“And maybe that’s because you weren’t necessarily the type of person who wants to fight all the time, whereas—I’m not sure but—your sister enjoyed the fighting and wanted more of it in her life.”
Nelly shrugged. “I don’t know why anybody would.”
“No, but sometimes we must do what is right for us, regardless whether other people like it or not.”
Nelly looked at her oddly. “That’s very true. I kept telling Ella that I had to live my life. But she kept yelling at me, saying that, if it was my life, I should be paying for it.”
“And you weren’t?”
“I was and I wasn’t. According to my sister I wasn’t capable of looking after my affairs. I would help all the wrong people, and the money would be gone in no time.”
“Depending on what you did with your money, I can understand your sister saying that. If you want to stay in Rosemoor, it costs, and it costs a lot.”
Nelly swallowed hard. “I really want to stay here,” she cried out. “I don’t want to be sent away.”
“I don’t know anything about sending you away,” Doreen murmured. “Let’s see if we can get to the bottom of one problem first. And the next problem would be sorting out your finances to see if you can stay.”
Nelly stared at her. “But, if my sister’s gone, then I should get the money, and I could stay, right?”
Doreen studied Nelly’s face for a long moment, not liking the thoughts crossing her mind, but how could she not consider it? “I guess that depends on if you had anything to do with your sister’s death. If that’s the case, then, no, you don’t get to stay because you don’t get the money, and, of course, you would be in jail,” Doreen explained, looking at Nelly cautiously, trying her best to not upset the poor woman. “However, if you didn’t have anything to do with your sister’s death, and your sister left everything to you—and I don’t know that,” Doreen pointed out, “then possibly money is not a problem, depending on how much money she had. Now do you have money of your own?”
Nelly looked confused. “Some, but I don’t know how much.”
“Right, so that’s something else we’ll look at then.”
“But you’ll help me?” she asked almost desperately.
Something held Doreen back. Then, thinking about it, she nodded. “I’ll help you sort it out. I don’t know what that’ll look like at the end of the day.”
Nelly’s shoulders sagged. “Of course. My sister was right. I’m a bad person.”
“You’re not a bad person,” Doreen corrected instantly, “and, even if you did something wrong, that doesn’t make you a bad person forever. You can certainly fix things.”
“Not my sister,” Nelly pointed out, shaking her head, the tears starting again. “I can’t fix my sister.” And, with that, she burst into tears again, and the conversation was done.
Chapter 4
Doreen said goodbye to Nan soon afterward and slowly walked toward the creek. As soon as she got around the corner and away from Rosemoor, her fingers were already busy phoning Mack. When he came on the line, he appeared distracted.
“Doreen, I’m really busy.”
“I know,” she acknowledged. “I’m not sure how important this is.”
He hesitated. “What’s the matter?”
“How was Ella killed?”
“She was shot.”
“Oh, good,” she muttered.
“Good?” he asked, with a note of amusement. “How is that good?”
“Because her sister was hysterical, thinking that she killed Ella.”
“Back up. How is that?”
“She was there at the airport this morning, before Ella was shot. Nelly argued with her sister over the phone the whole time Ella was in Vancouver, even while Ella traveled home again. That all happened over texts, and then Nelly was so mad that she drove the Rosemoor van from the mall to the airport to see her sister, and they had a big fight, and then Nelly hit Ella up the side of her head with a book. Her sister fell down. Nelly hopped into the van, thinking she killed her, and drove back to the mall, where the Rosemoor residents were. Now terrified of what she’d done, she’s crying her eyes out at Rosemoor.”
“What?” Mack cried out.
“Yeah, so Nelly feels terribly guilty, thinks that she killed her sister but, at the same time, is obviously hoping that she didn’t.”
“I needed to know that anyway because the autopsy would indicate a blow to Ella’s face that wouldn’t have made any sense.”
“And that’s why I’m telling you,” Doreen noted calmly. “I can also tell you that Nelly’s beside herself with worry that she’ll get kicked out of Rosemoor because she may not have enough money. I don’t know what the sisters’ fight was about because Nelly won’t tell me, but I understand that she has something of her sister’s but wouldn’t return it to Ella, and it’s been a bone of contention for years. Nelly also told me that Bob Small is a bad man.”
Silence came from the other end. “Good Lord.” Then his tone changed. “She has something of her sister’s?”
“Yes, apparently she stole something from her sister and has been using it against her these past few years. So she could stay at Rosemoor.”
“Interesting family dynamic.”
“Their relationship is complex. That’s the problem. You and I both know what we’ve seen in the past with these cold cases, how ugly that family dynamic can end up looking.”
“Oh, yeah, that is very true,” he muttered. “Seems I need to go have a talk with her.”
“I told her that she would need to tell you guys exactly what happened, but she is a mess.”
“Of course she is,” he muttered. “I still must talk to her though.”
“No, I get it. I understand,” Doreen muttered. “I thought you should know. She did mention Bob Small but not much. Honestly she got kind of cagey then.”
“Did she now?”
“Yes, and I told her that I’ll come back later and talk to her a little bit more when she was calmer. She’s in shock over her sister, so that wasn’t the time.” They talked for several more minutes, as Mack tried to sort out what was going on.
“And do you really think she had anything to do with her death?” he asked.
“No, not at all,” Doreen stated. “However, I do think that Nelly had a big argument with Ella, probably hit her in the face with a book, panicked, and left.”
“That helps, and I appreciate it. I need to talk to her about Bob Small, but first my focus is on Ella’s murder.”
“And I presume you’ll talk to Nelly soon?”
“I have to,” he said. “As much as I don’t like to put her through that, obviously a hit to Ella’s face will show up in autopsy.” And he quickly ended the call.
Doreen pondered the information, as she walked along the creek back toward her house. She stopped, kicking a rock into the water a couple times to send up a splash, making Mugs run in delight. She picked up a stick, tossed it down the path, and he raced after it. She smiled, as she watched his antics. “I’m glad you’re in a good mood. Heaven knows this will be a hard-enough day for lots of people.”