Page 35 of Forever Dead

“Give me tonight with it. I’ll get back to you tomorrow.”

He lowered the notebook. “You already have something else.”

Selena considered him.

“I know that expression.”

“Am I really that transparent these days?”

"So, what is it?"

She rested both hands on the edge of the bed. “The phone line was cut, and nothing was taken that we know of, correct?”

“Correct.”

“No signs of a search? Drawers dumped, cupboards opened, jewelry missing?”

“Nothing like that so far.”

“Then I think we start with somebody who knew her.”

Arnold frowned. “Because of the phone?”

“Because of the preparation. Cutting that line means the killer either knew she relied on a landline or took the trouble to find out. They knew the property well enough to get down the hill and cut the correct cable. They came at night, when she’d be home, and there’s no obvious theft.”

“Could’ve watched the place.”

“Could have. I’m giving you a working theory, not a conclusion, Arnold.”

“Someone close to her, like family?”

“That’s where I’d look first.”

“She didn’t have kids, Selena.”

“I know. Nieces, nephews, extended family, anyone with a grievance. But I’d widen it beyond relatives, beyond even friends.”

“Who to?”

Selena looked again at Eleanor’s photograph.

“Someone who feels she wronged them.”

Arnold sat back. “Miss Marsh?”

“Yes.”

“That’s a hard sell.”

“Why?”

“Because half the county adored her.”

Selena set the photograph down. “Which means the other half doesn’t automatically get excluded. It could be through her work. Not everyone loves their teachers.”

Arnold tapped the pen against the notebook. “You thinking former student?”

“That would be one place I’d look. Thirty-five years teaching gives you thousands of people who passed through her classroom. Most loved her. Maybe one didn’t.”