A Great Day for the Deadly(68)

“Anyway,” Glinda said finally, “as I was saying. Her name is Ann-Harriet Severan and she’s one side of our local triangle. I don’t know if you’ve heard anything about this—-”

“I think I have,” Gregor told her. “A woman named Miriam Bailey, who owns the local bank and is in her sixties, married a much younger man named—I can’t remember what he’s named—”

“Joshua Malley,” Mrs. Keel said brightly.

“Thank you. Miss Bailey married Mr. Malley and Mr. Malley proceeded to behave like a normal young man and took up with a young lady. That, I take it, was the young lady.”

“Ann-Harriet Severan,” Glinda repeated. “Right. When the police let it out that Brigit had probably been murdered, a lot of people in town said it was the wrong murder. None of us would have been surprised to wake up one morning and find Miriam dead and Ann-Harriet standing over the body with a knife in her hand. Maybe it will happen yet.”

“Why would Ann-Harriet be the one with the knife in her hand?” Gregor asked. “Wouldn’t it be more to the point if it was Mr. Malley?”

Glinda waved this away. “Josh would never have the stomach for it. I don’t know if you’ve met him—”

“I saw him when I was walking on Delaney Street earlier. He was with a woman I think was Miss Bailey. He was whining.”

“You mean you haven’t met Miriam Bailey yet?” Glinda was surprised. “Maybe she’s more worried about her marriage than I thought. Usually when the Cardinal sends someone into town, she has them stay at her house and chauffeurs them all over town.”

“Maybe I’m not famous.”

“You’re famous enough. Good Lord. The woman must be off her feed.”

“What did you mean when you said she must be more worried about her marriage than you thought?” Gregor asked. “I’d think that if her husband is having an affair with a younger woman, she was bound to be worried.”

“Why?” Mrs. Keel demanded. “She’s the one with the money, you know. He doesn’t have any.”

Glinda Daniels laughed. “Barbara’s right. Miriam found Josh in Greece somewhere, looking pretty and hanging around. She married him out there and brought him home from vacation, just like that. It was so unlike her, the whole town was in shock for a month. Then Josh took up with Ann-Harriet, and we all held our breaths, but Miriam just went right back to being Miriam. The only thing she does is goad Ann-Harriet the way she did today, put the pressure on. Did you know that Ann-Harriet works for Miriam’s bank?”

“No.”

“Well,” Glinda said, “it’s the only bank to work for around here, really, unless you want to go to a branch of Citibank or Chase. And Ann-Harriet can’t afford to quit because her credit cards are all charged into the stratosphere and if she went without a job for a week she’d be bankrupt and jobs aren’t that easy to come by around here. Anyway, Miriam drives Ann-Harriet nuts and Ann-Harriet runs around town driving everybody else nuts, and we’re all just waiting for it. Not that Ann-Harriet would be the least bit interested in Josh if he wasn’t due to come into Miriam’s money—”

“Is he?”

“Who knows?” Glinda shrugged. “Somebody has to, and Miriam doesn’t have any relations. She’ll probably give a lot of it to the Church. You still have to expect she’s left Josh some of it.”

“They talk about it,” Mrs. Keel said confidently. “That Joshua Malley and Ann-Harriet Severan. They talk about all the wonderful things they could do if Miriam was dead.”

“Barbara hears things,” Glinda said neutrally. Then she saw that her coffee cup was empty and got up to get herself some more. Gregor wondered what it was, that he always seemed to be attracted to people who drank too much coffee.

Glinda took hers black. She poured out and leaned against the cabinet where the coffee maker was. “I don’t suppose all this is what you came here to talk to me about,” she said. “I know you’ve been asked to investigate Brigit’s death. I didn’t see the press conference, but Sam told me about it.”

“It looks like I’m also going to be investigating the death of Don Bollander,” Gregor said. “Do you have any idea how those two deaths might link together?”

“Not the slightest. I can think of a couple of people who might like to have killed Don, including Ann-Harriet, by the way. Don served as Miriam’s spy now and then. I can’t think of anyone who would want to kill Brigit.”