Ultimate Dilemma (Justice Again Book 2) by M Comley (best books under 200 pages txt) 📕

“Stop it! Not here, not when we’re about to bury the poor man.”

“Poor man! You’re having a sodding laugh.” Penny’s voice had risen, attracting the attention of the crowd.

“Maybe you should both calm down a bit. Leave this discussion until the service has ended,” Katy finally interjected.

Both sisters glared at her interference. Katy smiled, trying to deflect the irate glares Penny and Nadia were directing at her.

Finally, Penny sighed. “She’s right. This conversation can wait. We’d better get inside, the vicar is waiting for us.”

Katy glanced at the church doorway to find a young vicar welcoming the mourners into his domain.

“Don’t think this is the end of it, Penny,” Nadia snapped through gritted teeth.

Katy and Charlie held back so the others could get seated first.

Katy turned her back on the mourners and whispered, “They both seem on edge. We’ll keep a close eye on them during the service.”

Charlie nodded. “Should we try and sit closer to them, in order for us to do that?”

“No, I think we’ll be better off sitting at the rear. That way we can oversee everything that is happening in front of us.”

“Good idea.”

“Come on, it’s time for us to go in before they carry the coffin in.”

They chose to sit on the right-hand side, in the final pew. There were several pews empty ahead of them, but Katy stuck to her decision to sit at the back and observe.

The music started up, and four pallbearers carried the coffin down the aisle and settled it on a couple of trestles near the altar. The vicar was very complimentary about the victim during his service. Katy kept a close eye on Penny and Nadia throughout. Penny remained upright, but Nadia held her head low at all times. There were a few eulogies read, one by a work colleague—actually, it was Crawford’s boss who took up the role. The second one was read out by Nadia. Throughout the reading she came across as a sincere and loving daughter. Katy noticed the way Penny shook her head constantly during her sister’s speech.

But it was after the service that things really became interesting. The same four men carried the coffin out to its final resting place. The hole had been dug, and the coffin was lowered into the ground. Penny and Nadia stood next to each other, a few feet apart, acting like strangers rather than siblings. For some reason this upset Katy. The sisters should be supporting each other not falling out, bickering.

Katy and Charlie stood opposite the sisters and scanned the crowd at regular intervals. Most of the mourners were men, with the exception of a few women dotted around here and there. Katy couldn’t help wondering if some of the women were the ones Penny had referred to, who had once upon a time shared their father’s bed, if only for the night.

The pallbearers seemed to be gathered in one area, all appearing to be the same age, similar to that of Bruce Crawford, which made Katy wonder if they’d been lifelong chums and even gone to school with one another. Maybe she should interview them afterwards.

“How are you holding up?” Katy whispered to Charlie.

“Bored out of my mind but doing fine, you?”

“The same. Keep vigilant, you never know. One of those present here today could be our killer. It’s not unheard of for the guilty party to attend the funeral, it’s happened in a few of the cases I’ve dealt with over the years.”

“Hard to believe. I’ll keep an eye open.”

Katy’s attention returned to studying the sisters. Nadia went from having her chin settled on her chest to surveying the crowd. Now and then, Katy spotted her eyes narrowing a little and couldn’t help wondering why. As usual, she had the feeling there was more to this woman than met the eye. She just couldn’t figure out what it could be. Was she the killer? Had she left the hospital that night, worn a disguise, done the deed, and then run back to her car and pretended to arrive home to find her father still breathing? The more that scenario raced through her head, the more she thought it conceivable—or was it? She had conflicting ideas. One second she thought she was doing the nurse an injustice, the next she had her nailed as the bloody killer who had, up until now, smartly covered her tracks.

Once the vicar invited the mourners to throw soil or a flower onto the coffin and say a few words to send Crawford’s spirit on its way, the two sisters stood together to say farewell to those who had shown up and thank them for attending.

“I take it there’s not going to be a wake,” Charlie said out of the corner of her mouth.

“So it would appear. I suppose the cost would come into it, and if Penny has dug her heels in, it would be left up to Nadia to meet those costs. No idea how she afforded this when she said she didn’t have any money, you know, at the beginning when we were discussing her moving into a hotel for a few days.”

“She did. Fair enough. What next?”

“We wait until everyone has gone. Maybe we should split up, listen to a couple of the conversations, see if we glean anything from them.”

“I’m up for it.” Charlie set off.

Katy stepped closer to the sisters who were shaking hands with an elderly man and his wife.

“So very sorry for your loss, girls. Your father will be missed terribly at work, he was well-liked, as you can see from the turnout you’ve had today. We closed the firm for the day to allow the whole workforce to pay their respects.”

“Thanks for coming.” Nadia smiled tightly at the man. “It must have come as a shock to you and your colleagues. Did you know he wasn’t well?”

The man’s brow furrowed. “No, no I didn’t.”

Nadia nodded. “Neither did we, he kept the cancer from us.”

“Cancer? Oh my