“Has he been busy with Gladys again?” I asked.
“According to Polly he sure has,” Brutus confirmed.
“Polly told us that Brian got Jane out of her room under some pretense, and has been using her room for his secret meetings with Jane’s daughter again,” said Harriet. “That man is such a cheat. He even cheats on the woman he’s been cheating on his wife with. So he’s a double cheat. In other words, a supercheat!”
That supercheat was having some other problems to contend with. With the death of Desmond, and the police investigation revealing that the man was a murderer, residents had been complaining about their safety to their relatives, who were all crowding into Brian’s office and wanting to know how it was possible that he hadn’t noticed what was going on, and demanding he do something to shore up security.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if this scandal is going to cost Brian a lot of money,” said Brutus. “People are talking about suing Happy Home, and threatening to leave.”
“It’ll settle down after a while,” said Harriet. “It’s just one rotten egg, and Isaac and Kirsten and the other staff are all very nice, and definitely not murderers.”
“As far as we know,” said Brutus cautiously.
And since Gran and Scarlett seemed to be at the forefront of these exciting and shocking events, the members of Murder Club had requested an urgent meeting to discuss what was going on.
And so after giving Liz, Olivia and Bill their full report, Liz said,“I saw you talking to that Odelia Kingsley. And it seemed to me that you two know each other. What’s the story there, Janelle?”
Gran and Scarlett shared a look, and finally Gran decided to come clean.
“My name isn’t actually Janelle Corr,” she said.
“And my name isn’t Janette Corr,” said Scarlett. “And I’m not her sister.”
“I’m Vesta Muffin, and this is my best friend Scarlett Canyon,” said Gran. “And Odelia is my granddaughter.”
“Oh, my God!” said Liz, clasping a hand to her face. “I knew it. Didn’t I tell you, Bill? Didn’t I tell there was something going on with the Corr sisters? Didn’t I?”
“You told me,” said Bill with a smile.
And so Gran told the Murder Club members the whole story. How Annette Williams had asked Odelia to keep an eye on her daughter Kirsten. And how Sara Brooks wanted evidence that proved that her husband was cheating on her. And how the two of them had decided to go undercover, and handle both cases at once.
“And what about your cats?” asked Olivia, as she darted a suspicious look at me. “Are they really your cats? Or did you rent them?”
“Rent us!” Harriet cried. “I’m officially insulted!”
“A rent-a-cat,” Brutus chuckled. “Now there’s something new.”
“Yeah, they are mine,” said Gran. “Though Dooley is officially mine, Max belongs to Odelia, Brutus belongs to Chase, that’s Odelia’s husband Chase Kingsley, who you met this morning, and Harriet belongs to my daughter Marge.”
“My God,” said Liz, who was so excited that she couldn’t sit still and was bouncing up and down in her armchair. “So you work with the police. How exciting is that! So that’s how you know so much about this investigation.”
“Oh, yeah,” said Gran. “Odelia tells us everything. We’re an integral part of the team.”
“How about that?” said Bill. “You guys lead such an interesting life.”
“Oh, we’ve been involved in many investigations over the years,” said Gran.
“And so have I,” said Scarlett. “Remember that time we were undercover at that bakery? Or that time we went undercover at Glimmer? Now that was something else.”
“We also write a weekly column for the Hampton Cove Gazette,” Gran revealed. “It’s called Dear Gabi, and Scarlett and I share the work.”
“You’re Gabi!” Olivia cried. “Oh, but I love that column! I read you guys all the time!”
“Remind me to send a letter asking how to deal with a two-timing retirement home manager who spends more time with his mistresses than with his residents,” said Bill. “These past few days have been a real eye-opener, I can tell you that.”
“It has been very eventful,” Liz agreed. “Not to mention shocking. But in the end the truth was discovered, and Murder Club played a small part, and for that I’m very grateful, and very proud.” She nodded to Gran and Scarlett. “And I want to thank you for your contributions. If it wasn’t for you, we would never have known what really went on here, right under our noses.”
“So are you guys leaving now?” asked Bill. “I mean, your job is done, right?”
“We’ll stick around for another couple of days,” said Gran, “but then we’ll probably move back home again.”
“Well, let me tell you—and I think my co-members will agree with me when I say this—that once you’re home again, you’re always welcome to come back here to join our meetings.”
“Let’s hope there won’t be any more murders!” Olivia said. “One is more than plenty!”
And so ended our final Murder Club meeting. At least for the present!
40