"And did she?"
"Somebody took care of her before I could get to her. I tried to set up a meeting with her Sunday morning, but it was hard to find Mavis alone."
"Do you think these people are in Hemlock Falls?" said Quill cleverly.
"I'm pretty close to finding out, But Mavis got herself murdered for another set of reasons entirely. At least, that's what Myles and I think."
"So you've talked to Myles about this. You don't think John was responsible, do you?"
"I don't know," said Edward. "There's a lot of physical evidence against him, Quill, And he had a pretty compelling reason."
"What! The two hundred dollars a month he sent to that miserable Mavis?"
"No. How much did he tell you about the death of his brother-in-law?"
"That guy Jackie?" Quill settled back in her chair, trying to remember. "He said that he found his sister in the kitchen... "
"How did he know she was in the kitchen?"
"He got a phone call."
"Did he ever find out who?"
"He didn't say that he did," Quill, utterly bewildered, pulled her lower lip.
Edward took her hand and held it. "John was the one who initially reported his suspicions of the tainted meat scandal to company headquarters."
It took Quill a minute. She felt her face pale, and withdrew her hand from his. "You mean he was set up?"
"There's a strong suggestion that these people waited for an opportune moment."
"Oh, God." said Quill. "Poor John."
"I have an idea that John suspected it, too. He had quite a bit of time to think about it, in prison."
"And Mavis was the logical informant."
"That's occurred to both Myles and to me."
Quill shook her head. "I refuse to believe it."
"Myles said you were stubborn."
"Excuse me!" an outraged voice demanded. Quill jumped.
Mrs. Hallenbeck stood in front of them. The Glare was in full force. "We had an appointment, Sarah. At five o'clock, for tea. It is now five-fifteen. You have kept me waiting." The old lady's face was pink with outrage. "I went to the kitchen, and waited there, thinking perhaps you were wasting your time with that sister of yours. You weren't there. I searched the entire dining room and the lobby, and I find you here, with this man. Do you have an explanation?"
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Hallenbeck," said Quill. "It's been a long day, and it slipped my mind."
"It slipped your mind! I've mentioned before that I'm considering offering you Mavis' job. Do you really want to jeopardize that offer?" Her eyes filled with sudden tears. "I have something to report on the progress of our investigation."
Quill, whose temper had been rising in a way quite unbecoming to an innkeeper of principle, was disarmed by this last statement. She smiled a little ruefully at Edward, then got to her feet. "Why don't we go into the kitchen to have our tea?"
"The kitchen?"
"None of the guests are allowed there," said Quill comfortingly. "Just our special friends. We'll have Meg make us something delicious. And then we can pool our information."
Meg had been out jogging, and her face was flushed and sweaty. "I just stopped to make sure everybody was here and the breads were rising properly," she said as Quill steered Mrs. Hallenbeck into the kitchen. "I'm going up to take a shower."
"Would you have time to make us some tea?" said Quill. She sent a pleading glance to her sister over Mrs. Hallenbeck's head.
Mrs. Hallenbeck settled herself into the rocker by the fire- place. "We are going to discuss the progress of our investigation," she said complacently. "I will have hot water only. Out of the tap. With a little lemon."
"Oh, okay. I could use a cup of coffee." Meg filled the electric teakettle, then her own espresso machine with spring water, and cut three slices of seedcake. "So, how'd it go with Marge?"
"You wouldn't believe that food, Meg. It's great."
"It is?"
Quill nodded emphatically.
"You're not serious. Jeez!" She bit her forefinger. "How great?"
"Oh, it's quite good," Mrs. Hallenbeck assured her. "Perhaps you could get a job there after the Inn closes."
"The Inn is not going to close," said Meg, astonished. "What are you talking about?"
"Well, that's what I have to report." Mrs. Hallenbeck opened her purse and withdrew her little notebook. "I made notes every half hour. My memory," she admitted, in a rare moment of humility, "is not quite what it was." She cleared her throat. "I sat on the leather couch in the lobby. From there, you can see people going to all parts of the Inn. I thought it would be a good observation post."
"Yay, Miss Marple!" said Meg, by now fascinated.
"As I sat there, precisely fifteen people checked out of the Inn early. They were alarmed by the presence of what one party referred to as 'Devil worshippers.' "
"Oh, no!" said Quill, dismayed.
"You see my concern for the Inn," said Mrs. Hallenbeck. "I did not record the times of those departures. There were," she said frankly, "too many.
"You, Sarah, left the breakfast table at eight twenty-two. You stated you were headed for the prayer breakfast, and I had no reason to assume you were lying."
"Thank you, ma'am," said Quill. The sisters exchanged grins.
"I finished my breakfast and went to the, er, ladies room." Mrs. Hallenbeck flushed slightly. "When you drink as much hot water as I do, it is convenient to be near a WC. It is very good for the kidneys, however. I took up my post at nine-ten. At nine-eleven, three thugs came out of the lounge, followed by you, Quill, and Peter Williams. You didn't notice me, which led me to conclude that my choice of observation post was correct."
"Willy Max and the Jerks for Jesus," said Quill.
"The guests will be back," said Meg. "Just wait for the review from L'Aperitif."
"You came back three and a half minutes later. You went into your office. Forty-five seconds after that, Keith Baumer crossed the landing upstairs and went down the hall. I got up to look to see who it was. He returned two and one-half minutes later. Seven minutes later, Doreen Muxworthy went into your office. Eleven minutes later, she left and went upstairs. Then, a young man named Harvey Bozzel knocked on your door and went in."
Meg rolled her eyes at Quill and poured herself a cup of coffee.
Mrs. Hallenbeck primly took a sip of hot water, replaced the cup in the saucer, and took a delicate bite of seedcake. "How am I doing so far?" She twinkled at Quill.
"Go on," said Quill. "I think you may have something here."
"Four minutes later Doreen came downstairs, carrying something in a plastic bag. She went out the front door. About five and one-half minutes after that, the sheriff came in the front door and went upstairs. He was upstairs for about ten minutes. Then he came down and went into your office."