Secret Sisters - an LDS cozy mystery

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen 

The next day was Sunday, and Ida Mae was having a hard time concentrating on her duties. Eden wouldn't be able to check the computer until Monday morning, and couldn't report until Monday night, so there was no news on that front. What really distressed Ida Mae was the fact that she kept catching whispers about Darcy in the hallway, and she hated the idea that the sisters in her ward were gossiping. Anne was nowhere to be seen during sacrament meeting, and Ida Mae figured she was lying low. But as the prelude music came to an end in Relief Society, she saw Anne slip in and take a seat halfway up on the left. 

"Welcome to Relief Society, sisters," Ida Mae said, smoothing down her skirt. "I have a few brief announcements. Lacey Duvall had her baby, a little girl. They're both home and doing well, but we have a signup sheet for meals going around." She glanced at Anne, who seemed to be holding herself together well. So far, so good. 

"Next Wednesday is our excursion to the temple. We're meeting at Sister Browning's house at five thirty to carpool." 

"In the morning?" asked a shocked voice in the back of the room. 

"No, in the evening." 

The sigh of relief would have started a hurricane if properly channeled. 

"Now it's time for our Good News Minute. Does anyone have some good news?" 

Anne's hand flew up in the air. Ida Mae felt her eyebrows go up just about as fast, but she nodded. "Anne?" 

"I got a call from Darcy this morning. She got married on Friday night, and they're going to be looking for an apartment in Springville, where her new husband just got a job." 

"That's wonderful!" Ida Mae said, giving Anne a smile of support. She admired the woman's guts-Anne had to know she'd been the talk of the town, and to take the bull by the horns like that-Arlette would be proud. 

And in fact, she was. As soon as Ida Mae sat down, Arlette whispered in her ear, "Good for Anne. She tackled that head on." 

"Yes, she did," Ida Mae murmured. "And I'm so glad."  

After the lesson, she noticed several women come up to Anne and offer their congratulations. The announcement had been a gutsy move, but it was definitely the right thing to do. 

Monday evening finally arrived, and Eden perched on the edge of the sofa, looking much like a raven with her dark hair and black jacket. "Check this out," she said, pointing to a sheet of paper she'd pulled out of her bag. "That order was processed at nine o'clock in the morning. The only time an order should be put through by someone other than me is when I'm not there. I was there at nine o'clock. I knew I was, but I double checked. Look, here's another order, put through by me, fifteen seconds later. I was very much there. So someone else put this order for Tulsa into one of the networked computers in the building, even though it's my job to do it." 

"So, they were trying to sneak it in without you knowing about it," Arlette said. "Do you think they suspect you?" 

"Well, I wouldn't say they were trying to keep it from me, specifically-I'd say they were keeping it from everyone," Eden said. "And if they hadn't forgotten the zip code, I never would have even noticed the package. I don't think they suspect anything." 

"So, you say it was a case of formula," Ida Mae said, taking notes.  

"Yes, one case." 

Ida Mae tapped her pencil on her notepad. "This is the only suspicious thing you've noticed so far, right?"