“I asked Kayla to take notes for me, I don’t think I slept a wink last night thinking about Ms. Abbott and Mr. Danforth. Do you think he killed her and dismembered her and buried her in his garden? I’ve heard of people being chopped up and used for fertilizer.”
“Joanna! What kind of horror shows do you watch? That makes a dreadful visual this early in the morning.”
“I guess I got carried away. I was a kid, but I had a bad feeling about what had happened to my favorite teacher over the summer. She told me in June she would be back in the fall, and I never saw her again.”
“I’m sure it was nothing, replied Molly. If she was the ‘L’ on the ring, maybe she didn’t have the same feeling for Mr. Danforth. She might have saved them both embarrassment by leaving town after he proposed to her. Anything could have happened other than a gruesome murder.”
“Don’t forget the bloody scarf you found. You said it was a designer scarf, maybe it was a gift from Mr. Danforth and he tried to strangle her and when she fought him off, he picked up a rock and bashed her head in.”
“Joanna, stop! I can’t listen to any more of your grisly scenarios. How would you like to go with me to pay a visit to Mr. Alec Danforth this afternoon?”
“Oh, Molly, I thought you’d never ask,” she laughed.
*****
“Am I too early,” they heard a voice in the front of the shop.
“Susan, is that you?” said Molly walking from her office to meet her newest staff member.
“I know I’m early but I was eager to start my new job, and I was too nervous to wait at home.”
“You aren’t too early, it will be good to familiarize yourself with some routine before customers arrive.”
Molly introduced the women and Susan filled out the employment paperwork.
“It smells heavenly in here, I love flowers and would love to learn how to arrange them like these. They are beautiful,” said Susan when Joanna gave her a tour of the shop.
“Molly is great at showing us her tricks, we all try our hand at arranging, I was excited when someone bought my first effort.”
“You worked hard on that arrangement, Joanna, it was beautiful,” replied Molly.
“Molly let me keep the money for it too.”
“That was for the first one, If I did that every time, I’d be out of business,” answered Molly.
*****
Joanna was giddy about going with Molly to talk to Mr. Danforth. She was normally a mature twenty-year-old but her imagination was getting the best of her now.
“Susan,” she whispered, “Molly and I are going to the Danforth estate this afternoon. Mr. Danforth, the artist, might have killed my fifth-grade teacher.”
“Are you talking about Alec Danforth?” asked Susan. “Alec Danforth, the artist from Belmont?”
“One and the same, Molly found a ring last year that had my teacher’s initial on it along with a bloody scarf. It’s possible Mr. Danforth murdered her.”
“Joanna’s imagination is running wild today. No one said anything about murder, I found a ring that might belong to Mr. Danforth and I will return it to him. Molly told Susan about finding the ring and discovering the jeweler who made it.”
“I took a beginning art class at the university several years ago, Mr. Danforth was a visiting artist and gave a presentation in one session. He was shy, but I learned a lot from him. I can’t imagine him murdering anyone.”
“Maybe he has a split personality, he could be a vampire by night and a mild-mannered artist by day.”
“Joanna, that’s enough, I’m thinking it’s a mistake to have you tag along this afternoon. You’ll accuse the poor man of being a serial killer.”
“I’ll be quiet, Molly. Please don’t change your mind about letting me go with you.”
*****
The morning passed quickly. Susan caught on rapidly. She was friendly and accommodating to the customers and was forming a friendship with Elizabeth who was working in the Evergreen shop that day.
Molly felt comfortable leaving Susan and Elizabeth alone in the afternoon while she and Joanna paid a visit to the Danforth Estate.
“Look at this place, Molly, it’s a mansion, the front yard is bigger than Evergreen Park. Can you imagine living in a place like this?” Joanna’s eyes were wide as she gazed out the car window.
“I don’t think I’d like something this big. My friend, Brooke could have a place like this but she had a comfortable home in a modest neighborhood. I’d be lonely with no neighbors around me.”
“Well, I’d like to try it. I’d brighten the place up, it looks so gray and dark, don’t you think? At least they have roses in the garden, that helps.”
