I hurried into the utility room to take care of Diesel’s needs. He watched anxiously as I added fresh dry food to his bowl—not completely empty, by the way—then warbled to let me know I was dismissed now that I had fulfilled my duty.

Smiling, I went back to the kitchen to join Kanesha. “Can I offer you something to drink?” I asked. I went to the fridge to fetch a can of diet soda for myself.

“No, thank you. Have you turned up anything else?”

“I’ll get to that in a minute. First, how is your mother? She didn’t come to work today.” I explained about the note I’d found this morning.

Kanesha frowned. “When I talked to her, she was fine, or so she said. She didn’t say anything about not coming to work today. That’s how she is, though. She won’t ever tell me when she’s not feeling good, because she doesn’t want me to worry.”

“Aunt Dottie was the same way,” I said. “I hope Azalea got some rest.” I decided to start with the reenactment as I sat down across the table from her. She leaned forward in her chair as I told her what we’d done.

“That was a good idea,” she said when I finished. “Any conclusions?”

“Mostly that Azalea would have had a hard time seeing much. It was even darker in there than I realized.”

“Do you still think there’s something she’s holding back?”

I nodded. “It’s a feeling I can’t shake. I know it doesn’t sound rational, but there was simply something about her manner the first time I talked to her. And the second time as well. I want to talk to her again, and this time I’m determined to find out what she’s not telling us.”

“Good luck.” Kanesha leaned back in her chair. “Anything else you can tell me?”

“I went to visit Sissy and Hank Beauchamp today, too. Miss An’gel and Miss Dickce came by again this morning and asked me to go see the Beauchamps to collect the money they promised for the fund-raiser.”

“Did you actually get money from them?”

“A check from Sissy,” I said. “Why do you ask?”

“I wish Miss An’gel luck in getting it cashed. I’ve been doing some checking into people’s money, trying to see what the financial angle could be in this case. The Beauchamps are in bad shape. There’s actually a mortgage on the house, and they’re behind three months already. Hank’s law practice isn’t doing well, and Sissy has never worked a day in her life.”

“Any idea why they’re so short of money?” I asked. “I thought the Beauchamps were wealthy.”

“They used to be,” Kanesha replied. “Their father was rich, left them a lot of money from his own law practice. But Sissy has expensive tastes, and so does Hank. He also has a gambling problem.”

I nodded, remembering again what Helen Louise had told me. That was a fast way to run through a fortune. I felt sorry for them, but I realized that, in terms of motive, they had to be considered prime suspects in Vera’s death.