Memories Monday -- WWMMD? What Would Miss Marple Do?

Today two detectives came to the library and questioned everybody.  They called us into the conference room one by one.  It was like waiting to be called into the principal’s office.  (Not that that ever happened to me.)  Afterwards we milled around comparing notes.  Not much work got done.

To save time, I guess, and probably because we looked like a pretty tame bunch, everyone was interviewed by one officer.  Mine looked like Stephen Colbert and called me Mrs. McDonald.  He seemed interested that I had lunch with Margaret.  What did we talk about? (Books, movies, my children, her niece and nephews.)  Had I ever been to her house?   (I hadn’t.  They didn’t take my fingerprints just to make sure.)  He thanked me and said I’d been helpful, though I wondered if knowing Margaret’s tastes in literature (classic English novels and “cozy” mysteries) and tea (lemon and Sweet and Low) would help.

Not only did he not tell me not to leave town, he didn’t even call me back about “one more thing I forgot to ask,” like Columbo used to. 

The kids were disappointed.  So were Nikki and Karen.   Karen thinks Margaret had something going on with somebody.  Nikki thinks she had been involved with something illegal and had had to be whacked.  I found it hard to believe either of Margaret.  Maybe she had accidentally found out something and had to be silenced.

“Like what?” Karen wanted to know.

“Somebody was embezzling church funds.”  (This happens more often than you would imagine.  Just bring it up among a group of church people and you’ll get enough material for at least ten mystery novels.)  “Or somebody stole something at the library.   We do have a rare book collection.”

“Or maybe she found out about somebody’s affair.”  Karen has always been a romantic. 

Then we discussed me as a suspect.  Naturally, I wouldn’t be doing anything illegal.  So that just left affairs of the heart. I could have killed her because Ed was having an affair with her.  We all laughed at that, since an affair would be too much trouble for Ed.  Actually, I’m a better candidate.  Even though I’m not gay, I might take the trouble for the right person.  In my imagination, that is.  Not that there’s anything wrong with being a Lesbian.  Maybe she had wanted me to leave Ed and had threatened to go public.  Or she was going to dump me and I didn’t want anyone else to have her.  Or Ed had found out and killed her.  I like to think he would have taken the trouble to do that at least.  Of course, if he got caught, I’d wait for him.