Ding Dong Dead

28

Five o’clock Saturday morning Gretchen poured a cup of coffee and made herself comfortable at the computer, expecting that the task would take a long time. The first item she found in her Internet search came quicker than expected. Rachel Berringer’s name was listed in the Arizona Republic obituaries. Two brief impersonal paragraphs to prove that Flora Swilling’s daughter had once existed.

Rachel had died in March of the current year.

Gretchen learned more from what was left out than what was said. There wasn’t a “survived by” list of close relatives. There wasn’t any hint of the cause of death as in many obituaries where the causes were made known through requests for special donations. The obit didn’t say anything about “in lieu of flowers.” Rachel had died at sixty-three, hadn’t taken on another last name through marriage, and had left no children. There was no mention of interment or visitation services.

That was it.

After an unsuccessful search for more information, Gretchen considered that avenue of inquiry a complete dead end. The obit didn’t even tell her where Rachel had lived or died. Just because the obituary ran in the largest paper in Phoenix didn’t mean Rachel Berringer had died in Arizona. She could have been a former resident. Gretchen wondered who had been responsible for placing the information in the newspaper.

The only detail of minor interest was that Rachel had died the week before that anonymous donor had offered the Phoenix Dollers the use of the Swilling family home. Had she been that donor? Or had ownership passed to another relative? And what about Richard? Was he their anonymous benefactor?

Gretchen would delve into Rachel Berringer’s past after all the intrigue and drama died down, after a killer was identified. The club should make some sort of dedication to the deceased woman and to others in her family who had made contributions to the collection. They should be immortalized within the museum.

Next, she searched for Richard Berringer, keying in various combinations of last names. She got over fifty thousand hits. This one was going to be more complex. Gretchen didn’t have a starting point for the brother, didn’t know anything significant to narrow the search criteria.

She refined the search to Phoenix and the surrounding area. Several hours later, she still wasn’t any closer to finding Richard Berringer.

He hadn’t been mentioned in Rachel’s obituary.

Who knows, she thought, maybe he’s dead, too.