Classic Revenge by Mitzi Kelly

her mind wandered right over to the
dilemma Sam was in.
    The thought that Sam had killed Susan was ludicrous. So, the question became: Who had? Claire? But
that thought was even more ridiculous than thinking
Sam had done it. What possible motive would Claire
have for killing her employer? There was absolutely
none, as far as Trish could tell.
    It was back to square one. As far as she knew, Susan
didn't have any enemies, burglary was ruled out, and
the two people closest to her, Sam and Claire, had both
been out of the house when it had happened. What was
she missing here? There had to be a reasonable explanation, and yet, was murder ever reasonable?
    Trish felt the slight burning in the muscles of her
thighs, but she didn't pay it any attention. Her thought
process was on a roll. She blew the hair out of her eyes
as she concentrated. Suddenly, as though a lightbulb had
just flashed on in her mind, she knew this had to be tied
to Sam, somehow-either intentionally, to make him
look guilty, or just to plain hurt him. Either way, Sam
was as much a victim of this as Susan had been. She was
sure of it.
    Trish stopped pedaling and glanced at her watch. There was just enough time to take a quick shower and
lay out some snacks before her cohorts would be over.
Feeling both physically and mentally invigorated, she
stood. Evidently, she'd stood too fast. Her rubbery legs
barely held her up long enough to allow her to sink back
onto the seat. Might have overdone it just a bit, she
thought with a grimace. It took a few minutes before she
felt steady enough to try standing again. Biting her lower
lip, she wobbled down the hallway.

    As scheduled, Millie and Edna arrived promptly at
six, Millie carrying a plastic dish containing a beautiful
chocolate cake. Trish dreaded the thought of how much
exercising she would have to do to work it off tomorrow ... or the next day, she hastily amended, as her
legs protested at the mere thought of another workout.
It never crossed her mind that she could just say no to
the rich dessert.
    Armed with crackers and cheese, pickles and olives,
coffee and cake, the three women sat at the table and
immediately started discussing Sam's plight.
    "Sam is the reason behind this crime," Trish blurted,
popping an olive in her mouth.
    Edna's eyes opened wide. "You'll never make me believe Sam killed Susan!" Her hand shook slightly as
she put down her coffee cup.
    "Oh, Edna, I didn't mean Sam is guilty, but I do believe this happened because of him."
    Millie mumbled through a huge bite of rich, chocolate cake, "Go on"
    "I'm convinced that someone is out to get Sam.
They've successfully framed him for the murder and
devastated him at the same time."
    Edna frowned. "What makes you so sure?"

    "Let's look at this objectively." Trish leaned forward in her chair and crossed her arms on the table.
"Nothing was stolen, so it wasn't a robbery. Susan never
met anybody who didn't like her and vice-versa, so
it's not a secret enemy. There's no sign of breaking
and entering ..."
    "We got in the house, and we didn't have to break
anything," Millie pointed out.
    "That's exactly my point! Whoever did this knew
how to get in, or maybe when Claire and Sam left that
morning they didn't lock the door. Regardless, someone knew Susan would be alone."
    Millie leaned back in her chair and patted her stomach, her gaze settling on the far wall as she contemplated Trish's theory. Edna was silent as she broke off a
square of sliced cheese and placed it on a cracker.
While they pondered the idea, Trish got up to refill their
coffee, noticing that the muscles in her legs were really
starting to tighten up. Making her way very slowly to
the coffee pot, she hoped neither of her friends would
notice. She'd never hear the end of it.
    Finally, Millie broke the silence. "For argument's
sake, let's say you're right. That still doesn't bring us any
closer to figuring out who could have done it and