Murder on the Sinful Express

by Shari Hearn

  Ida Belle froze the frame. “Why was she hiding behind the shed?”

  Ida Belle clicked rewind again and Madigan rushed in reverse behind the tool shed. About a minute later a figure emerged from the area of the gate, walking in reverse toward the door.

  “She hid because someone else was in the house,” I said.

  “Yes, but who?”

  Ida Belle ran the video in reverse until the moment the other person stepped through the back door. Celia.

  Ida Belle backed up further, when Celia first entered the backyard, then pressed play.

  Celia had entered approximately fifteen minutes ago, while we were burying Gertie’s clothes. She held her arm up against the skunk smell and used a key from her purse to let herself inside. While Celia was inside, Madigan had shown up, also reacting to the smell. She noticed the door ajar and reacted as if she’d heard a noise inside. This prompted her to scurry behind the shed in the corner of the yard by Anna’s vegetable garden.

  Celia had been inside Anna’s house approximately five minutes before leaving. Madigan waited a couple of minutes before coming out from behind the shed and going to Anna’s door. Lifting the doormat, she pulled out a key and unlocked the door. She was in and out in under one minute.

  I shook my head. “Madigan, Mindy and Celia couldn’t all have poisoned Anna.”

  “No, but there’s something inside Anna’s house they all wanted,” Ida Belle said. “And bad. Did you see the way both Madigan and Celia covered their noses? It must smell like baked skunk back there. Yet, even that didn’t deter them.”

  Gertie came into the dining room dressed in a pink robe and slippers. “Anything else on the feed?”

  Ida Belle’s mouth dropped. “That’s my robe.”

  Gertie nodded. “I raided your closet.”

  “But I left another trash bag out for you.”

  Gertie stared at Ida Belle. “Yes, I noticed. How generous.” She turned her back toward us and scratched her butt through the robe. “FYI, I’m not wearing underwear.”

  “Gah!” Ida Belle said. “You can have the robe now.”

  Gertie turned back toward us, smiling. She looked down at the feed. “So... we have our suspect?”

  I shook my head. “Nope. We now have three.”

  Chapter Eleven

  GERTIE AND I ENTERED the library staff room before the book club was scheduled to begin. Madigan held a pot of coffee in her hand. “Good morning, ladies. I’ll bring your coffees in if you want to head on into the community room.”

  I held my cup out. “I already have some. I’m just here to top it off.”

  “How was your evening?” Gertie asked as Madigan filled my cup.

  “Oh, pretty uneventful,” Madigan said, topping off Gertie’s cup as well. But the sudden change of expression and what we’d witnessed on the hidden camera last night said otherwise.

  Trixi entered the room holding a coffee cup. “Any coffee left? I kinda spilled Ida Belle’s when I bumped into the table. I told her I’d bring back another cup for her.”

  “None left in this pot, but if you can hang on a second, the other pot is almost ready,” Madigan said.

  Walter popped his head into the room. “Good morning.”

  “Hey, Walter, what brings you here?” Gertie asked.

  “I’m delivering some supplies. But I’ll wait till you’re all finished getting your coffee.”

  “Need some help?” Trixi asked.

  He held his hand up. “I’m good. I’ll just wait outside.”

  Madigan watched him leave. “I bet Deputy LeBlanc is going to look just like his uncle at that age.”

  “Oh yeah,” Trixi said, looking outside the staff room and into the main section of the library, where Walter had taken a seat. “Those two certainly inherited the handsome genes.” She continued to gaze at him. In a longing sort of way. The coffeemaker chimed, signaling it was finished brewing. Trixi turned to Madigan. “Here, let me help you with that.”

  Madigan’s face filled with concern. “No, it’s okay. I’m fine.”

  “Nonsense. I’m the one who wants more.”

  Gertie leaned into me and whispered, “We’d better leave. It’s never a good outcome when Hurricane Trixi helps out.”

  As we left the room, I could hear a crash of glass in the sink. “Oh for heaven’s sake, how did that happen?” Trixi cried out.

  As we hurried toward the community room, I said to Gertie, “Wow, Trixi really has it bad for Walter.”

