Before the sheriff said anything, I had a question for him. “Where is Ms. Brady, Sheriff? She came with me, and I’d like to see her home.”

“No need to worry about that, Mr. Harris. One of my men is driving her home right now.”

“Thank you.” I was glad Helen Louise would soon be in bed and hopefully asleep, but at the same time I was irked that I hadn’t had a chance to say good night.

“Mr. Harris, you seem to have a knack for turning up where dead bodies are present.”

I couldn’t tell whether Tidwell was amused or irritated. I, however, was definitely the latter.

“Simply a coincidence, Sheriff. I was looking for Mrs. Berry and happened to be the first one to find her. With the body.” Waves of tiredness washed over me, and all I wanted was to get home to my bed. I surely didn’t feel like sparring with the sheriff.

“How well did you know the deceased?”

“Not particularly well. She often came into the library on Friday afternoons when I volunteer there. I had some dealings with her in the past couple of months as a fellow member of the board of the library’s Friends group. That’s about it.” At this stage I wasn’t going to mention the unpleasant scene I’d had with Vera in the archives office.

Tidwell hardly waited until I finished answering one question before he was on to the next. “What about Miz Berry? How long have you known her?”

I thought back. Azalea had started working for my late aunt about twenty-five years ago, and I had met her several times when my family and I visited Aunt Dottie. I explained this to the sheriff.

“And she’s worked for you how long?”

“Since I moved back to Athena four years ago,” I said. With a slight smile I continued, “I inherited Azalea along with the house. I had little say in the matter.”

Tidwell smiled also. “She’s a strong-minded woman.” The smile faded. “Tell me what you saw when you found Miz Berry.”

I took a moment to collect my thoughts. My brain felt fuzzy. I focused on the door in the kitchen and the sounds I heard. Then I gave the sheriff a summary of what I saw.

“The door was definitely blocked from the outside?” Tidwell asked when I finished.

“Yes, the doorstop was wedged very firmly under it, and I actually had to bend down and pull it out with both hands. I tried kicking it aside, but it was embedded too deeply.”

Tidwell frowned. “So in your opinion, was Miz Berry unable to get out of that stairwell on her own?”

“Yes.” I didn’t elaborate further.

“Describe for me again Miz Berry’s demeanor when you found her.”

“She was obviously upset. She seemed frantic to get out of the stairwell, and frankly I couldn’t blame her.”

“What did she say?”

“That she had been banging on the door for ten minutes. Then she said it was terrible. That’s it, really.”