Death of a Suitor #18

Chapter Thirteen

"What's going on?" she gasped as she hurried over to Myrtle and Wanda.

Myrtle and Wanda were sitting on a bench under a tree in Marigold's well-landscaped front yard. "Bailey confessed to killing Jax and Eloise."

Marigold suddenly looked extremely annoyed. "He did what?" She shook her head and stared at the house with fury in her eyes.

Myrtle said mildly, "Wanda and I don't think he did it."

"Of course he didn't do it. Oh, this is completely absurd."

Myrtle said, "Would you like to take a seat, dear?" There was another bench facing Myrtle and Wanda. It was quite a large yard.

Marigold sighed. "I guess I can't go inside right now. Not with the police here and everything. What a silly mess." She rubbed her forehead as if it hurt. "And now he can't give me an alibi because he says he was out."

"Was he out?" asked Myrtle. "Wanda seemed to think so."

Wanda looked steadily at Marigold.

Marigold sighed again. "He was out drinking. I guess he wouldn't have been able to give me much of an alibi anyway. We'd had an argument, which was unusual since we rarely have them. But now Bailey is more on edge. He thinks now that Jax is out of the way, our lives should just fall right back into our routine again."

Myrtle tilted her head to one side. "But you don't think that can happen, do you?"

Marigold shook her head. "No. I'm sure that we can't. Too much has changed between us. Or maybe, too much has changed with just me. I'm not the same person I was when we married."

"I'm guessing that if you don't see a way for the two of you to pick back up again, that you're planning on leaving Bailey."

"I'm afraid so. I don't have anything against Bailey—he's always been very kind to me and he's been a good provider. But I just can't go on like this. I really feel like I'm living just half a life. At this point, I want to have an amicable parting of the ways and find someone more compatible for me before it's too late."

Myrtle felt very much like she'd just been dropped into an episode of Tomorrow's Promise. Except, perhaps the script wasn't quite as smooth. Still, she gave Marigold an encouraging nod. And wondered, as Marigold looked away, if she'd already found that more-compatible companion.

Marigold turned her attention to Wanda, who was still regarding her with that steady expression. She gave Wanda a quick smile. "Do you see a future for me? I mean, I don't know how it all works, but can you see what's going to happen to me?"

Wanda looked uncomfortable. "That's not really how the sight works."

Myrtle said, "I've learned the sight is very ornery and plays by its own rules, Marigold."

Marigold leaned eagerly toward the psychic. "How about general feelings in regard to me? Hopeful? Sad?"

Wanda shook her head regretfully.

Myrtle stepped in before Marigold could continue pressing Wanda for information. "What did you think when you heard about Eloise's death, Marigold?"

"Well, I heard about it over at the library a few minutes ago and I was very surprised . . . and a little worried. I started wondering if it's safe to walk around downtown alone. You know, if there's a killer wandering around. I'm starting to wonder if it isn't just someone killing random people. Someone who's really deranged."

Myrtle thought that sounded like a lot of wistful nonsense but she said, "I suppose it could be. You never know these days, do you? But if it isn't a deranged stranger, who do you think might have been responsible for these deaths?"