  Gertie stopped walking. “What?”

  “You didn’t notice?”

  “Notice what?”

  “The way she looked at him back there.”

  Gertie shrugged. “I’m always too busy getting out of Trixi’s way to notice how she looks at anyone.” She shook her head. “Though she wouldn’t be the first woman to pine for Walter. If it wasn’t for his undying love for Ida Belle, that man would have made some woman a fine husband.”

  We entered the room and took our seats. Madigan entered soon afterward, followed by Trixi, who held two glasses of sweet tea.

  “Sorry, Ida Belle,” Trixi said as she set one of the glasses in front of her. “Madigan and I had a little accident with the just-brewed pot of coffee.”

  Madigan cleared her throat.

  “Okay, maybe the accident was mostly my fault. But luckily we have some of Mindy’s tasty sweet tea to wake us up. Cheers.” She raised her glass in a toast.

  Ida Belle gave Trixi a pained smile, tapped Trixi’s glass with her own glass. She set her glass down without taking a drink and looked at Madigan. “I think we’re ready to begin.”

  Madigan pressed the button on the toy train.

  Whoo-whoo!

  Chugga-chugga-chugga.

  “All aboard the Sinful Express!” Madigan called out. “I now turn day four of the Sinful Express over to our conductor, Fortune Morrow.”

  “Thank you, Madigan.” I gazed at the faces of the ladies in the group, one of whom I suspected had poisoned Anna with food containing a deadly toxin. But which one?

  I cleared my throat and began. “I suppose everyone has had an opportunity to look for new clues to add to our board.”

  Mindy huffed in frustration. “I spent the evening waiting for a confidential informant who never showed.”

  Gertie’s lip quivered as she held in a snicker.

  “I talked with a few of the bingo regulars at the senior center,” Edilia offered. “They all said Anna went to bingo just like always. There was something I found odd, though.” She looked down at her notepad. “Odis Benoit said Anna ate quite a bit from the buffet table.”

  Celia rolled her eyes. “Why would she eat there if she already had dinner at home?”

  “Exactly,” said Edilia. “Odis also said Anna made a big deal of not taking the desert because she had her chocolate cake waiting for her at home.”

  “That’s interesting,” Gertie said. “Whoever poisoned Anna may have either switched slices of cake or somehow added the toxin to the cake Anna brought home from the library.”

  “Good job, Edilia,” I said as I wrote the information on the board.

  “Also,” Edilia added with some trepidation, “Odis said that Mindy, who usually attended every bingo game, wasn’t there that night.”

  “So?” Mindy said. “I don’t have to go to every bingo game. I was behind on my reading for the book club. I stayed home to read. Can’t a gal stay home to read?”

  I wrote the info on the board.

  Mindy shook her head. “That’s not a clue.”

  “Seems like a clue,” Ida Belle said. “You never miss bingo. But you might if you wanted to enter Anna’s house when she was gone and switch slices of cake on her.”

  “What?” Mindy said. “That’s absurd. I didn’t have a slice of cake to switch.”

  “No,” Trixi said, “but Madigan did. As I was cleaning up after the first group meeting, I reserved a slice of cake for her to take home.”

  Madigan fro
ze. The members of the group turned their heads her way.

  “I ate it myself,” Madigan said. “At home. While watching TV.”

  “I’m sure you did, honey,” Trixi said before turning toward me and raising her eyebrows.

  “Hmmmm.” Celia glowered at Madigan. “You stopped by bingo briefly that night to speak to Anna.”

  Madigan swallowed. “Yes, I wanted to apologize for leaving the cart where she bumped into it. That’s all.”

  Celia stood and pointed toward the whiteboard. “All that needs to go on the board, especially the part about taking the cake home.”

  On the board I wrote, Madigan also took home slice of cake. Could she have switched it?

  “That’s not a clue,” Madigan said. “That’s a theory.”

  “Clues include theories,” Mindy said.

  “Indeed they do.” Celia cast a sharp glance at Madigan before sitting down.

