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The tremor worsened ever so slightly. “The killer struck Ms. Thorton from behind multiple times with a candlestick procured from her shop.”
“A crime of passion then?” Maybe Hannah argued with a book club member who grabbed the nearest object within reach.
“No, this was definitely pre-planned.” A muscle jumped in Conrad’s jaw. “Her body was staged, a card placed in her hand, and the first chapter of a manuscript put under her elbow.”
When he paused to draw in a breath, as if bracing himself, the moisture in Jane’s mouth dried. Nothing he’d said should have caused this kind of a reaction. They’d solved worse.
What did he suspect? “Did you know someone called 911 to report my, uh, unawake condition?” That sounded better than unconscious, right?
“Yes, and I’ve listened to the audio recording. It most likely came from a burner phone. The voice is disguised.” His expression grew grimmer and grimmer.
Had the killer called? Why disguise your voice, if not to hide your identity to cover a crime? For that matter, why call at all? “What haven’t you told me?”
He tightened his hold on her, saying, “Your name was spelled on the purple envelope clutched in the body’s hand. The letters were cut out of magazines.”
She blinked with confusion. “My name? As in Jane Ladling?”
“Yes.”
But. “That makes no sense.” Unless Hannah premade a thank you card? “What did the contents say?”
“It was an invitation that read, Player one is ready. Are you?”
Player one? “So Hannah died for a game of cat and mouse between the murderer…and me?”
“Yes. But there’s more,” he added, and she groaned. “The dedication was included with chapter one, and it mentions you and a few other residents of Aurelian Hills.”
“Like who?”
“Ana Irons. Anthony Miller. Marcus Hotchkins, and Joshua Gunn.”
Alarm streaked through Jane. “But all those people are dead.”
“Yes,” he agreed with a flat tone. At least this explained his grimness. “From what we can tell by skimming, the story is a reverse cozy mystery. Instead of being told from the sleuth’s point of view, it’s seen through the eyes of a quote unquote good-natured killer.”
Shocked, she could only mutter, “There’s such a thing as a good-natured killer?”
“Never. Copies are being made, so you and I can read it while the original pages are processed. I know you’re planning to interview your suspects, and nothing I say will stop you. But during this investigation, I’m asking you to always let me know your plans ahead of time and visit no one alone.”
“Deal. Here’s your first update. I’m speaking with my ex-boyfriend the fireman tomorrow. He’s the guy who found me.”
Conrad canted his head, and she had trouble deciphering his emotion(s). “The ex, huh?”
“Yeah. I’ll tell you all about it one day.” Her knot ached a little too much for such a deep conversation now.
“Good.” He lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles. “I’m confiscating the book club invitation you received.”
“Of course. It’s in my purse.” She motioned to the charming vintage handbag in a muted purple hue on the chair near the window. Delicate embroidered flowers adorned the surface and the decorative clasp shined. “Do you have any suspects?” she asked as he released her and stood. “Besides Lucy, I mean. And every member of the book club. Also Abigail Waynes-Kirkland. She’s involved somehow. She must be.”
“I’ll look into her, but I’m not yet certain there’s an actual club.” He withdrew a plastic baggie and a glove from his pocket, then fit the latex over his fingers, collected her purse, and fished the invitation from the interior.
“I assume you’ll start with the ex-husband,” she said. Significant others were always first.
He nodded. “I like to press them hard and fast in the beginning to knock them out of the running, if applicable, so I can widen the circle.”
As he fit the paper into the bag, Jane asked, “What did you mean, no club?” She had noticed how effortlessly he skipped over her question about suspects, but she simply chose not to push.
“From what little I read of the chapter, the killer, a woman, invites the owner of a landlocked cemetery to a teahouse to attend a fake meeting. The killer then strikes and kills the cemetery owner, causing a haggard detective to come out of retirement to try to solve the case.”
