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“Yes, it is,” said King slowly. “And not one we can entirely discount right now, although my instincts tell me he’s wrong.”
They continued with their meal and also finished off the second bottle of wine. Afterward in the library they sipped coffee that Harry poured for them. He offered them an after-dinner cognac, but they both declined.
“I have to drive home,” said King. “The wine was plenty.”
“And I have to look after him while he drives us home,” added Michelle, smiling.
The room had grown chilly, and Michelle stood in front of the fire warming her long legs. “Dresses can be very drafty,” she said self-consciously.
Harry turned to King. “What’s your opinion of Dorothea?”
“Well, the source of the drug Eddie was given wasn’t the wine, nor did they find any of the drugs Dorothea had purchased from Kyle,” said King. “However, I checked with Sylvia. The morphine sulfate Eddie was given was a drug she kept in her pharmacy and may have been one of the drugs Kyle brought to Dorothea at the Aphrodisiac. And Dorothea has no alibi for the time Kyle was killed. She said she was at home, but Eddie didn’t see her.”
“Actually, he was out in his studio all night painting a picture of me,” said Michelle in an embarrassed tone.
King eyed her closely but said nothing.
Harry looked at her curiously for a moment and then said, “So she was buying the drugs, and she’s a possible suspect in both Battle’s and Kyle Montgomery’s deaths. She was also the person who had the best opportunity to drug Eddie, and lived very near where Sally was killed. All circumstantial obviously, but still compelling.”
“And she’s been depressed due to the financial setbacks and family issues she told us about,” said Michelle. “A troubled woman all around.”
King replied, “I don’t disagree with you, but I’m having a hard time finding her motive. She said Bobby had promised to change his will to benefit her, but he didn’t. So there goes her motive to kill him.”
“Unless she found out he hadn’t and was so furious she murdered him,” said Michelle.
Harry rose and stood next to Michelle in front of the fire. “At over seventy, one’s whole body becomes drafty regardless of the amount of clothing or the relative heat of the room,” he explained.
Returning to the discussion, he said, “There might be a third possibility. We’ve been focused on what was taken from Remmy’s closet, but what was stolen from Bobby’s closet?”
They both stared at him but said nothing.
Harry continued. “The will that left everything to Remmy is the one that’s being used by the lawyers. It was drawn up many years ago.”
“How do you know that?” asked Michelle.
“The lawyer who drafted it was a former clerk of mine, currently a partner at a firm in Charlottesville. They had the original, and that’s the will that’s being probated.”
“Did anyone look for another, more recent will?” asked King.
“That’s the point. I don’t think so. But what if a later will was the thing stolen from Bobby’s closet during the burglary?”
King said, “But if it was in Bobby’s secret compartment, which Remmy told us she was unaware of, she wouldn’t have had the opportunity to destroy it.”
“I’m not saying it was Remmy. Bobby had a stroke, he was delirious, talking gibberish at the hospital, so I heard,” said Harry.
“And maybe he mentioned another will,” said King, snapping his fingers.
“So anyone who heard him could have committed the burglary,” said Harry.
“If Dorothea had it, though, she would hav
e made it public, wouldn’t she?”
“But there’d be the little matter of where it came from,” said Harry. “I don’t think she would want to confess to burglary.”
King looked puzzled. “But, Harry, we’re overlooking something. Bobby’s death was well publicized. Whoever drew up the new will would have come forward.”
“Maybe he didn’t use a law firm to draft it.”
