A Justified Murder (Medlar Mystery 2)

“You were up early,” Sara said.

“Oh yeah. There’s a little, uh...building in back of Janet’s house and I saw someone there so I went out to say hello. That’s when I met Lisa. She was looking for something. She—”

“What was she looking for?”

“Her mother’s book. Well, not really a book book, but a flash drive. She said her mother wrote the book. Can you imagine that? I have trouble writing a text but she—”

“Did she find it?”

“No,” Zelly said. “She had a metal tool with her and she was going to take up the floor but she said she’d better not. I think she was afraid she’d get in trouble.”

“What kind of trouble?”

Zelly looked at Sara as though she was an idiot. “It wasn’t her mother’s house anymore, was it?”

Sara had to bite her tongue to not point out that Zelly had been staying on a boat that didn’t belong to her. “Did she tell you about the book?”

“Oh yes. She said it was her mother’s last book and it would show that what happened was just...”

“Just what?”

Zelly put her fingers on her temples. “Just-something. Ask Kate. She’s good with words.”

“I am too. What did the word sound like?”

“Longer.”

“It was longer than ‘just?’ Oh. Justified?”

Zelly nodded.

Sara leaned back on the couch. “Lisa said that if she found the last book her mother had written it would show that what had happened was justified.”

Zelly smiled. “That’s it exactly. You’re good with words too.”

“Thank you.” Sara looked up at the screen. “So when did you see Carl?”

“He came to the fence and told her she had to leave. I don’t think he saw me. He’s really skinny, isn’t he?”

“He is,” Sara said. “What else was said? What else did you see?”

“That’s all. I don’t think Lisa liked that I saw her there, and she didn’t want Carl to see me.”

“How do you know his name?”

“Lisa said it. She stepped in front of me then said, ‘Carl, you scared me.’ Then she grabbed her bag and left.”

“That’s everything?”

“All of it. She picked up the gun and ran out.”

Sara drew in her breath. “She did what?”

“Picked up the gun. It fell out when she grabbed her bag. I know it’s easier to reach a gun if your bag has an open top but it’s not safe to do that. I tell my friends that all the time.”

“That’s, uh...good advice.” Sara was blinking at her. “So, Lisa had a gun with her. A pistol?”

“Probably a .38. Looked like one. I like those. Not as much kick as a .45.”