The Ghost and the Femme Fatale by Alice Kimberly Page A

providing a safe working environment. What was this woman, Dr. Lilly, doing on your ladder? Was she a paid employee?”
    “She was an academic, a film historian, and an author. She was helping us get ready for her book signing.”
    “I see,” said the chief. “Your store does carry insurance, right?”
    “Of course, but why would that matter?”
    “Because, Mrs. McClure, you allowed her to climb a ladder unsupervised. That’s negligence on your part. Simply put: Dr. Lilly had a fatal accident while working in your store—”
    “Accident!” I cried.
    I warned you, Jack gloated.
    CHAPTER 7

A Doctor in the House
    My, my, my. Such a lot of guns around town and so few
    brains.
    — Philip Marlowe, The Big Sleep, 1946
    “ YES, MRS. MCCLURE, an accident,” Chief Ciders reiterated.
    “Dr. Lilly fell off a ladder—”
    “No! She was pushed!” I blurted out.
    Bull McCoy snorted. “You were right, Uncle . . . I mean, Chief . You said she was gonna try and call it murder!”
    “Shut up, Bull,” Ciders warned.
    “How do you know it wasn’t murder?” I demanded.
    “As I see it, Dr. Lilly tried to fix the banner,” Ciders said. “She lost her balance and fell. She died when she slammed her head against the corner of the stage.”
    “It looks like an accident,” I replied, “but that’s the diabolical part. Don’t you see? Someone attempted to drop a speaker on Dr. Lilly last night—”
    “You’ve got your facts wrong there, Mrs. McClure,” said the chief. “Brainert Parker reported to me that it was a former actress—someone named Hedda Geist—who almost got clobbered.”
    “It was Dr. Lilly who was supposed to be on stage. Hedda was under the speaker when it fell, but she only came up to the stage at the last minute—”
    “That’s enough, Mrs. McClure,” the chief interrupted.
    “At least let me finish explaining!”
    The chief waved his hand. “What happened at the theater last night was an accident, too, that’s all. Clearly the result of faulty construction.” Ciders rubbed his fleshy chin. “Makes me wonder if the Movie Town was built to code. Better check in with the Town Council on that one. Marjorie’s sure to be interested—”
    “Two accidents in two days? One nearly fatal, the other deadly. And both involving the same woman?” I shook my head. “That’s too much coincidence for me. And it should be for you, too. I want another official opinion—”
    “That’s why I’m here, Mrs. McClure,” said Dr. Rubino, stepping forward before I could suggest that the state police be called in.
    “I thoroughly examined Dr. Lilly’s body,” Rubino continued. “While I still have to perform an autopsy to be absolutely certain, my preliminary findings confirm Chief Ciders’s theory. Dr. Lilly appeared to have died of an injury to the skull. The scene itself makes it clear the injury was inflicted by the edge of your stage. We have a fallen ladder at the scene, and we have a witness in your own aunt, the last person to see the deceased alive. She mentioned to the chief that Dr. Lilly was indeed trying to hang a banner, and wasn’t it true that your store was locked from the inside?”
    I wanted to scream, but I knew it wouldn’t give the man confidence in my sanity.
    “Mrs. McClure?” Rubino pressed. “Was the store locked?”
    “Yes,” I said, clenching my fists. “The store was locked, but Dr. Lilly could have let someone in herself. The dead bolt wasn’t thrown, and the killer could have relocked the door simply by setting the handle on lock from the inside and slamming it shut when departing—”
    “If I had to render an opinion right now,” Dr. Rubino interrupted, “I’d say Dr. Lilly’s death was a tragic accident . Nothing more.”
    “You’re wrong.”
    You tell him, baby!
    Dr. Rubino’s dark brown eyebrows lifted in absolute surprise. Clearly he was used to having the last word at a crime scene. Having his conclusions so directly and adamantly