Dearly Departed by Carly Winter (best affordable ebook reader .txt) 📕

nodded and had an idea of where her thought processes were leading. “Are you saying if Karen was the killer, and Mrs. Wilson told her that I was involved in the investigation, that she went into our apartment and… cleaned it?”

“She could be leaving some sort of message,” Beth replied. “Just letting you know that she can get to you.”

“Oh, my. That’s a scary thought, but you could be right,” Mrs. Wilson said.

Donna held up the key again. “Well, we have our key back, so she’s not getting in again.”

“Let’s go pay Karen a visit,” Beth said. “Have a little chat with her.”

I realized she was completely caught up in the moment and loving the drama and potential danger.

“You girls go about your business,” Mrs. Wilson said. “I’m going downstairs to eavesdrop on everyone and talk with Mr. Killian for a bit.”

As she hurried down the hallway then bound down the stairs, I turned back to Beth and Donna.

“I can only hope I have her energy when I’m her age,” Donna said.

“She’s impressive,” Beth agreed. “But let’s get back to Karen. Are we in agreement that we need to pay her a visit?”

“And say what?” Donna asked. “Ask her if she broke into our apartment?”

Beth shook her head. “No. Just ask about Charles, their relationship, and let her know that we know she was at his place. If she’s not the one who broke in, she won’t think anything of it. If she’s guilty, then she’ll realize we suspect her and take it as a warning.”

“If she did kill Charles, I don’t want to upset her and have her come after us with a knife,” I said. “It could be dangerous.”

“There are three of us,” Beth said. “She’s not going to try anything.”

“Maybe not at that minute, but it’s possible that she could try something later,” I countered. “Maybe we should call the police.”

Beth narrowed her gaze on me and shook her head. “No. We aren’t calling a bunch of men to swoop in and save the day. We are women, who are more than capable of handling ourselves against another woman.”

“Well, I personally love it when a man swoops in,” Donna said.

“Patty, we discussed this,” Beth grumbled, ignoring Donna.

It was then I realized I had two polar opposite people standing in front of me. One who wanted nothing more than to be married and taken care of, and the other, an unapologetic feminist who wanted nothing to do with the traditional trappings of a woman’s life. Then there was me, the one who wanted it all. Marriage and kids at some point in the future, and an important career now that didn’t involve shlepping drinks and inhaling copious amounts of cigarette smoke.

“You’re right,” I said. “We’ll go see her tomorrow.”

“For now, let’s break open a bottle of wine,” Donna said. “It’s happy hour somewhere, right?”

“Sounds like a great idea to me,” Beth agreed.

Later that night, Beth snored softly on the couch while Donna and I dressed for bed.

“Do you think you’ll be ready to head back to work soon, Patty?” she asked, slipping her nightgown over her head.

“I think so. My ankle is sore, but I can definitely get around on it.”

Donna slipped into bed and fluffed up her pillow while I perched on the edge of the mattress and lathered lotion on my hands and arms. Ringo settled in between Donna’s legs, purring loudly.

“I wonder what Karen’s going to say tomorrow,” Donna asked. “What do you think?”

“I have no idea, but it should be interesting, especially if she admits breaking into our apartment.”

As I lay down on my own pillow, it made a strange crinkling sound.

“What’s that?” Donna asked.

Rising from the bed, I pulled away the pillow to find a piece of paper neatly folded beneath it.

Both of us stared at it a moment, then Donna picked it up.

“What does it say?” I asked as she unfolded it.

She gasped, then she glanced up at me, her face now pale and her gaze wide with fright. “Oh, my goodness,” she whispered, handing it to me.

I took it and read the typed sentence. My hand began to tremble and I met Donna’s gaze, then read it again.

Be careful. You don’t want to get too close, or you could be next.

Chapter 16

The next morning, my fear had waned, but the anger that had replaced it caused me to slam a couple cupboards, waking the other girls. Fine with me. Beth would be flying out in a few hours, and I wanted her to accompany Donna and me to meet Karen. After coffee, I slipped on my gray culottes, a pink sweater and my pink Mary Jane's. Donna opted for a multi-colored mini-dress and knee-high white boots, looking like she’d just stepped out of the pages of a fashion magazine. Beth wore a pair of jeans and a T-shirt.

“I want to make one quick stop before we go,” I said, grabbing Charles' key.

“What for?” Donna asked.

“To check something in Charles' apartment.”

We filed out of our own home and into his. At some point, someone would have to clean out the apartment and the super, Mr. Killian, would rent it out. Tears pricked my eyes at the thought of never seeing Charles again, but hopefully, someone as great would move in.

I hurried into the kitchen and sat down at the table. After gathering the stack of papers making up Charles' book into a neat pile, I looked over at the typewriter.

“Beth, can you please turn on that light?” I asked.

When the bulb above the table illuminated the space, I was able to study the ribbon. Looking at it from different angles, I thought I made out the imprint of a few letters, or was I only wishing?

Beth picked up the papers and began to rifle through them as I gently pulled on the typewriter ribbon to get a better look.

“You know, I think I just found his will,” Beth muttered. “Well, his version of it.”

“What does it say?” Donna asked.

“He says