Jack came into the room then and grinned when Franny told him where I had been. That infuriated me and I refused to answer any questions about it. I had planned to tell him about my talk with the priests, but now I was too angry to do it.

It was time to be starting dinner and I went into the kitchen with some trepidation, but the room was empty. I made sure of it, turning on the lights and inspecting the pantry and all the dark corners.

I was terrified of spending another night in the house, especially after what Father Fogarty had said about the activities of Mrs. Reddy and her daughter. I was also growing increasingly concerned about Stephanie, and I was trying to decide whether or not to phone the police when it became no longer necessary to make a decision. The doorbell rang and I went to the front door to find two sheriff’s deputies calling on us.

11

Chapter Eleven

My first thought was that they had come to take Duff back to jail. However, they didn’t ask about Duff, or at least not immediately. The older deputy’s first question was about Stephanie, specifically had she been living with us. The tense of the verb didn’t escape me.

“What’s happened to her?”

My reaction didn’t escape him either. “Were you expecting something to happen to her?”

“She’s been missing since yesterday?”

“Since what time yesterday?”

“I don’t know. Around dinnertime, I think.”

“Did you notify the Ashland Sheriff or the Cainesville police?”

Jack came over on his crutches and intervened. “We notified her parents and they didn’t seem alarmed, so we didn’t do anything more about it. Now let’s not play games. Something has happened to her or you wouldn’t be here.”

“She’s dead. Her body was found a couple of hours ago in the woods on the Waterson place.”

“Was she—?”

He stared at me for a moment before answering. “Did she die a natural death? No, Mrs. Caine, it was very unnatural. Among other things, she seems to have been strangled.”

The room began to spin. The younger deputy helped me to the settee and asked if he could get me a glass of water.

“When did it happen?” I heard Jack ask.

“Between nine and ten last night, we think. Least the Watersons heard some yelling around that time and saw some lights. We don’t have a coroner’s report yet.”

“Where is the Waterson place?” I managed to ask.

“Three or four farms down the road from you. About three quarters of a mile maybe.”

“Toward her family’s place?”

“That’s right.”

“Do they know?”

“Yes ma’am.”

How did they take it? I wanted to ask, but didn’t. It would serve no purpose and might just complicate matters.