A Groom wirh a View

the old boy had taken a thousand dollars a month out of his income every month for years and years. There are people who like to buy with cash and always have a lot around. Even the government can’t keep a person from doing that with their own money. And once it comes out of the accounts, it’s ‘invisible’ in a way. If the Feds ask what became of the money, the old boy could have said he used it on expensive dinners for friends, or just act vague and say he frittered it away. Or gave it anonymously to charity or handed it out to homeless people. It would be impossible to prove otherwise.“
    “Shelley, I didn’t know you had such a sneaky streak!“ Jane said.
    “Of course you did,“ Shelley replied. “I spend a lot of my free time fantasizing about good ways to beat the I.R.S. You know what’s wrong with this whole treasure theory?“
    “What?“ Eden and Jane asked like a chorus. “Uncle Joe. I get the impression he’s been there since the beginning of time.”
    Eden nodded. “As long as I can remember.“
    “Well, if there were something valuable in the lodge, wouldn’t he have stumbled on it by now? Even if he weren’t looking for it?“
    “I think you’re right,“ Eden said. “If Iva and Marguerite blabbed about it so much that even a florist from the city has heard the story, surely Uncle Joe has heard it.“
    “And if he’d found it, would he still be there?“ Shelley asked.
    Eden shook her head. “He’d be lounging on the beach somewhere in the Caribbean. At least, I would be, if it were me.”
    Jane nodded sadly. “It’s interesting and kind of fun to imagine a treasure, but hard to make it work in practical terms. Especially since the building’s being torn down this summer. If Uncle Joe thought there were something valuable there that he hadn’t yet found, he’d be tearing the place apart in a panic by now.“
    “And the lodge part of the story could be wrong, too,“ Eden said. “If you were trying to keep something valuable hidden away, it would seem logical to keep it where you could check on it pretty frequently. I don’t know if O. W. spent a lot of time out here in the later years of his life.”
    Shelley sighed as she stood up. “You’re right. And we’d best go back. At least this speculation’s kept me from fretting about Mrs. Crossthwait for a while.“
    “Me, too,“ Jane said. “And that makes me feel guilty.“
    “Why should it?“ Eden asked, tossing her coffee cup in the trash and gathering up her purse and scarf. “She wasn’t a relation. Not even a friend. Just a business connection who really wasn’t doing her job.“
    “True. I guess I feel bad because it happened on my ‘watch.’ I shouldn’t have put an elderly lady upstairs,“ Jane said.
    “Where else could you have put her?“ Shelley asked. “If she’d gotten the dresses finished on schedule, you wouldn’t have had to put her anywhere. And it’s too late now for fretting about it.”
    Jane acknowledged that both women were right. It really wasn’t her fault that Mrs. Crossthwait had died.
    But she couldn’t help but wonder if it might have been someone else’s.

Eight

    When they got back to the lodge, Eden said, “If I can tear the phone away from Mr. Willis and the aunts, I’ll give my dad a call and see if he remembers anything more about the supposed treasure. By the way, he can’t be here for the wedding after all. My dad, I mean. Some joint venture he and Jack Thatcher own is having trouble and naturally Jack couldn’t run off to see to it right now.”
    Jane and Shelley remained in the car, reluctant to throw themselves back into the wedding plans. “Do you think Mrs. Crossthwait’s fall was an accident?“ Jane asked.
    Shelley thought for a long time. “I hope so,“ she finally said. “I don’t think I could bear to think of anybody in the house actually being a killer.“
    “If it was murder, it wouldn’t necessarily have to be someone in the house. There are already friends and relatives gathering at that motel in town. And the family all knows where the place is,“ Jane said. “The front door was open, remember?”
    Shelley frowned. “Jane, you’re right about opportunity. But the important consideration is motive. Mrs. Crossthwait was a mildly irritating old lady. Nothing more. She apparently had no connection to the Thatcher family or friends except that someone recommended her to Livvy, right?“
    “Uh-huh. But you heard her last night saying