Prescription for Murder

Friends of the family were gathered in small groups inside the funeral home. Some were whispering among themselves, speaking of the terrible tragedy that had whisked Barbara away in the prime of her life. Her death had been terrible enough, they whispered, but the timing of her death was the topic for further discussion. The accident had occurred on Silas’s birthday, the day after Easter Sunday. Some of the ladies were saying, "Poor Silas, what a shame; I wonder what he will do now." Everyone was stunned over the timing of her death. But word of an autopsy spread through the gathering like wildfire. The ones who had heard about it made sure everyone else knew before they left. Those, who thought themselves expert in such matters, spoke of conspiracy and cover-ups. Some said that it was just a matter of routine, but there were a few men who whispered the words foul play, however would not or could not offer details of their allegations. But, this was neither the time nor the place to discuss such things. There would be a time for gossip in the days and weeks to follow.

Silas, Trish, and Victor rode home together after the funeral. Trish was quiet, confused, not fully understanding the consequences of what had happened to her mother or how it would change her life forever. Silas was, for the most part, quiet also, but for reasons other than grief. He was thinking ahead, asking himself questions, then attempting to supply the correct answers to those questions. But then, he broke his silence, addressing his brother Victor.

"Victor, are you still interested in that girl that used to work in the clinic with you?"

"Which one do you mean?"

"Kathleen Adams. Are you and she still seeing one another?"

"No, that’s over. It’s been over between us for a long time Silas, you know that. Why do you ask?"

"I was just wondering, just wondering. Forget that I mentioned it."

Victor whispered to Silas, not wanting to speak so boldly about such matters, in front of Trish.

"Silas, I thought that you and she were seeing one another on the side."

Silas was stunned by Victor’s statement.

"Who told you that?"

"She did."

Silas was speechless. Another potential problem, he thought.

After the funeral family and friends met at Barbara’s parents’ home. Willie stopped by the house. His arrival caused a scene when his old dilapidated station wagon smoked, sputtered and popped its way to a parking place in front of the house. He walked inside and for a moment, everyone stared at him, not knowing who he was at first. Willie saw Barbara’s mother and he walked over to her. There was plenty of food, prepared by friends of the family, at the gathering and Willie had already helped himself, holding a plate of food in one hand and a glass of soda in the other as he approached her. He didn’t know what to say, as Barbara’s mother stared at him, waiting for him to speak.

"I know that everybody didn’t think that Silas loved Barbara, but I think that he did. There are three things you have to do when you work for Silas: keep your eyes open, your ears open and your mouth shut," he said, then turned and walked away. Several people in the immediate vicinity overheard Willie’s comments. Barbara’s mother was surprised and speechless as he walked away from her. She wandered among friends and family, at first trying to understand his comment, but then she disregarded it. But this was not the case with Barbara’s brother or her sisters. They had already suspected the possibility of foul play, but at the moment their minds were too full of grief and sadness to pursue the issue. They were emotionally drained and for that reason Willie was not questioned.

Silas stayed home after the funeral. There would be friends, some family members on his side, stopping by to pay their last respects. Women would bring food, enough to last for weeks.

Silas had hoped that Barbara’s family would come by. Their appearance was needed for the sake of the final phase of the plan. If they came to his house, others would think everything was okay, that Barbara’s family thought no more of the foul play issue. If not, he would be suspect, not only in the eyes of the police, but also in the eyes of everyone in the community. Silas thought, if the final phase of the plan failed it would be her brother’s fault and the fault of her loud-mouth sisters.

Kathleen stopped by the house, which was a tense moment for both her and Silas, but she put on a good act. Several people were at the house when she visited including Victor. Her arrival certainly raised his eyebrows, but he said nothing about it. When they were alone in the kitchen Silas told her that it would be better that they didn’t see each other for a while, then they briefly embraced. Kathleen smiled at Silas then left the kitchen returning to the living room where others had gathered.