45ebf3c490593574dd454e5dfd5a5758

“Um…” Yoko needed a moment to compose herself, and I could see that her hand was trembling. “Not all that well,” she finally said. “I mean, we weren’t friends or anything, and didn’t meet outside of choir practice. She was a good deal older than me, and she wasn’t the kind of person I’d see myself socializing with, if you know what I mean.”

“Can you explain that?” asked Chase as he fixed the young woman with an inquisitive look.

“Umm, well, Neda was the boss, you know. The boss of the choir, and she liked to make us feel that she was in charge. She created this… distance. Ever since she was appointed the new conductor, she liked us to refer to her as Mrs. Hoeppner.”

“And before?”

“We called her by her Christian name, but the moment she was appointed, she felt that we needed to treat her with the respect she deserved.” There was an undertone of annoyance in Yoko’s voice. It was obvious she hadn’t been Neda’s biggest fan.

“You were also applying for the same position,” said Odelia. “So how did you feel about Neda being chosen over you?”

“I didn’t like it,” said Yoko frankly. “In fact I hated it.”

“Hated her? Or…”

Yoko thought for a moment.“No, I can’t say I hated her. I just thought it was the wrong decision. And that’s what I told Father Reilly when he made the announcement.”

“What did you tell him?”

“I told him what I’d said before, when I applied for the position. I said that I felt St. Theresa Choir should try to appeal to young people more, and not just Neda’s generation and up. You know that I’m the youngest person in that choir? The next person is fifteen years older than me. Average age is sixty-eight, with the oldest one being Mrs. Gumpel at eighty-seven. So I told Father Reilly that if he really wanted St. Theresa to die out in a couple of years he needed to keep doing what he was doing. But if he wanted us to survive, he needed to bring in more people of my generation.” She was speaking passionately, her eyes sparkling with the holy fire of conviction, her cheeks flushed.

“And you thought that with you as choir director, you would appeal more to young people,” said Odelia, nodding.

“Of course! I know I’ve tried to get my friends to join the choir, but they all say they don’t feel welcome in a choir where the large majority could be their mother or grandmother. But of course Father Reilly wouldn’t listen,” she concluded with a shrug.

“And why do you think that is?” asked Chase, who’d jotted down a few notes in his illegible handwriting even he probably has a hard time interpreting.

“You’d have to ask him.”

“Some people have suggested that he was having an affair with Neda,” said Odelia.

Yoko smiled at this.“With some people you probably mean Janette Bittiner. But she’s only saying that because she wanted that position very badly herself, and she’ll do anything to undermine Neda’s directorship.”

“Even… murder?” asked Chase.

“I didn’t say that. All I know is that Janette was very upset when Neda was appointed. And she certainly wasn’t quiet about it.”

“Those flyers…” Odelia said.

“You think that was her?” asked Yoko, her eyes widening.

Odelia nodded.

Yoko rolled her eyes.“Look, I wanted that position, too, but I’d never make a total fool of myself. I mean, I’ve thought about leaving ever since Neda took over, but I have to admit she does a good job.” She remembered why we were sitting together, and sobered. “Did a good job—I still can’t believe what happened. Are you sure it was… murder?”

“We’re sure,” said Odelia gently, as she placed a hand on the girl’s arm. “Now can you think of anyone else who’d be able to shed some more light on what happened?”

“Father Reilly,” said the girl promptly. “If anyone knows what was going on in St. Theresa it’s him. Neda may have been the director, but he’s in charge. He’s the one pulling all the strings, and he’s also the person people go to when they have an issue. So if anyone knows what kind of machinations were going on behind the scenes, it’s him.”

Chase and Odelia got up, and thanked Yoko for her time. But before they left, Chase turned and said,“Oh, one more thing, Miss Bricknell. Where were you this morning between eleven-thirty and twelve?”

“I was here,” said the girl. “My shift started at eleven, which is why I had to leave the rehearsal ten minutes early.”

“Can anyone confirm that?”

“Ask my boss. In fact Bill would be more than happy to tell you if I was even one minute late. He’s a real stickler for punctuality. Unfortunately,” she added ruefully.

“So what do you think, Max?” asked Dooley. “She didn’t look like a killer to me.”

“No, she certainly did not,” I agreed as we reconvened out on the sidewalk. Odelia and Chase were holding a similar conversation, and they, too, had been favorably impressed with young Miss Bricknell.

“She seemed upset that she wasn’t chosen to lead the choir,” I said, “but not upset enough that she would murder its current incumbent. So no, at first glance I don’t think we just had a conversation with a killer. Also, she seems to have a pretty solid alibi.”