Before Michelle could protest, Sean took her by the arm and propelled her out the door.
It took them a moment to realize that Doug had followed them out.
“I am truly sorry about your mother. I liked Sally a lot. Everyone did.”
“Well, one person didn’t,” snapped Michelle.
“What, oh, yes, of course.” They stood there awkwardly on the front porch with towering support columns done in the Corinthian style on either side of them. For Michelle they felt like elaborate bars on a jazzed-up cage.
“Is there something you wanted to tell us?” asked Sean.
“This is very awkward,” said Doug.
“Yes, it is,” agreed Michelle. Sean gave her a look.
“I didn’t really know your father, but Sally talked to Donna and me about him sometimes.”
“Is this where you tell me they weren’t happy and my mother was thinking of leaving him?”
“No, no, not at all. I think your mother was, well, moderately happy with your father. I… well…”
“Just say it, Doug.”
“I don’t think your father was very happy with Sally. They seemed to have grown apart. At least that’s how she phrased it.”
Michelle’s face fell.
Doug studied her. “Did you think that too?”
“It really doesn’t matter what I think. It just matters who killed my mom.”
“Well, she didn’t tell us about anyone bothering her, or stalking her. She led a very normal life. Friends, golf, gardening. There are no psychopaths that I know of running around here.”
“That’s the thing about psychopaths, Doug, with the really crazy ones, you never see them coming until they’ve stuck a knife in your heart,” she said.
He mumbled a hasty goodbye, and then Doug the steady almost ran back into the house. They heard the lock click into place.
As they were walking to the SUV Michelle said, “Do you think it was just a robbery that went down wrong?”
“It might be.”
They climbed in the SUV. “You feel like some food?” she said. “I know a place.”
Ten minutes later they were seated in a small restaurant and had ordered.
Sean said, “Okay, the cops worked the garage area and found no trace. The garage overhead door was down and the exit door from the garage onto the side yard was locked. But the killer could have secured it on the way out. It was just a simple button lock.”
“So anybody could have gone in, waited for her, killed her, and left that way. The ground was dry, no footprints.”
“And there was a privacy fence on the garage side. More concealment.”
She said, “ME reported the window of death was between eight and nine. You think someone would have seen something. Or maybe heard Mom crying out when she was attacked?”
Sean looked thoughtful. “But the noise from the pool party would have drowned out anything like that.” He added, “I take it they’ve all been interviewed? The folks at the party?”
“I guess so.” She studied him. “Why, what are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking if I wanted to kill someone I’d get myself invited to that party, slip out, do the deed, and slip back in.”