Molly fought the feeling of foreboding as they approached the front door. A dour looking gentleman opened it and glared at the women.
“Yes?” he said without blinking his eye.
“Good afternoon, sir. My name is Molly Ryan, and this is Joanna Garretson, is Mr. Danforth at home?”
“Who’s there, Herbert?” called a woman with a soft voice. Molly could hear the click of her high heels as she walked closer to the door.
“Molly Ryan and Joanna Garretson, ma’am, the young women are asking for Mr. Danforth.”
A woman in her mid-fifties peered around the door. She was attractive in a dowdy way. She wore her dark hair pulled away from her face with a chignon at the nape. Molly noticed a smattering of gray through her hair. She wore little makeup with only a hint of color on her cheeks and lips. Her smile was warm as she greeted the woman.
“Hello, I’m Beatrice Danforth, Mr. Danforth’s sister. My brother is not available. May I help you?”
“Ms. Danforth, we apologize for intruding on you this afternoon, I have a ring I believe belongs to your brother. I would like to return it to him.”
Molly held her hand out showing the ring to Ms. Danforth. She noticed a faint look of alarm on the woman’s face.
“Ms. Ryan,” Beatrice said calmly, “my brother has no use for this ring. I don’t know how you came to possess it but you may keep it or give it away. My brother is a sensitive man and the sight of this ring will only bring back unhappy memories.”
Beatrice was about to close the door when a man’s voice could be heard.
“Beatrice, what is going on out here?”
Alec opened the door wider. Molly could hear Joanna catch her breath when she looked in man’s eyes.
“Mr. Danforth?” Molly asked knowing it was him.
“Yes, I’m Alec Danforth, how may I help you?”
“I’ll handle this, Alec, you go back to your work,” said Ms. Danforth.
“I’m taking a break, Beatrice. They asked for me not you.”
Beatrice turned and walked away, sputtering something Molly couldn’t hear as she did so.
“Mr. Danforth, I found this ring on the beach last year. I turned it over to the police department and, because it wasn’t claimed, they gave it back. I did some research and found it belongs to you.”
Alec took the ring in his hand examining it carefully.
“Where did you say, you found it?” he asked as though he’d seen a ghost.
“I didn’t say, it was on the beach by the new houses on Lakeshore Drive. They were built after the ring turned up.” She didn’t want to mention the bloodied scarf because he seemed almost in a daze looking at the ring.
“I haven’t seen this ring in over ten years. Did you say you found it only last year?”
“Yes, Mr. Danforth,” Molly said feeling uncomfortable. “I’m glad I could find its owner. Joanna and I won’t bother you any longer.” She turned to walk to her car when he called her back.
“Don’t go, please, I need to know exactly where you found this ring.”
He looked at Molly pleadingly and then glanced at Joanna. “I know you,” Alec said to the girl.
“I was in your art gallery on a field trip, Mr. Danforth. I was only eleven; you couldn’t remember me.”
&nb
sp; “I remember your eyes. They are beautiful, you looked so much like your teacher, Laura, I thought you were sisters.”
“Thank you, Mr. Danforth, that is a compliment although Ms. Abbott and I aren’t related.”
“Where are my manners? Please come in I’ll have Eva serve us coffee or tea, what do you prefer?”
“We must go, Mr. Danforth,” Molly said desperate to leave.
“Don’t go,” he said in a demanding voice.
Upon hearing his command, Joanna walked into the house. Molly had no choice but to follow her.
Although Beatrice Danforth did not look pleased, she graciously offered them a treat from the plate of delectable sweets the maid brought into the room.
“Joanna, would you like to see my studio? I sold the gallery several years ago and now paint in my workspace behind the house.
Joanna seemed in a trance as she walked with him. Although Molly was not invited on the tour, she followed fearing for the girl’s safety. Why didn’t I listen to everyone telling me to drop this stupid idea of finding the owner of the ring? Alec Danforth is disturbed, and he has Joanna under a spell. Molly felt for the phone in her pocket in case she needed to call for help.
