Annie nodded. “I was curious about that too. You know, I was going to let this whole thing drop since I found out she’s dead, but I can’t quite do it yet. I want to know more. I tried to call Mr. Prescott, but all I could do was leave him a message. If he ever gets it, I doubt he’ll call me back. And then there’s whoever it is who doesn’t want me to find out anything about Susan at all. You don’t think there could have been something wrong with the way she died, do you? Something somebody doesn’t want me to look into?”
“You mean murder?” Ian shrugged. “Sounds like a pretty straightforward accident to me. I’m sure the authorities looked into it at the time. You have to think about who would have benefited from her death in a case like that. This Prescott guy was pretty well off even then. I can’t imagine what Susan might have left him, if she left him anything, would be motive enough for someone that rich.”
Annie considered for a minute. “She didn’t have any family left that I know of, and I don’t think she had money except for what she got from selling the house. As you said, that’s just pocket change for someone who owns a manufacturing company like JFP.”
“I suppose, if you were bound and determined to find out more than you have already, you could check the court records and see if she left a will that was probated.” Ian tapped the side of his nose. “Follow the money, eh?”
“Good idea. Maybe I’ll add a trip to the Lincoln County Courthouse to my to-do list.”
Once she had left the town hall, Annie walked down to the post office to mail a few of Gram’s embroidered aprons back home to LeeAnn. Then she walked back up Main Street to get a few staples from Magruder’s Groceries. After that, she went next door to Malone’s Hardware.
All the time she was looking at paint chips, she couldn’t help wondering about Susan. Why would someone warn her off if there was nothing more to know? And who was that someone?
Finally deciding not to decide, she left the hardware store and went home. She unlocked the front door just as the telephone began to ring.
“Ms. Dawson? This is Lisa Hendrickson from Archer Prescott’s office.”
“Oh, hello. Thank you for calling me back.”
“I’m sorry I don’t have better news for you, but I wanted to let you know that Mr. Prescott doesn’t speak to reporters unless the interview has been prearranged. He does appreciate your interest.”
“But I’m not a reporter, Ms.—excuse me, what was your name?”
“Lisa Hendrickson.”
“Ms. Hendrickson. As I said, I’m not a reporter. I’m just an old friend of Susan’s, and I’m trying to get some information about her. I’ve been doing a lot of digging on my own, but there are some things I’d really like to ask Mr. Prescott. I promise I won’t take up much of his time. Please tell him that.”
Ms. Hendrickson made an impatient little huffing sound. “I’ll give him your message, Ms. Dawson, but I can’t promise you he’ll have the opportunity to return your call. He’s very busy, and he’s usually pretty firm on matters of this type.”
“I understand. But if you’d just tell him what I said, I would appreciate it.”
“I’ll do that. Good afternoon.”
The click on the other end of the phone line was deafening in its finality. This might well be the last dead end.
With a sigh, Annie picked up the decorating book she had left on the coffee table in the living room. If she couldn’t find Susan, at least she could make some kind of decision about the upstairs bathroom. She had marked two pages in the book, both with photos of gorgeous bathrooms that would fit in with the rest of the house—bathrooms with wainscoting and claw-foot bathtubs and crown molding. But which one did she like best? The black, red, and cream or the rose and taupe? If she—
The telephone trilled, and she put the book facedown on the sofa beside her. Who could it be now?
“Hello?”
“Is this Ms. Dawson?”
It was a man’s voice, deep and warm, a voice she didn’t recognize.
“Who’s calling, please?”
“This is Archer Prescott. You left a message with my assistant asking me to call.”
9
A masculine chuckle came through the line. “Well, you know how it is, Ms. Dawson. When you’re in a position like mine, it’s hard to accomplish anything if you don’t have someone to weed out some of the calls. Lisa does an excellent job.”
“I know you must be very busy, Mr. Prescott, but—”
“Call me Arch. If you were a friend of Susan’s, it’s only right.”