  “You know what’s also a clue?” Gertie asked Celia. “That Anna called you the day before she collapsed. She said she put the screws to the ‘little bitch’ and you should have what you wanted soon.”

  Celia’s eyes grew wide. She took a moment to breathe. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Who told you this?”

  “Francine,” Gertie said. She looked over at Madigan. “I wonder who Anna was referring to.”

  Madigan stared at the table.

  Mindy looked at me. “Put that phone call on the board.”

  I nodded. “And should we put on the board that Francine also overheard Anna making a quick phone call to you, Mindy, saying she was going to share your letter with the world and that you would be a laughingstock?”

  There were audible gasps in the room. Mindy’s face drained of color.

  Trixi leaned into the table. “The plot thickens.”

  “I had nothing to do with Anna being poisoned,” Mindy said.

  Miss Cookie slammed her cane on the table. “You’re all wrong!” She pointed to me and then Trixi. “I told you before. It was you and you. The outsiders.”

  Trixi rolled her eyes. “And as I said before, I’m not an outsider. I was born here. I just left and came back a few times.”

  Celia stood. “Miss Cookie, if you have evidence that Miss Fortune there was connected, I’d like to hear it.”

  Cookie glared at me. “I saw the Yankee leaving her house through the window the night before the victim was poisoned. Must have been nine o’clock. Why not leave out her door, unless she wanted everyone to think she stayed inside all night.” She pointed to me. “You did it. And that’s not all.”

  “Mama!” Delphine said. “We’re not discussing the book anymore. This is real life. Please. Hush.”

  “Sounds credible to me,” Celia said.

  “Except that Fortune was with us that night from seven to ten thirty,” Ida Belle said.

  Celia snorted. “How convenient. I’d like to explore more about the Yankee sneaking out of her window.”

  Gertie stood and pointed her finger at Celia. “And I’d like to explore you sneaking into Anna’s house last night.”

  More gasps. Eyes widened around the table. Gertie pointed to Mindy and then to Madigan. “And both Mindy and Madigan made visits as well.”

  Mindy’s jaw dropped. Madigan closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

  Gertie picked up the remote control to the laptop we’d set up before the meeting started. “It’s time we present our own clues.” She clicked on play and the hidden camera footage started from when Mindy entered the yard and headed to the back door.

  “We can all sit for an hour and watch the break-ins unfold,” I said, “or you three can just cut to the chase and tell us why you were breaking into Anna’s house last night.”

  “I didn’t break in,” Celia said. “As your video will show, I used a key. A key Anna gave me. I was there to check up on my friend’s house.”

  A good excuse, but one I didn’t believe.

  Mindy kept staring at the TV screen, watching herself breaking into Anna’s house with a butter knife.

  “You had a backpack with you,” Gertie said to her. “What did you take out of Anna’s house?”

  All eyes were on Mindy. She leapt from her chair. “I was there to get my letter back! That’s all!”

  “What was in the letter?” Gertie asked.

  Mindy dropped back into her seat and sighed. “After the first group meeting, I noticed Anna had left her book on one of the library tables. I flipped it open and analyzed it. I wanted to see if she’d cheated and read ahead. And guess what? She did! Anna can’t read a book without munching on something. Pretzels, potato chips, you name it.”

  “That’s right,” Madigan said. “I’ve seen crumbs left in pages of books that she’s returned to the library.”

  “That book was one she bought at Harriet’s Books, same as mine. So hers should have been spotless. It wasn’t. There were crumbs and greasy fingerprints all throughout the back of the book. I quickly scribbled a letter accusing her of cheating and saying I was going to get even and stuck it in the back of her book so she’d find it later. After I realized our investigating might bring the sheriff’s department in to comb through her house, I was afraid they’d find my note and think that ‘getting even’ meant I’d kill her. I didn’t put anything bad in her food. I swear! I just went back to get my letter!”

  Mindy pointed to Madigan. “And we haven’t heard from Madigan. You said she broke in? I’d like to hear her explanation for that.”

  “Yes, so would I,” Celia said.

