Laura insisted Mr. Fisher go back to the inn and rest. He agreed only if Laura and Alec met him for dinner later that evening. He pulled Molly aside and asked her to meet him at the inn after she dropped Alec and Laura at the gallery. Molly agreed, she had a feeling Mr. Fisher suspected it was more than a coincidence he and Alec looked so much alike.
******
Jenny Cromwell, co-owner of the Coventry Inn looked up from her laptop when the bell on the door sounded. She was surprised to see Detective Dylan Roth standing before her. Jenny babysat for Dylan and his little sister years ago when she was still in high school.
“Dylan, what brings you to our inn? I hope this isn’t official business?”
“It is official business, I’m here to speak with one of your guests. Don’t worry, Jenny, I parked my squad car behind the bushes out back,” he teased.
“Is it about Mr. Fisher’s near accident. He told me about his near accident on the McGregor Highway earlier. Thank heaven he pulled off the road before he passed out and lost control of the car. I’ll call his room, you can speak with him privately in my office.”
******
“Thank you, Jenny,” said Nelson when he met Dylan in the lobby. “I’m expecting Molly Ryan, please let me know when she arrives.”
******
“Mr. Fisher, because of patient confidentiality concerns, Dr. Sloan suggested I speak directly with you about the incident today. Is there a medical reason you lost consciousness while driving your car earlier today?”
“No, officer, I am not on medication other than for elevated blood pressure. Dr. Sloan assured me the dosage I take every morning would not cause me to black out. I have a theory although it’s only speculation and I need to be certain of the facts before I say anything.”
“Mr. Fisher, the toxicology report has established the drug found in your system is the same drug found in a woman whose car swerved off the McGregor Highway close to where you pulled your automobile off the road. Her sister claims the woman never ingested as much as an aspirin. Can you tell me where you were prior to the occurrence?”
“Detective, I want to give you my full cooperation, but I need questions answered. If I don’t find the answers in the next twenty-four hours, I will tell you everything you need to know.”
“Mr. Fisher, I heard you mention Molly Ryan’s name. My boss, Detective Wentworth, has been trying to get Molly to join the police department for years. If you have questions, Molly is the one to ask. I’ll give you the time you request although I must warn you, if someone is out to harm you, they will try until they succeed.”
Dylan left the inn, running into Molly on his way to the parking lot. He warned her that Mr. Fisher might be in danger. “It’s possible this isn’t the first time someone lost consciousness while driving on the McGregor Highway.”
******
“Molly, thank you for meeting with me. I could see by your expression earlier you saw the resemblance between Alec Danforth and me.”
“Yes, Mr. Fisher, without your glasses, you two look alike. Did you know Alec’s parents?”
Nelson told Molly the story of his visit with his cousin close to fifty years ago and meeting Beatrice Danforth.
“You think Beatrice Danforth is Alec’s mother and not his sister, don’t you?”
“It’s possible, but I have no proof. I’m not proud of it but I was so drunk the night we were together I don’t remember what happened. It’s possible I took advantage of the fifteen-year-old girl although she tells me nothing like that happened.”
Molly told Nelson about the tragedy of their parents and that the explosion could have been caused by a carelessly placed kerosene lamp. “Alec has lived with the burden of causing his parents’ death since he was eight-years-old. I suspect Beatrice perpetuated that notion all these years.”
“That poor boy,” Nelson shook his head. “What child could live with that guilt? I must find out the truth but I don’t know where to start.”
“We should talk to Dr. Sloan. He may have an idea where to begin without alerting Alec of our suspicions.”
******
Alec, I don’t want to leave you but I would like to change my clothes if we are going to dinner with Mr. Fisher tonight. I’ll walk down the street to the flower shop. If Joanna is there, she can give me a ride to the inn.
“I’ll get Robert to teach me to drive. Beatrice told me it wasn’t necessary for me to learn. I realize Beatrice didn’t let me do anything most boys do. I never went to school or had friends; the only people in my life after my parents died were Beatrice and the servants. Beatrice didn’t want me to open the gallery but I’m glad I insisted. That is where I first met you. I was so despondent after you left, I didn’t care about it anymore and let Beatrice close it. It’s time she is out of my life forever.”
