7

MAYOR POTTS'S FUNERAL

"But how could Clancy Bond kill Mrs. White?" Alice demanded. "No wound marks were found on her. Your father examined her himself."

"The police thought she might have been poisoned," Marie-Grace replied.

Alice shook her head. "That doesn't seem like Clancy Bond—he's a cold-blooded murderer. Why would he poison an old lady when he could just stab her or shoot her?"

Marie-Grace was horrified by her cousin's casual tone of voice. She took a deep breath before answering. "It would be smarter to poison someone. Then the police couldn't be sure if they had been murdered. And Clancy Bond did look clever as well as cruel from his picture in the wanted poster."

When her cousin didn't respond Marie-Grace urged, "Let's hurry home. I'm frightened now."

"So am I," Alice admitted. She shivered. "If there's a murderer loose in town then I'm staying close to home until he's caught."

As the girls passed the bank, they saw a crowd of people standing nearby.

"Look, what are they doing?" Alice wondered aloud.

The girls could see the mayor bending over something in the bank through a window.

"The mayor's signing legal papers about collecting money for the town, and some people don't like it!" a woman explained to the girls.

"Why wouldn't they mind giving money for the town?" Alice asked, confused.

"Because the mayor is forcing the people to pay the money," the woman replied.

Marie-Grace spied Mr. Anon in the crowd. He was studying Mayor Potts through the window, looking thoughtful. He shifted on his black boots.

Also, Marie-Grace saw Mrs. Davis from the bakery, and Miss Marshal. Miss Marshal stood nearby, as well as Mr. Stevens. Betsy Anna Rogers was standing daintily at the edge of the crowd in her white boots, holding a parasol.

Betsy Anna grinned as she saw Alice and Marie-Grace. She came over toward them haughtily.

"Uh-oh," Alice muttered under her breath.

"Should we go home?" Marie-Grace whispered to her.

"Yes," Alice said immediately, but Betsy was too close now.

"I suppose you've heard about the mayor signing these papers," Betsy told them, sidling next to the girls. "I've heard some people say they wish they could burn the papers, they are so mad."

"Why would that change anything?" Marie-Grace asked.

"Because then the mayor's signature on the documents wouldn't be there, and so he couldn't make everyone in town pay money."

"So he'll have to put the papers somewhere safe?" Marie-Grace guessed.

"Yes," Betsy said, pursing her lips. "Most likely in the bank." She put a hand to her forehead to shade her eyes from the sun. "Where do you live, Marie-Grace?"

"I live in New Orleans," Marie-Grace answered politely. Marie-Grace was starting to see why Alice didn't like this girl. She seemed nosy.

"Oh, my mother and I have shopped there," Betsy said, rolling her eyes. "Such a quaint little town. And your father is Doctor Gardner?"

"Yes, he's my Uncle Pierre's and Aunt Odette's brother," Marie-Grace said.

"But we have to go home now!" Alice hurriedly announced.

"Maybe you could visit me sometime while you are staying here," Betsy offered to Marie-Grace sweetly.

Marie-Grace just had time to doubtfully reply "Maybe—" when Alice pulled her away.

"That's not very smart of Mayor Potts to sign those documents and make everybody mad at him," Alice murmured, as the girls headed toward the houses in the woods.

"Do you think someone might be so mad they'd try to hurt him?" Marie-Grace gasped.

"Maybe," Alice said, shrugging.

As soon as they entered Aunt Isabelle's house, Marie-Grace's aunt said to them from the fireplace, where she was stoking the coals, "Oh, girls, I had wanted to make an apple pie for supper, but I'm out of butter. Do you think you two could run back to town and get some from the store?"

"Yes, Maman," Alice sighed.

Aunt Isabelle handed them some money and Marie-Grace and Alice walked back to town.

"I'm getting tired of all this walking," Alice complained.

"Me, too," Marie-Grace agreed. It had taken them a while to walk back to town, and as Marie-Grace glanced back toward the bank, she saw most of the people were gone now—and she couldn't see Mayor Potts through the window anymore.

"Look, Mr. Anon is still standing by the bank," Alice pointed out, pointing to the man.

He stood staring at the building intently, as if studying it.

Marie-Grace and Alice walked to a shop and bought butter, and then walked home.

Aunt Isabelle asked for the girls' help to bake a pie with her, so Marie-Grace peeled apples and Alice chopped them into small squares, while Aunt Isabelle rolled out the pie crust.

They put the pie in the oven to bake, and as Aunt Isabelle was checking to see if the bread for supper was finished baking, Alice and Marie-Grace set the table, using dishes from the cabinet in the dining room.

– ❧ –

The next morning Marie-Grace woke up late, and she still felt tired. Alice was gone from her spot in the bed.

Marie-Grace hopped up to dress when her cousin came in the room.

Alice wasn't smiling as usual. She was solemn, and told Marie-Grace in a grave voice, "The mayor was killed last night."

"What?" Marie-Grace gasped. "Mayor Potts was killed?"

"And the papers were stolen!" Alice cried. "The documents that he signed yesterday!"

"What happened?" Marie-Grace asked, sitting down hard on the edge of the bed.

