by Cynthia Raye
“Let’s just say that we’re looking at this as a suspicious death.”
“A suspicious death? Is that code for saying she was murdered?”
“It’s code for: we think the death might be suspicious,” he replied wryly.
“But who would want to hurt her like this?” Erin wondered aloud. “I know she could be trying at times, but that’s not something to kill someone over. She did a lot of charity in town.”
She realized that the detective was watching her intently and she became self-conscious.
“I didn’t kill her. I wouldn’t have done something like this at my salon. Also, honestly, I don’t think that I could hurt anyone.”
This seemed to touch a nerve for Harrison. He gritted his teeth and then gestured to the door.
“Will you please head back to the designated waiting area?”
“Just one more question,” Erin said as a terrifying thought occurred to her. “Do you think a killer might have come into my salon?”
“You know. It’s funny,” Harrison said, roughly closing his notebook and stuffing it into his pocket. “You’ve been avoiding me so long, and now I can’t get rid of you.”
“Well, can you really blame me for ignoring you?” Erin asked.
Harrison stood up even straighter and put on his most authoritative cop voice. “Please, wait outside.”
This time Erin did as instructed. She was as eager to leave as he was to see her go. She headed back to where the others were waiting.
“I wasn’t able to get any water, but someone will check on us soon,” she told them.
Deena nodded, but it didn’t quite look like she was paying attention to what was being said. She appeared wrapped up in her own sad thoughts. Erin’s heart went out to her friend. Everyone was upset by what they saw, but Deena must feel even worse because she was the one who was working on Sue Ellen’s hair and had uttered the wrong words at a bad moment.
“Did you find out any news?” Adele asked, leaning forward.
“I did find out that Kimmy is free to leave. The police might contact you later, but it’s okay for you to go home with your mom now.”
Kimmy nodded. “Thanks.”
Her mother started escorting her away from the salon, but Kimmy turned back to remind Erin that they should call the Pasquale family so they wouldn’t bring the young twins over and see this. Erin promised she would contact them and couldn’t help but feel proud of how attentive to the customers Kimmy was even in the face of tragedy.
“They didn’t tell you anything else?” Adele asked. She watched Kimmy walk away, hoping that the absence of the minor might reveal more gruesome details. “You were over there a while.”
“The conversation was mostly about how the detective wanted me to leave,” Erin admitted.
“But about Sue Ellen?” Adele pressed. “What do they think happened to her?”
“I doubt the police told her anything,” Deena said. She looked like she was coming out of her reverie. “They can’t know exactly what killed her right now. There will have to be an autopsy.”
“That is what happens on TV,” Adele agreed.
“They can’t say anything to comfort us if they don’t know exactly what killed her,” Deena continued. “And if they think we did anything to cause this… well, they’re going to want to talk to us to make sure that isn’t what happened.”
“Interesting,” Adele said, considering the matter.
Erin suddenly felt very tired. She didn’t want to keep waiting outside the place where someone had died. She wanted to go home, put a blanket around her shoulders, and see her dogs. She wanted to do something to try and make herself feel a little bit better. Was there something she could do to make the others feel better too?
Vicki had started to bite her nails that had not been painted, and Sylvia was remaining silent. Adele had her phone out and was undoubtedly beginning to spread some word about what had happened. Deena started fidgeting again. Erin moved closer and gave her friend a side hug.
“This isn’t your fault,” she said quietly. “You didn’t mean what you said before, and you didn’t do anything wrong with her hair.”
Deena didn’t answer, but she returned the hug.
“They’re coming,” Adele announced as she saw the detectives walking toward the group. “Maybe we’ll get some good information now.”
Detective Harrison Connors reached the group with his partner at his side. Detective Linda Randall was a middle-aged woman, but she had the persona of a typical doting grandmother.
“I heard that you might be thirsty,” she said. “I’ll make sure to get you some water. And maybe some little snacks too. We have some questions for all of you and I don’t want anyone’s blood sugar to dip.”
“We’re fine,” Adele said. “We want to know what’s going on.”
“What’s going on is that we are trying to figure out exactly what happened to Sue Ellen Easton,” Harrison said calmly. “We’ll need you all to report exactly what you saw this morning at the salon to give us an accurate picture.”
“But you don’t know what killed her?” Adele asked. “I wanted you to tell me. I couldn’t make sense of it. It happened so fast. I guess some of those issues she always complained about did have some validity. I thought she just liked to be a nuisance. I’m sure a lot of people thought so. I am glad to hear that you think she was targeted though. I thought that was most likely what happened, but it is reassuring to know that there wasn’t something toxic at the salon that will get to each of us in turn.”
“Right now we don’t believe that to be the case,” Harrison said. “We’re focusing on Mrs. Easton.”
“Did anyone tell her husband what happened?” Deena asked quietly.
“The family has been informed,” Detective Randall said. “Don’t worry, dear. The police chief himself went to inform Dr. Easton. He won’t have to hear about this secondhand or from social media.”
Adele inconspicuously slipped her phone away at that remark.
“The chief did that while we were here so we could start our investigation right away,” Detective Randall continued. “I know that Sue Ellen was a friend and a neighbor. We’re all bothered that this has occurred.”
“Investigation?” Adele said, pouncing on the word. “Do you believe this was murder? Is there a killer loose in town? A deadly maniac?”
“We’re looking into all possibilities,” Harrison said.
“We’d like for you all to recount what happened in the moments leading up to the death,” Detective Randall said. “It seems I should have asked you to wait apart so you didn’t talk about what happened and colored each other’s stories, but it’s too late for that now. You all know how rare it is to have a sudden and suspicious death like this in Glengrove.”
“Suspicious,” Adele said. She began to smile as if savoring this word.
“Sue Ellen arrived early for her appointment,” Erin said. She didn’t want to allow Adele to sidetrack the detectives from getting all the facts.
She recounted the morning as best she could, and the others filled in some details that they remembered about Sue Ellen’s behavior. Detective Randall seemed satisfied with the details they supplied.
Adele couldn’t help but supply one additional fact. “If you’re looking for who killed her, there are lots of people she rubbed the wrong way. I think she got a kick out of doing that. But I think her husband was also fooling around with someone. I heard that from a few reliable sources. More motive there.”
“Thank you all for your help,” Detective Randall said. “We might have additional questions for you, but we know how to contact you.”
“Actually,” Sylvia said, standing up and adding to the conversation for the first time, “do you mind if I speak to you privately?”
“Do you have information relevant to what happened?” asked Harrison.
“I think I might,” Sylvia said, sounding glum.
“Right this way,” Harrison sai
d, gesturing for Sylvia to walk away with them.
Detective Randall stayed with the group before following her partner to offer some advice. “Take care of yourselves at home. Maybe have some chicken soup or take a hot bath. I know this was a terribly rough day. It’s difficult for me too and I’m a trained professional.”
Once they were released, Vicki headed to her car and Adele moved closer to the salon to snap some photos on her phone. Deena stayed where she was. She shook her head sadly.
“Do you still want to have some wine together tonight?” Erin asked, hoping to boost her spirits.
“I’m not sure I’m up for doing anything tonight now,” Deena said.
Erin nodded. “I wasn’t really wild about the idea anymore, but I wanted to be there for you if you needed to talk. I can tell you’re upset.”
“We all are,” Deena replied quickly.
“True. Even Sylvia. I wonder what she wants to tell the police.”
They didn’t get a chance to speculate about what she knew though, because then the medical examiner came over as instructed to check on them and make sure they weren’t going to faint.
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