“Oh, Alec, don’t say that, she is your sister. You are lucky to have someone who cares about you.”
******
Laura walked to Buds and Blooms trying desperately to shake the feeling of impending doom.
Chapter Nineteen
“Molly, you know I would do anything for my sister-in-law,” said Adam Sloan, “however, testing for paternity without Alec’s knowledge is not only unethical, it’s illegal. I saw the resemblance too; has Mr. Fisher approached Beatrice about the possibility of his paternity?”
“Yes, he asked her and she denied it. Shortly after drinking tea with Beatrice Danforth, he passed out while driving on McGregor Highway. He isn’t the only person to be rendered unconscious after visiting the Danforth Estate, Arlene Blanchard’s didn’t fare as well, she died in the accident.”
“Molly, you are talking about a serial killer. What proof do you have?”
“None, it’s all coincidence. I don’t believe the cabin explosion that killed the senior Danforths was an accident at all?”
“I’ve heard Alec’s carelessness with a kerosene lamp caused the tragedy.”
“Think about it, the Danforths spend a weekend in their cabin by Willow Lake. It’s broad daylight when eight-year-old Alec lights a kerosene lamp and leaves it burning next to a water heater. His adult sister takes a walk with her brother far into the woods although it’s a beautiful day for a swim in the lake. Brother and sister are at a safe distance when the explosion happens. The parents die and the sister is named guardian of the boy.”
“Molly, it makes more sense that a mischievous eight-year-old would be curious about how a kerosene lamp works than a woman deliberately blowing up her parents. What motive could she have? Don’t tell me, she could then raise her son as her own.”
“I’ll investigate at the newspaper office. I want to read about Alec’s birth and his parents’ death.”
******
Alec was about to lock the door when he heard the bell chime alerting him to the arrival of a customer. He normally liked browsers, but he was eager to get to his apartment to change for his dinner date with Laura and Mr. Fisher.
He was surprised when saw Beatrice standing in the doorway.
“When will you stop this nonsense and come home where you belong?”
“Beatrice, my departure from the mansion is final. I have an engagement this evening and I don’t want to argue with you. I know what you did to discourage my relationship with Laura and I will never forgive you for it.”
“That girl is not worthy of you, Alec. I insist you listen.”
“Beatrice, please see yourself out, I am going upstairs to my apartment. Goodbye.”
Alec locked the front door of the gallery and opened the side door leading outside. When she didn’t budge, he marched up the flight of stairs to his apartment and locked the door behind him.
He heard her voice calling his name and turned the music up loud enough to drown out her words.
“Alec, you open this door. After what I have done for you, I refuse to let you abandon me. I killed my mother and father for you. They were making me send you to boarding school. They said I was too attached to
you and it wasn’t healthy. How could I be too attached to my own child?”
Alec didn’t hear her sobs or hear her cries as she tumbled down the steep stairway.
******
“Jasper, I don’t know why you insisted on accompanying Miss Beatrice today. You worry too much about the old bat.”
“Robert, don’t talk like that about Miss Beatrice. She has devoted her life to her brother. I know Miss Harriet, God rest her soul, is grateful to her daughter. I’ll check on Miss Beatrice, she should have come out with Mr. Alec by now.”
******
Where are they? Robert said under his breath. His patience was wearing thin as he opened the side door to the apartment stairway. He let out a howl when he saw his boss on the bottom step with her body twisted grotesquely. Robert knew the woman was dead. Jasper was on the floor with his eyes closed. Robert felt for a pulse and detected a slight beat. He heard the loud music and shouted for Alec to come quickly as he dialed 9-1-1.
