Nancy Drouillard Mystery

Nancy Douillard, a widowed, retired lawyer, and former judge has just returned to her 55+ community after a frustrating meeting at a local law firm. Nancy felt invalidated and angry at being patronized as if her "use-by date" had expired when offering her services. She had hoped to reignite her passion for her profession and give a purposeful meaning to her life. She looks forward to a drink and venting her disgust with the previous interview, with her childhood friend, Bess. She arrives to find an ambulance parked in front of her friend, Hilda's condo, who has been found dead. The death at-home case detective is Nancy's daughter's ex-husband, Harry. He concludes Hilda died of smoke inhalation due to a mattress topper catching fire. Nancy has her doubts. She knew Hilda never smoked in her apartment and she never slept on the orthopedic topper her daughter insisted would help with her back pain. Skeptical of Harry's assumptions, Nancy suspects foul play. Remembering the mishandled cases she saw as a judge demonstrated by the legal professions when dealing with questionable elderly deaths, she worried that Harry wouldn't thoroughly investigate Hilda's death. Could it be murder? Would Hilda's daughter having been heard arguing with her the night she died know something about her death? Was the recipient of a large sum of money from Hilda involved? Did the man who warned Nancy she could be the next victim know why Hilda died? Would finding the answers to these questions and justice for Hilda restore Nancy's sense of purpose? Against her daughter's and former son-in-law's wishes Nancy decides to do a little investigating herself. Reflecting on her childhood role model, Nancy Drew, she wondered, "What would a 65-year-old Nancy Drew do?" After all, she was named after the girl detective. Armed with a lifetime of reading Nancy Drew mysteries and her own ingenuity and deductive reasoning as a former lawyer and judge, intrepid Nancy Drouillard became determined to solve this mystery. The question is will she successfully find the guilty party or could she be the next victim?