14
Here’s what I’m thinking.” Julia sat at the kitchen table, where the women regrouped. Her thoughts had been racing, and she could feel them forming a theory. “Let’s review. Kay went to a clean-up last Sunday and told Mona and Susan she found an object she wanted to show them.”
Mona nodded. So did Susan, from behind Courtney’s laptop.
“The day after the clean-up, Kay was murdered. The police say she interrupted a burglary because cash was stolen from her jewelry box. But what if that wasn’t his real motive?” Julia gathered the facts. “It makes sense that it wasn’t because we don’t know how he knew the cash was there, and it wasn’t that much anyway. Also, if robbery was really his motive, he didn’t take any of her jewelry. Admittedly, most of it is costume, but you can’t tell that just by looking. But he left the jewelry.”
“Right.” Courtney nodded slowly.
“So I’m thinking that whatever was in the missing basket was whathe really wanted. In other words, the killer came to steal the object and took the cash to hide his real motive. We know there was a confrontation in the living room, where the basket was.”
“Why not just take the object?” Courtney frowned in thought.
“Maybe there was no time to fish it out. The killer could’ve asked her where it was and taken the basket.”
Courney nodded, following. “So that means she could’ve told people what she found, maybe in passing. She talked to everyone. She was so friendly. She loved people. That’s why people called her Okay instead of Kay.”
Julia felt a pang, touched. “Right. She could’ve told anyone, wherever she went. The grocer. The dry cleaner.”
Mona interjected. “We don’t have a dry cleaner anymore.”
Susan nodded. “We don’t even have a grocer. The nearest one is in Ashland.”
“Okay, and we know she went to the grocery store, maybe in Ashland, because we saw the bag of food. She could’ve mentioned it to someone there who wanted the object or told somebody else who wanted it.”
“It’s possible.” Courtney shot Mona a grateful look. “Thank God you noticed the basket was missing. I remember she had it, but I never really looked in it.”
Julia’s mind was racing. “Courtney, is it possible that’s why she wanted you to visit?”
“Wait, yes, come to think of it.” Courtney’s lips parted. “She called me Sunday night and suggested I come see her, but usually, she visits me, like we go to dinner, and we plan it weeks in advance. I didn’t think anything of it because I needed the break.”
“Maybe she was asking because of whatever she found at the clean-up.”
“My God, she could’ve been.Whatcould she have found?”
“What would someone kill to get?” Julia thought aloud. “A nice watch? A ring?”
“Remember, the cops don’t think the killer killed her to get it. They think that somebody came to steal cash and jewelry, and she interrupted him.”
“Right. He didn’t expect to kill her, but he had to after she recognized him.”
Susan raised a finger. “No, something doesn’t work. Courtney, you chased the killer to the truck. Did he have a basket in his hand?”
Courtney grimaced. “No, and I didn’t see him throw one away.”
Julia put it together. “So maybe therewasanother guy in the truck. Maybe he had the basketandthe gun.”
“Right, that could be true.”
Mona clucked. “I’d never throw away a basket. They have so many uses.”
Susan nodded. “There’s nothing like a good basket. Remember that Longaberger you gave me? I use it for bills.”
Julia got back on track. “How many objects were in Kay’s basket, do you know?”
“I do.” Mona thought a moment. “Fifty, at least. She’s been collecting a long time. I don’t think they would fit in anybody’s pockets.”
“So maybe he takes the whole basket, finds the object he wants, and throws the rest in the field?”