Love Can Be Murder

into the mind of another. At this moment, she hated the woman who had smothered her son, resented his choice of bride, and on occasion, bullied him.
    After the eulogy, there was a short prayer and the announcement of a graveside service at Garden Hills Cemetery. Then, as a hymn played, visitors lined up to file past the closed casket to pay their respects. Since those seated in the back went first, Penny had to walk past Mona and Sheena. She glanced at her ex-mother-in-law, whose face was immobile, but her eyes were practically shooting fire. On the other side of the aisle, Sheena the "companion" was wailing like a banshee, crying, "Oh, my Deke! Oh, my precious, darling Deke!"
    Penny bit her tongue—where was a moving car when she needed one?
    As Penny approached the casket, she leaned on Guy's arm as the finality of Deke's death at last washed over her. The man she had loved for her entire adult life...gone, like a season that had slipped through her fingers while she wasn't looking at the calendar. The impact of the loss echoed in the canyon of her heart, exacerbated by the fact that she felt like an outsider, while his mother and his mistress held court over his casket and most of the people in the room thought she was responsible for putting Deke here. But, shored by the support of her friends, she didn't break down. Instead, she touched the casket lightly and sent a loving prayer heavenward.
    And the casket tipped over, crashing to the floor and resting on one corner.
    The room chorused with gasps and startled cries. Penny jumped back and stared at the casket, half expecting it to open and spill Deke out at her feet.
    "Haven't you done enough?" Mona screamed at her.
    Penny pulled herself up. "Couldn't you at least have acknowledged our marriage in the eulogy, Mona?"
    "Get out!"
    Guy positioned himself between Penny and Mona, but Penny was relatively sure he would bolt if Mona charged. Sheena was freaking out. Greg Goddard rushed to right the casket, shouting for men to help. Detective Maynard gave him a hand, as did Allyson, who was as strong as any man there, Penny conceded. When all was settled, the spray of white roses looked a little worse for wear, and the corner of the purple casket was a bit...crumpled.
    The sight of it stirred a memory in her mind, but she couldn't place the significance of it before Guy swept her down the aisle and outside.
    "That was memorable," Guy declared.
    "Are you okay?" Gloria asked.
    Penny nodded, although she was shaking. She glanced around for Jules Lamborne, but the old woman must have left, because she was nowhere to be found.
    "I almost had a heart attack when the casket fell," Liz said, fanning her tear-streaked face. Then she winced. "I don't suppose you're going to the graveside service?"
    Penny shook her head. "I don't think that would be such a good idea. I'll take flowers to the vault later." Privately.
    Liz gave her a one-arm hug. "How about let's grab a drink before I head back?"
    Penny nodded, thinking she could use one, and Gloria and Guy agreed to join them.
    "Just a moment, Ms. Francisco," Detective Maynard said, striding up to her. Gloria edged closer to Penny's side.
    "What is it?" Penny asked, wondering how the day could possibly get worse.
    "That was quite a show in there," he said mildly.
    "What do you want?" Gloria demanded.
    Maynard grunted. "We got the autopsy report from the M.E.'s office. Turns out that Mr. Black was unconscious when he was stabbed." He angled his chin at her. "But then, you know that, don't you?"
    Penny shook her head. "I don't know what you're talking about. Are you saying he'd passed out?"
    "No. He was struck on the back of the head, and postmortem bruising showed that before he died he was struck on other parts of his body as well, with a cane—the cane that Ms. Linder said you threatened her with when she arrived."
    Penny's mind raced, thinking back. "The cane was sitting in the umbrella stand by the office door. When I heard a noise downstairs I picked it up."
    He made a clicking noise with his cheek. "If you're telling the truth, that's too bad, because you might have obliterated any other fingerprints that might have been on it."
    She bit down on the inside of her cheek to stem her tears of frustration. Why had this happened to Deke, and why was this happening to her?
    "Penny admits she held the cane," Gloria said, "but that doesn't mean that she hit Mr. Black with it." Then she glanced around at the people who were staring