******
Alec let the hot water of the shower pound on his shoulders. The happiness he felt being with Laura was returning. He tried not to think how Beatrice tricked Laura into believing he was not free to love her. They’d wasted so much time and he had his sister to blame. He knew some blame was his. It was easier to live his life the way she dictated than face the guilt he carried with him. Beatrice told him he was obsessed with fire when he was a little boy. He would never forget hearing that loud boom and watching as flames engulfed the trees surrounding the cabin. To this day, he couldn’t watch a fire in the fireplace without feeling a chill run up his spine. The burden of causing his parents’ death was with him daily. Laura thought he should talk to a professional about the guilt that haunted him.
Stepping out of the shower, Alec heard a commotion outside his door. What has Beatrice done? Did she send for back-up to keep him in line? He turned the blaring music off as he dressed quickly.
There was a banging on the door and a man calling his name, he recognized Robert’s voice and knew the man was in a panic. He opened his door and saw Beatrice’s contorted body near the bottom of the stairs. He knew she was dead and ran to her holding her in his arms and sobbing.
“Beatrice,” he cried, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” he repeated until the paramedics arrived. He hadn’t noticed Jasper Cummings body lying in the stairwell. The paramedics tended to Jasper and determined he suffered a seizure or stroke upon seeing the dead body of his employer. Beatrice was being pried from Alec’s arms when Detective Dylan Roth arrived on the scene.
“Mr. Danforth, can you tell me what happened here?”
“Beatrice, please help Beatrice,” was all he could say.
******
Robert was shaken but more able to answer questions.
“I drove Miss Beatrice here, Jasper insisted on riding along. We waited in the car while Miss Beatrice confronted Mr. Alec. She was fuming about Mr. Alec abandoning her from the minute she got into the limo. She chewed Jasper out all the way to town, as though it was his fault her brother finally escaped from the old bat, God rest her soul. Jasper and I waited in the car for the boss lady when she opened the door of the gallery. I saw Mr. Alec open the side door but Miss Beatrice wasn’t budging. I could hear music coming from the apartment upstairs. It must have been turned up full blast. Anyway, a good twenty minutes went by, Jasper got worried and went in the side door. When he didn’t come out ten minutes later, I thought I’d better check on the old guy. That’s when I found them at the bottom of the stairs. Mr. Alec has always been a strange one. He finally had enough of his sister and shoved her down the stairs. The paramedics think Jasper passed out when he saw Miss Beatrice lying there dead as a doornail.”
“Thank you, Mr. Sykes, leave your phone number with Officer Jenkins, we will call you if we need any further information.”
“Sure thing, Detective, I guess I should look for another job, what with my boss dead and her brother being hauled off to the pokey. The poor sap, it’s too bad he’s a whacko.”
“Dylan,” said the EMT in charge, “We’d better take Mr. Danforth in for a medical evaluation.”
“Yep, let’s do everything by the book, Danforth’s loaded, he will get the best lawyer money can buy.”
******
“Laura, you look beautiful,” said Jenny Cromwell when Laura entered the lobby of Coventry Inn.
“Thank you, Jenny, I feel beautiful now that I know Alec Danforth still loves me.”
Jenny’s jaw dropped at the mention of Alec’s name. Mr. Fisher joined the ladies.
“Jenny, you look like you’ve seen a ghost, are you all right?”
“I’m fine, Mr. Fisher; Laura, I heard on the news that Alec Danforth has been arrested for the murder of his sister, Beatrice Danforth.”
“Alex, arrested for murdering Beatrice, that’s not possible. I must go to him, Mr. Fisher.”
“They said on the news he was being observed at Lakeside Community Hospital. I’ll jot down the directions, Mr. Fisher.”
******
“Molly,” cried Joanna, as she dashed to Molly’s office. “Beatrice Danforth is dead and they are saying Alec killed her. I know he has a horrible temper but he can’t go to prison now that he and Laura have found each other again.”
Molly looked up the local news on her computer and saw Alec being led to an ambulance in handcuffs. She noted he looked sad but there was no sign of the madness she saw in his eyes when they first met.
Molly placed a call to the Coventry Inn. Jenny answered.