Alice sat down beside her and took a deep breath. "I just heard the news. Papa read it in the newspaper. This morning, Mayor Potts was found lying on the floor of the bank. He was proclaimed shot after a doctor had examined him."

"Was it Papa?" Marie-Grace asked, thinking of how her father had examined Mrs. White.

Alice shook her head. "It was another doctor. But he said it was a bullet wound, no doubt."

"Why wouldn't the mayor be in his house last night, in bed?" Marie-Grace asked, confused.

"He told a friend of his that he was going to check something at the bank. His friend assumed that he was checking on the papers he had signed," Alice continued. She lowered her voice. "And the documents were stolen! The police checked the bank's safe, where the papers were placed yesterday, and they were gone." Alice shook her head. "I knew nothing good could come out of this. But Mayor Potts was killed!" She shuddered. "And my mother said we are going to attend his funeral today."

"Will Papa and I go, too?" Marie-Grace asked.

Alice shrugged. "I think so."

Elise poked her head in the girls' room. "I suppose you've heard the news?" she asked, looking from her sister to Marie-Grace.

They both nodded.

"Well, we'll be going to Mayor Potts's funeral this afternoon," Elise said, "so get dressed. Breakfast is almost ready."

Marie-Grace dressed in a black cotton dress, matching Alice's clothes, and after breakfast Uncle Pierre hitched the carriage to a horse from the barn. They needed two carriages, though, to fit everyone, so Uncle Alex hitched up his own carriage. They all rode to town, wearing black mourning clothes.

Most everyone in town was attending the funeral.

As the pastor from Cairo's church preached a sermon over the newly-dug grave, Marie-Grace glanced toward the bank in the distance, which she could see because it was close to the graveyard.

She could spy a sheriff and policemen standing guard around the bank. Marie-Grace supposed they were investigating, trying to find clues to who had murdered Mayor Potts.

Suddenly Marie-Grace gasped. Alice, who was standing closest to her, whispered, "What is it?"

Marie-Grace shook her head and whispered under her breath, "I just thought of something."

Alice looked at her cousin curiously, but the girls remained quiet through the rest of the funeral.

Aunt Isabelle and Aunt Odette had brought flowers, which they placed gently on the grave, as did other women and children. Then people began to leave, driving away in carriages and wagons. Marie-Grace noticed that no one seemed angry at the mayor now, like some people in the crowd in front of the bank had, yesterday. They all seemed sad now.

Marie-Grace learned from Alice, as they drove home, that the mayor had no family. Marie-Grace thought that was better. Then no poor wife or children would be mourning this day for the death of Mayor Potts.

As soon as they arrived at the houses, Marie-Grace and Alice climbed out of the carriage.

"Grace," Papa called to Marie-Grace, as they walked toward Aunt Lissie's, Uncle Pierre and Aunt Isabelle's, and Uncle Alex and Aunt Odette's cabins, "are you enjoying staying with Alice?"

"Oh, yes, Papa!" Marie-Grace said, nodding vigorously. She realized she had spent more time with Alice than Papa lately, since they had arrived in Cairo.

"Aunt Lisette always has an extra bedroom," Papa offered. "If you ever want to stay there . . ."

"I like it fine with Alice," Marie-Grace told him firmly.

Her cousin rushed toward her at that moment. She had been talking with Édith. "Come on, Marie-Grace!" Alice said.

They went to Uncle Pierre's house and into Alice's bedroom.

"Why did you gasp at the funeral?" Alice demanded, seating herself on the bed.

"I thought of something," Marie-Grace told her, sitting down in a chair across from her. "I thought," she said slowly, "that, what if the same person who killed Mrs. White—"

"You don't know for sure if Mrs. White was killed!" Alice protested.

"But, if she was," Marie-Grace continued, "what if that same person had murdered Mayor Potts?"

"Oh!" Alice exclaimed, jumping to the floor. Then she sat back down on her bed again. "You think it's that Clancy Bond fellow, don't you?"

"Yes!" Marie-Grace exclaimed. "It all makes sense. I think the murderer is here in Cairo. The day Papa and I arrived, Clancy Bond—" at a warning look from Alice, Marie-Grace quickly corrected herself "—the murderer—murdered Mrs. White, and stole her jewels. Then he killed Mayor Potts and took the papers he was signing."

"Why would he do that?" Alice asked.

Marie-Grace shrugged. "He's a criminal. Why do criminals do the things they do?"

"Well, we should tell the police!" Alice decided.

"No!" Marie-Grace protested. "We don't have any proof! And we haven't even seen Clancy in Cairo. He might be staying at the hotel with Mr Edwards and Mr. Anon, for all we know—but the police would laugh at us if we told them that, because we are not sure."

"All right," Alice huffed. "But we need to find some proof against this criminal, or else he might kill more people!"

"I'm not going outside of this house until he's caught," Marie-Grace agreed, shivering.

"Well, you'll have to, because we have to find some proof for the police so he will be caught. And there's no way to do that just sitting around here!"

Alice stood up and marched toward the door, and Marie-Grace asked, "Where are you going?"

Alice opened the door before turning back to her cousin. "To the bank. Maybe we'll find some clues about Mayor Potts's murder there."