It had to be You

her calling, but she denies it.”
    Lily thought for a while. “Could she have shot him herself, and made it up about being told about it?“
    “Maybe. But I actually went into her so-called house and saw no evidence of a weapon of any kind except a rusty hatchet she must use to get firewood in the winter. By the way, she also reported a bear that tore down her storage shed and carried it away. The bear, she claimed, left behind his pry bar and some ropes.“
    “Now I know you’re making this up!“
    “No, I’m not. She did. And the police officer who grudgingly went to see her, saw them.“
    “So, where does this case stand right now? Will they ever find out who the young man is?“
    “I suggested to the Beacon chief of police that he should research when the ice might have been in a condition that a young man might fall through, and put a notice in the paper about any young man who went missing at that time.“
    “And has he had any response?“
    “Not that I know of. If he had, he’d probably have called me back. It’s not my case. I was just trying to help out until he was back on his feet.“
    “If you learn any more about this, will you tell me?“
    “I suppose so. Why are you interested?“
    “Just because it’s such a bizarre story. May I share it with Robert?“
    “He won’t believe it either,“ Walker said as he drove by the gatehouse and up the driveway to Grace and Favor and dropped her off.

    Robert was late coming home. Mrs. Prinney had to put his dinner in the oven to keep it warm. He looked exhausted and was covered with fine dark dust. His fingernails were broken and grimy, his fingertips red and swollen.
    “It was really hard to take out that wall between the kitchen and the laundry,“ he whimpered to Lily while she sat with him as he ate. “And it made a real mess. I was the mess cleaner-upper. But they’re ready to install the final parts tomorrow. I can’t wait to see how it works.”
    He picked at his meat loaf for a minute, almost too tired to eat. “It’s a scary hole right now, going down two whole stories. I think we’re about to lose our job. Miss Twibell’s feet are finally feeling better, and she’s letting Mattie go home tomorrow or the next day to rest up for a few more days. She won’t need us then. But I’m going to hang around anyway until I get to use the silent butler.“
    “I won’t mind being replaced,“ Lily said. “It was probably the most physical work I’ve ever done in my life. I’ll miss the money, though.“
    “We’ll find something else to do. We’re learning to do lots of things we’ve never done before.“
    “I have something interesting to tell you,“ Lily said. “A story Howard told me as he brought me home. He made a trip to Beacon on Sunday to help out another chief of police who couldn’t get out of his house because of gout.“ She went on to explain about the nasty lake and the body that had floated to the top. Since Robert was still eating, she left out the most disgusting parts. But when she got to the houseful of cats and the bear that took away the old woman’s shed and left behind his pry bar and some rope, Robert nearly choked on his coffee.
    “That’s the funniest thing I’ve ever heard,“ he said when he finished coughing. “Are you certain he didn’t make that up?“
    “He swore it was what she told the local police.”
    Then Lily went on to explain how frustrated Howard was in his investigation of Sean Connor’s death, and his feeling that the responses he’d gotten from both the Beacon attorney and Mrs. Connor were so well rehearsed.
    She continued, “He also said Mrs. Connor, who was his best suspect, had added to her story that she’d lost all but one of the workers and he would probably be leaving, too. She was hoping, she told Howard, that Mr. Connor would recover and come back and see that the crops were planted.“
    “Connor really left the land to the grandsons?“ Robert asked. “Why would he have done that?“
    “Nobody knows. Pure spite is my guess. Miss Twibell rashly suggested that Mrs. Connor get another attorney to overrule the will. Then regretted getting involved.“
    “I think Miss Twibell was right,“ Robert said.
    He thought for a moment and said, “If the loony old woman didn’t see the floating body, who did?“
    “That’s where the Communist comes in,“ Lily explained. “According to her phone call to the police—which she later denied to Howard—the Communist