“Oh, Molly, it’s terrible, Mr. Fisher drove Laura to the hospital. She is worried about her friend, Alec Danforth. I didn’t know he was the man she came to Evergreen to see. I heard them describe him as a madman who pushed his sister down a flight of stairs to her death. My heart breaks for Laura, she is such a sweet lady.”
“It doesn’t sound good for Alec but let’s make certain we have the facts and not speculation from a local television reporter.”
“You’re right, I’ll turn to the cooking channel, maybe I’ll get some new ideas for the restaurant.”
******
Jenny’s husband, Greg is a graduate of a culinary school in New York City. He is six foot four and a former high school football player whose passion, other than Jenny, has always been cooking.
Jenny was born in Hillsboro. Her dad often took her fishing on Lake Hillsboro during the summer months. Jenny’s dad insisted the fishing was better on the far side of the lake long before Evergreen was established as a suburb of Hillsboro. The old house on Coventry Hill attracted the young girl. She pictured a princess living there waiting for her prince to rescue her from her wicked stepmother. Through the years, the stately mansion came into disrepair as it sat unoccupied for a decade or more. Three years ago, the house was placed on the auction block. Jenny and Greg pooled their money, borrowed from their parents and the local bank and purchased the house and land. With the help of their families and friends and countless hours, they opened the Coventry Hill Inn and Restaurant. They celebrated the grand opening with their own wedding and reception.
Chapter Twenty
Jasper Cummings was wheeled into a cubicle of the emergency room in Lakeside Community. The attending physician examined the octogenarian. “There is no sign of myocardial infarction or cerebrovascular accident.” Dr. Cleary turned to the EMT, “You say the gentleman might have discovered the body of his deceased employer?”
“Yes, Doc, the woman was pushed or fell from the landing of a staircase. When I examined her, I detected redness around her lips as though someone might have grasped her mouth. That is only speculation on my part. I’m sure the coroner’s report will answer that question. I know her brother was taken into custody and is undergoing a psychiatric evaluation here at Lakeside.”
“Does Mr. Cummings have family in Evergreen?”
“I don’t know, sir. The Danforth chauffeur is the one who reported the incident.”
Dr. Cleary instructed the nur
se to elevate Jasper’s feet and continue the IV. “Let me know when he comes to.”
******
Molly and Joanna arrived at the hospital. Laura was in the waiting room with a worried look on her face. Nelson sat next to her assuring her things weren’t as bleak as they seem.
“Laura, what is happening, Jenny said Alec has been arrested?”
“Oh, Molly,” she replied tearfully, “Alec wouldn’t hurt his sister, he’s not a violent man. His sister must have lost her footing and fallen down the stairs.”
Molly wanted to reassure her friend that Alec Danforth had never shown aggressive behavior but she knew that wasn’t true.
******
“I’ll call Dylan,” said Joanna, “maybe he can tell what’s happening.”
After a brief conversation, Joanna returned with the news that Dylan was the detective in charge of the case. “He couldn’t go into detail but Alec is being evaluated. Dylan did say he appeared to be upset concerning his sister’s death.”
“Yes, he’s upset. His sister has died, anyone would react in that way, it doesn’t mean he caused her death,” cried Laura.
******
“Dr. Cleary, Mr. Cummings is regaining consciousness, he is distraught and calling for someone named Mr. Alec.”
“I’m on my way,” the doctor replied.
*****
“Mr. Cummings, you have had a distressing shock. The nurse will give you some medication to relax you. We don’t want you to have another stressful event.”
“No, don’t give me anything, I must keep my wits about me.” Jasper reached for the IV needle attempting to pull it out before the nurse stopped him.
“I’ve got to find Mr. Alec, he has to know what she did.”
“Mr. Cummings, who is Mr. Alec? Does he have anything to do with Miss Danforth’s accident?”
“It wasn’t an accident, I have to see Mr. Alec.” Jasper’s blood pressure skyrocketed and his eyes fluttered.
The doctor instructed the nurse to give him a sedative. “If the man doesn’t calm down, he will have a stroke or heart attack. He’ll sleep for a few hours now.”
Murder in Evergreen Page 11