Chapter Five
The sunny day had turned cloudy, making the walk to the workshop eerily unsettling. Molly felt a chill as they walked to the small building surrounded by trees. The lack of sunlight made the dismal atmosphere more disturbing.
Alec opened the door for Joanna and almost as an afterthought, let Molly enter the room too.
Molly’s mouth flew open when she glanced around the room. Alec’s paintings took her breath away, not only were they beautiful, the subject in more than half was a young woman who looked remarkably like Joanna Garretson.
“Mr. Danforth,” Molly heard Joanna whisper, “you have captured the spirit of Ms. Abbott perfectly. She looks exactly like I remember her.”
Molly noticed a tear trickle down Joanna’s cheek as she gazed at the many portraits not seeming to realize she was looking at her own likeness.
“Joanna, dear, I have the most wonderful idea. I would be delighted if you agree to pose for me. It would be a pleasure to capture your energy and beauty on canvas. Please call me Alec.”
“I am honored, Alec. Let me know when you are ready and I will be here.”
Molly wanted to shout a warning to her young friend, but she knew the mad artist had captivated the girl and it would do no good to dissuade her from Alec’s proposal.
“Mr. Danforth,” Molly said in an elevated voice, “thank you for the tour; Joanna and I must get back to town. Let’s go, Joanna,” she prodded.
“I can’t let you leave without scheduling a time for your return. Early tomorrow, shortly after sunrise so that I might capture your face in the morning light.”
“I’ll be here, Alec,” Joanna said as though in a daze.
*****
“Joanna, you can’t seriously be thinking of returning to that place,” said Molly when they were alone in the car.
“Isn’t Alec wonderful?” Joanna said seeming not to have heard Molly’s words.
“Joanna, what in the world has gotten into you? You are behaving like someone under a spell. Let’s get home and forget Alec Danforth exists. I question his sanity.”
Molly was uncomfortable with the silence in the car until they reached Joanna’s parents’ house. She knew Betty Garretson and felt she needed to warn her about Joanna and her reaction to Alec Danforth.
“Hi Mom, Molly is here with me. Thanks for taking me with you today, Molly. If you two will excuse me, I have to search my closet for something appropriate to wear tomorrow.”
“What’s with the whirlwind that blew through here?” asked Betty.
Molly told her about returning the ring to Alec Danforth and his paintings of Laura Abbott. “Betty, it’s like Mr. Danforth cast a spell on Joanna, I feel terrible about this development.”
“It’s not your fault, Molly. Joanna was crushed when Ms. Abbott moved away from Hillsboro; the two had a special bond. Joanna’s resemblance to Laura Abbott was surprising to everyone including me. I often wondered if Ms. Abbott was a distant relative to Charlie or me. Maybe she met someone over the summer that year and that was the reason she didn’t return to school. I didn’t know she was involved with Alec Danforth. Alec and his sister keep to themselves. Alec had the art gallery, but he hired people to run it and he was rarely in the shop. He closed it abruptly and that was around the time Ms. Abbott vanished. Do you think Joanna is in danger?”
“I don’t know what to think. Alec Danforth is odd, but that doesn’t mean he’s dangerous. I’ll see what I can find out about Ms. Abbott. She must have had friends in Hillsboro, I wonder where she lived? Luke has lived here all his life; maybe he can tell me something that will put both our minds at ease.”
******
“Hi, sweetheart, how is the tour going?” Molly asked when Luke called later that evening.
“It’s going well, the crowds are growing; Peter says it’s a good sign I’m becoming well known. How are you? I’m talking to you so I assume you survived your visit to the Danforth place today.”
“I did, however, I’m not sure Joanna will ever be the same.”
“Did you take Joanna with you? I thought you’d go with someone who could protect you like one of Travis’s bodyguards,” he said half seriously.
“We were safe but I wish I’d given the ring to charity like everyone suggested.”
“What happened, Molly, now I’m worried.”
