Murder and Salutations by Elizabeth Bright Page A

course,” she said.
    I reached over and hung up the telephone.
    She stared at me and asked, “Jennifer, have you lost your mind? I need to tell Sara Lynn he’s on his way.”
    “ Lillian, stop a second and think it through. Do you honestly think Bradford’s going to be able to get Sara Lynn to tell him anything she doesn’t want to? She’s more stubborn than you are.”
    Lillian nodded. “I still think we should warn her that he’s coming.”
    “ And I think we’ve done enough already. I can’t believe I told him about the missing emergency cash.”
    “ Jennifer, you’re just trying to help. So why do you think Bailey ran like that? It certainly makes him look guilty, doesn’t it?”
    “ Do you think he’d actually do it?” I couldn’t imagine my brother-in-law doing anything of the sort.
    “ People stopped surprising me ages ago,” she said.
    “ Okay, let’s see if we can help Sara Lynn out a more constructive way. You’re talking to Polly and Luke. Should I tackle Kaye Jansen while you’re doing that, or should I tag along with you?”
    “ Honestly, I don’t know if either one of them would talk to me if you’re right there. After all, your sister is the prime suspect, and we don’t want any repeats of today.”
    “ Hey, I already said I was sorry,” I said, remembering my confrontation with Addie. “I can keep my mouth shut. I promise.”
    Lillian appeared to think about it a few seconds, then said, “I suppose you could be in the other room when Polly comes by to talk about the house. Short of slipping you in as a waitress, I don’t know how I can get you close enough to my lunch date.”
    “ Leave that to me.” I knew I could work it out with Jack Hurley so that I’d be seated right behind Luke Penwright at the restaurant the next day. “So what do we do about Kaye?”
    “ We’ll tackle her later if our other two leads don’t work out,” Lillian said as she stifled a yawn. “Now what can I do to help here?”
    “ You can go home and get a good night’s sleep,” I said. “We’ve got a busy day tomorrow.”
    “ I don’t mind staying, honestly, I don’t.”
    “ Good night, Lillian,” I said as I pushed her toward the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
    “ Fine, I can take a hint,” she said as she left. I loved my aunt to death, but I didn’t need her helping me pack. After all, I’d be the one putting everything away in my new place, and to do that, I needed to know where everything was in the boxes. I worked another half an hour before I found myself yawning, too, so I decided to call it a night. Oggie and Nash were curled up on my pillows, both of them sound asleep. I just wished I could drop off as quickly as they could, but I had a lot more on my mind than they did. As I finally nodded off, our suspects’ faces were swirling around in my head, with one disturbing addition. Every now and then Bailey’s face would pop up, only to fade away again. At least I hadn’t seen Sara Lynn’s face in the whirlwind. I would have never gotten to sleep then, if my subconscious mind was willing to admit what I wasn’t ready to say out loud: that Sara Lynn surely had the required motive, means and opportunity to do away with Eliza Glade.
    I felt like a criminal the next morning as I hid in Lillian’s pantry waiting for Polly Blackburn to show up.
    “ Jennifer, can you hear me all right?” Lillian asked.
    “ I can hear you just fine,” I said, “but I won’t be able to see her face. I need to see her expressions if I’m going to be able to tell if she’s lying or not.”
    “ Sorry, I don’t have any one-way glass for you to peek through. You know, that might not be such a bad idea. I could duck into the pantry and see what my guests are really up to behind my back.”
    “ Lillian, could you be serious for one second?”
    “ Jennifer, I’ve never been more serious in my life.” The doorbell rang, and she said, “Not a word out of you. I’ll keep the door ajar