to the place that developed the photos for the paper. My prints and negatives came back with his, and the cost came out of my delivery money. Look at the date stamp on the front and the company imprint on back of the paper; this is the original.”
“So who had originals of your photos?”
“Well, you, Brad, Sean, maybe your mom or Sean’s mom. My dad had some. Thing is, I don’t remember giving this photo to anyone. Doesn’t mean I didn’t, I just don’t remember.”
“I haven’t looked for any at my house, but I don’t remember having it either.”
“That leaves Brad and Sean.”
“Would you have given any to Caroline or Gwyneth?”
“Maybe Caroline, but I don’t remember doing it. I was beneath contempt as far as Gwyneth was concerned.”
“I guess someone could have stolen it from you, without you knowing.”
“Gail Goodwin cleans my house, but I can hardly picture her as a photo thief and poison pen writer. Other than Gail and you, Sam and Patrick are the only people who come to my house.”
“Well, think about it, and let me know if you remember anything.”
“Lots of people thought Theo murdered Brad,” Ed said, “but who would go to the trouble of sending him a threatening letter, and why now?”
“It’s just too much of a coincidence in the timing,” Scott said. “It has to be connected.”
“Does Sarah think I sent it?”
“Sarah’s not too impressed by it. She thinks it’s just a prank.”
“Have you talked to Margie at the post office?”
“No,” Scott said. “I’m putting that off for as long as I can.”
Ed chuckled, saying, “I can see why.”
Scott stopped in at the Rose and Thorn again, where Ian had just returned from school bus duty and was enjoying his first beer of the day. Instead of resenting the older man’s strong views, Scott found himself glad to have someone with whom to discuss the case. With his best friend a suspect, he needed someone to bounce ideas off of, and Ian, for all his opinionated bluster, had been a pretty good chief of police, could keep a confidence, and knew everyone involved. Scott went over his notes with Ian, and Ian gave him a few suggestions.
“Doc Machalvie is a good doctor and an old friend,” Ian said, “but he is enough like his brother, Stuart, to bear watching.”
“Really? I would’ve thought they couldn’t be more different. Doc is such a gentleman and Stuart’s so… ”
“Greedy? Manipulative? Conniving?”
“All that. Doc, on the other hand, is always going out of his way to help people, whether or not they can pay.”
“Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was supplying Theo with prescriptions for imaginary ailments.”
“For money?” Scott asked.
“Doc likes to gamble a bit, and may have found himself in a tight spot. Or maybe Theo found out something about Doc which would hurt him if it got around.”
“Blackmail?” Scott said. “Do you know what it could be?”
“I might,” Ian said. “Let’s just say I once caught Doc in a place he had no business being, with a person I was surprised to see him with, doing something he wouldn’t have wanted his wife to know about. I got the feeling it wasn’t the first time.”
This gave Scott a lot to think about. Theo as a blackmailer, on top of cheat, arsonist, and all ‘round bastard, was not that big of a stretch.
“You’ll have a hard time finding someone who isn’t glad Theo’s dead,” Ian said. “Most folks will think whoever did it, did the whole town a big favor.”
Scott stopped by Doc Machalvie’s office, above his brother’s pharmacy, and found him filling out paperwork. He greeted Scott warmly and asked him to sit down.
“I thought when I went to medical school that I’d spend most of my time healing sick people,” he said. “I actually spend most of my time referring people to specialists and filling out forms for health insurance companies.”
Scott asked him about Theo.
“Ah, yes,” he
“So who had originals of your photos?”
“Well, you, Brad, Sean, maybe your mom or Sean’s mom. My dad had some. Thing is, I don’t remember giving this photo to anyone. Doesn’t mean I didn’t, I just don’t remember.”
“I haven’t looked for any at my house, but I don’t remember having it either.”
“That leaves Brad and Sean.”
“Would you have given any to Caroline or Gwyneth?”
“Maybe Caroline, but I don’t remember doing it. I was beneath contempt as far as Gwyneth was concerned.”
“I guess someone could have stolen it from you, without you knowing.”
“Gail Goodwin cleans my house, but I can hardly picture her as a photo thief and poison pen writer. Other than Gail and you, Sam and Patrick are the only people who come to my house.”
“Well, think about it, and let me know if you remember anything.”
“Lots of people thought Theo murdered Brad,” Ed said, “but who would go to the trouble of sending him a threatening letter, and why now?”
“It’s just too much of a coincidence in the timing,” Scott said. “It has to be connected.”
“Does Sarah think I sent it?”
“Sarah’s not too impressed by it. She thinks it’s just a prank.”
“Have you talked to Margie at the post office?”
“No,” Scott said. “I’m putting that off for as long as I can.”
Ed chuckled, saying, “I can see why.”
Scott stopped in at the Rose and Thorn again, where Ian had just returned from school bus duty and was enjoying his first beer of the day. Instead of resenting the older man’s strong views, Scott found himself glad to have someone with whom to discuss the case. With his best friend a suspect, he needed someone to bounce ideas off of, and Ian, for all his opinionated bluster, had been a pretty good chief of police, could keep a confidence, and knew everyone involved. Scott went over his notes with Ian, and Ian gave him a few suggestions.
“Doc Machalvie is a good doctor and an old friend,” Ian said, “but he is enough like his brother, Stuart, to bear watching.”
“Really? I would’ve thought they couldn’t be more different. Doc is such a gentleman and Stuart’s so… ”
“Greedy? Manipulative? Conniving?”
“All that. Doc, on the other hand, is always going out of his way to help people, whether or not they can pay.”
“Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was supplying Theo with prescriptions for imaginary ailments.”
“For money?” Scott asked.
“Doc likes to gamble a bit, and may have found himself in a tight spot. Or maybe Theo found out something about Doc which would hurt him if it got around.”
“Blackmail?” Scott said. “Do you know what it could be?”
“I might,” Ian said. “Let’s just say I once caught Doc in a place he had no business being, with a person I was surprised to see him with, doing something he wouldn’t have wanted his wife to know about. I got the feeling it wasn’t the first time.”
This gave Scott a lot to think about. Theo as a blackmailer, on top of cheat, arsonist, and all ‘round bastard, was not that big of a stretch.
“You’ll have a hard time finding someone who isn’t glad Theo’s dead,” Ian said. “Most folks will think whoever did it, did the whole town a big favor.”
Scott stopped by Doc Machalvie’s office, above his brother’s pharmacy, and found him filling out paperwork. He greeted Scott warmly and asked him to sit down.
“I thought when I went to medical school that I’d spend most of my time healing sick people,” he said. “I actually spend most of my time referring people to specialists and filling out forms for health insurance companies.”
Scott asked him about Theo.
“Ah, yes,” he
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