A Justified Murder (Medlar Mystery 2)

The sheriff didn’t smile.

Sara and Jack left to get dressed, but Kate stayed. “How’s Tayla?”

“Crying a lot. She held it together for a long time but when Carl confessed, she collapsed. And before you ask—because I don’t know anything about it—Tayla called Charlene. She’s coming home from her ‘vacation.’”

The sheriff got up and for a while, he looked out the window, then back to Kate. “The big shots at the head office saw Carl’s papers, and heard his confession. They think he has more motive than Tayla did with her lawsuit from Janet.”

“So they don’t need to know any more about what else Janet Beeson did? About what she knew of the kidnapping?”

“That’s my thoughts. What about you guys?”

“I don’t have to consult them to know that we agree with you on this.”

“What about that reporter? Think he’ll keep the details to himself?”

“Aunt Sara will take care of him. I have no idea how, but I’m sure she’ll fix it. The outside world won’t hear about Lachlan’s secrets.”

The sheriff let out a sigh that seemed to deflate him. He seemed to blink back tears. Tayla and Charlene were related to him and he loved them.

Minutes later, Sara and Jack returned and they got into the sheriff’s car and he drove them to the hospital.

Twenty-One

IN THE BIG white bed, Carl looked even smaller than he had the other times they’d seen him. His eyes were sunk

en, his skin gray and thin.

Sheriff Flynn left them at the door and the three of them took seats by Carl’s bedside. There was no need to make introductions.

“I want to tell you about her,” Carl said.

“I think that after what we’ve been through, we deserve that,” Sara said.

For a moment, Carl put his hands over his eyes. “Where do I begin? First, you need to understand that Janet liked to win. Winning was what ran her life. She set a goal then worked to achieve it. She didn’t care how she won, just so she did.”

“It seems that you were a trophy,” Sara said. “We found Sylvia’s book.”

Carl closed his eyes for a moment. “Yes, I was. Janet worked in a small, menial job in the building I owned, but she didn’t need the money. She just liked to spy on people.”

“Liked to learn their secrets,” Sara said.

“One fateful day, she was in a restroom with half a dozen women. They were plotting about me. How to get me. Fat, plain-faced, boring old me.”

“But you had a bank account and that’s what they wanted.” Sara spoke from experience.

“Yes,” Carl said. “That was the real prize. The problem was that they ignored Janet. They didn’t consider her competition. She vowed to win no matter what she had to do. Never mind that the prize was a human being.”

“Let me guess,” Kate said. “She researched you.”

“Went to the town where I grew up and asked people about me. What I like, that sort of thing.”

“She did that with Gil and Lisa,” Jack said.

Carl smiled at him. “You three have been so clever in uncovering the truth.”

“What happened after the marriage?” Sara asked.

Suddenly, there was light in Carl’s eyes. They were seeing some of the hatred the man had felt for years. “To her, marriage meant that she’d won so she didn’t have to make any more effort. She hated sex and affection. She didn’t cook. Didn’t clean. Didn’t want to go anywhere. She spent a lot of time on her computer, and I had no idea what she was doing.”