  “A lot of clues do point to you, Madigan.” Ida Belle counted each clue on her fingers. “You were seen huddling with Anna where it appeared she was threatening you. Anna appeared to cover it up by reprimanding you over a cart left in the aisle. You took home an identical slice of cake. Cake you could have infused with toxins and switched with Anna’s slice of cake. You were seen at the bingo game having words with Anna. You were seen by Trixi near Anna’s house the night she was poisoned. And you broke into Anna’s house last night. Why?”

  Madigan’s face blanched. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

  “No wonder,” Mindy said. “Ida Belle’s right. The clues are pointed right at you.”

  “I didn’t do anything wrong!” Madigan shouted before rushing to the door and leaving.

  “Stop her!” Celia said.

  Several women rose, but I jumped from my chair and held up my hands to stop them. “Wait a minute! We’re not a mob. There’s something that doesn’t feel right about all this. Let me go talk to her.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Gertie said, standing.

  Celia stood as well. “I’m calling Sheriff Lee.”

  “I’ll stay with the group, get everyone settled down,” Ida Belle said. She looked at the rest of the women. “Why don’t we take a moment to calm down and write our thoughts in our notebooks.”

  As women picked up their pens and began writing, Gertie and I left in pursuit of Madigan.

  Chapter Twelve

  DEAR DIARY,

  My little plan is working better than I expected. I knew Ida Belle and Gertie couldn’t keep their noses out of it, but having half of Sinful tromping through Anna’s house last night is truly a bonus. Of course, there was no need for me to go back to Anna’s house. I don’t leave behind evidence.

  I never do.

  Suspicion is now cast on little Madigan. And the vial of antifreeze I slipped in her purse will certainly seal the deal. Especially in two days when Ida Belle begins feeling the effects of the antifreeze I put in her sweet tea. That is, if she’d only drink it. It’s been sitting in front of her for ten minutes and she’s not taken one sip. She needs a little prodding.

  “My but I am parched,” Trixi said, taking a sip of her own tea. “This is delicious. Have you tasted this?” she asked Ida Belle.

  Ida Belle picked up her glass and brought it to her lips. Go on, drink it. Drink it. But she didn’t. Ida Belle frowned and set the glass back down
on the table. She looked up at the board. “Fortune’s right. Something feels off.”

  Cookie picked up her cane that had been lying across her lap and slapped it down on the table. She pointed to Trixi. “She did it.”

  “Mama, please,” Delphine said. “We solved it. Madigan did it.” She looked at Ida Belle. “Didn’t she?”

  Ida Belle rubbed her chin, gazing at the board “A lot of signs do point to her. And yet...”

  Cookie wheeled her chair to the door. “When you figure it out, Kojak, come get me. I’ll be outside getting some air.”

  “Why don’t we all just go back to our notebooks?” Ida Belle said.

  Before leaving the room, Cookie tossed Trixi a look. An “I know you did it” look. Trixi picked up her pen.

  Dear Diary,

  Remind me to kill her too.

  Chapter Thirteen

  GERTIE AND I APPROACHED the staff lounge where we’d seen Madigan enter moments ago. “Some of the signs do point to her,” Gertie said.

  I nodded. “Yeah, but I feel there’s something we’re overlooking.”

  We stepped inside the room to find Walter stocking one of the supply closets. “Are you sure there’s nothing you want to talk about?” he asked Madigan, who was retrieving her purse from her locked cubby.

  She shook her head, sniffing back tears.

  “Madigan, honey,” Gertie began, “it’s Gertie and Fortune.”

  Madigan turned around. “I didn’t poison Miss Anna.”

  Walter’s brows lifted. “Who’s accusing you of doing that?”

  “The rest of our book club,” Madigan said. “We’ve been discussing all the clues regarding Miss Anna’s botulism. A lot of the clues point to me, but I didn’t do it.”

  Walter looked at us. “I thought it was a baked potato that was wrapped in foil.”

  I nodded. “But everyone who knows Anna said that she never used foil on a baked potato and that she knew all the safety precautions.”

  “What did Breaux say when you told him this?” Walter asked.

  “He dismissed us as hysterical women,” Gertie said. “So we decided to investigate it ourselves.”