“Nothing too sinister, at least, I hope not. If I believed in such things, I’d say Alec Danforth cast a spell on Joanna. You wouldn’t believe the uncanny resemblance between Joanna and Laura Abbott, her fifth-grade teacher. Many of Alec’s paintings are of Laura and I’d swear they are Joanna. It’s obvious Mr. Danforth is obsessed with the teacher and that fixation is manifesting itself in Joanna.”
“Molly, the guy sounds disturbed. I hope you aren’t planning to go back there.”
“I’m not but Joanna is seeing him tomorrow. He has told her he wants to paint her. I don’t have a good feeling about this. Luke, do you know anyone at the elementary school who was around when Laura taught there?”
“Mrs. Allen was the school secretary. I believe she is still there. All the kids loved her, she was like a mother to us. I can remember the time I broke my arm on the playground. She sat with me and sang songs to help keep my mind off the pain until the paramedics arrived. She was the type to take a new, young teacher under her wing. Please be careful, Molly, you don’t know what you could get yourself into. I’ll be home next week and we can figure it out together.”
“I can’t wait that long if Joanna is in danger from this guy, I want to be prepared. Don’t worry, Luke, I’ll be careful.”
Luke knew it was useless to talk Molly out of anything once she’d decided. His next call was to his old chum’s father, Detective Abe Wentworth.
“Luke, it’s good to hear from you, I hear from our young detective, Dylan Roth, that Molly is sleuthing again. Dylan tells me she is determined to solve a mystery concerning a ring.”
“You know my wife all too well. If there is danger to be found Molly will be right in the middle.”
“What do you know about Alec Danforth? Apparently, the ring belongs to him. He’d had it designed for an elementary schoolteacher here in Hillsboro over ten years ago. Molly found the ring on the beach last year and when it wasn’t claimed, the police returned it to her as the finder. You know Molly, she couldn’t let it go and is investigating.”
Luke explained the situation with Joanna and the offer to have her pose for the artist.
“Joanna is a friend of my youngest daughter, she seems like a level-headed girl, I can’t imagine her falling for a ruse designed to harm her. Alec Danforth is an odd duck but, to my knowledge, he is a law-abiding citizen. I’ll talk to Dylan about it, he and Joanna are a couple these days.”
Luke felt somewhat be
tter after talking to Abe if only to alert the authorities about Molly’s investigation. He was glad to hear Alec Danforth hadn’t been in trouble with the law before, although that didn’t mean he was incapable of doing harm.
*****
The next morning, Molly arrived at the flower shop. “Susan, I’m sorry I left you yesterday. I didn’t plan to be gone all afternoon.”
“Elizabeth was a great help and Stephanie will be with me today. I am enjoying meeting the customers, you have a successful business here, Molly.”
“Yes, it can be a busy place. I wasn’t sure when I opened the second shop but we have a lot of traffic every day. I will look for more clerks soon. I hope the workload isn’t too discouraging.”
“Not at all, I like the activity, it keeps my mind off my emptying nest,” she laughed. *****
Molly remembered seeing Mrs. Allen, the school secretary, at the shop in Hillsboro. She was a friendly woman and she could picture her comforting a young Luke when he broke his arm. She waited until mid-morning when the early rush at school would be over before calling the woman.
“Mrs. Allen, this is Molly Ryan, I own Buds and Blooms flower shop.”
“Yes, Molly, I visit your shop often, how may I help you?”
“I hoped I could meet with you concerning a former teacher by the name of Laura Abbott.”
“Oh dear, has something happened to Laura? I have been concerned about her for years. She seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth.”
“I know little about her; I thought you might help me find her.”
“Molly, I’ll be glad to meet you at a restaurant. If I stay here, we can’t talk uninterrupted. Can we meet at Gilroy’s, it’s quiet at lunchtime and we can chat? I’ve often wondered about Laura, she was a sweet girl.”
Thirty minutes later, Molly was in the restaurant’s lobby. She recognized Mrs. Allen the minute she walked in. She is an attractive older woman whose dark hair is sprinkled with gray. She has one of those faces that always seems to smile even when in repose. Although not heavy, her figure appears round and her chunky arms must be inviting to a youngster who has taken a spill or is being picked on by another classmate.
Murder in Evergreen Page 3
