freezer killer. And really, you still don’t know the whole story of what went on next door. All you have is that man’s word. And who knows if that’s worth anything.”
“You’re right,” said Louise.
“No, she’s not,” Zona said after she came home and learnedwhat had happened. “I told you how hard it is these days to get away with murder. How could you accuse our neighbor of it, especially with things already strained between us? You can be glad Martin smoothed those troubled waters. Honestly, Mom, what were you thinking?”
Louise’s face began to burn. “I wasn’t. I got so caught up in...” What had she gotten caught up in?
“In imagining things that weren’t true,” Zona supplied. “You overheard a couple of really bad fights and jumped to the worst possible conclusion.”
Who did that? Crazy people, that was who. Was she losing it?
“Am I slipping mentally?” she fretted.
“What?”
“Maybe dementia is setting in. Or Lewy Body. Except I thought that happened primarily to men.”
“Mom!” Zona protested. She sounded panicked.
“People can get childish in their old age, start to lose it. I think I’m losing it,” Louise said in a small voice.
“No, you’re not,” Zona said firmly. “You’re just operating under the influence of Hitchcock. And Gilda. I think you two should take a break from your true crime shows for a while.”
Louise bit her lip and nodded.
“Or harness that creativity and work on your novel.”
“I know who the murderer is going to look like,” Louise muttered.
It resurrected Zona’s sense of humor and she laughed. “If it makes you feel any better, remember, I’ve been suspecting him of things I have no evidence of, too,” she said. “Bottom line, we don’t know him well enough to pass judgment. Although, I’ve got to admit, being around him makes me edgy.”
“Now we’re probably the ones who make him edgy.”
Zona chuckled at that. “At least we know he’s not a murderer.” She shook her head and smiled. “That had to be some scene. Mr. Hitchcock would have loved it.”
What a mortifying scene it had turned out to be. “I’m sure the officers will keep everyone down at the police station entertained telling about it,” Louise said with a frown.
“What happened to the bone?”
“Martin took it away.”
“Thank God,” said Zona.
“And Gilda scrubbed down both the fridge and the table three times before she left. Still, I may never eat at that table again. And my poor fridge. Serves us right, I guess. I’m sure Martin thinks I’m insane,” Louise added. She wished she’d listened to him. Then at least the police wouldn’t have gotten involved.
“Well, you are making his life interesting.”
Louise frowned. “The neighborhood crazy lady.” She couldn’t even justify her behavior by adding, “But it’s possible. He could have murdered his girlfriend.” And cut her up in pieces and buried a stray femur in his front yard. Remembering how insistent she’d been and what a fool she’d looked like put a sizzle on her face.
Zona heaved a sigh. “I really hate to have to do it, but I think I’d better take over a peace offering. I’ll bake some cookies.”
“He’ll probably think they’re poisoned.”
