by Jessica Beck
He dug out his wallet and handed me a faded sepia picture of a young woman in her late teens sporting short dark curls and Mary Jane shoes. She was ordinary enough in the looks department, except for her smile. It lit up her entire face, and I could see the warmth and goodness coming through the photograph. “She was a real beauty,” I said as I handed it back to him.
“She was pretty enough, but when she smiled, the whole world around her became a brighter place.”
“You must miss her terribly,” Autumn said.
“In a way, but in another very real way, I carry her with me wherever I go,” he said as he tapped his heart. “Now I’d better get back before Herbert and Maria run the place into the ground without me,” he said with a wink.
“Thanks again,” I called out to him as we all stood.
“The pleasure was all mine, especially the reward,” he said as he doffed a hat he wasn’t even wearing.
We both watched him walk back to the café with a spring in his step. After he was back inside, I turned to Autumn. “Are you ready to brace Henry Charleston?”
“I’m ready if you are,” she said.
“Then let’s go. We don’t even have to drive. His office is two blocks from here, and by the time we get there, we’ll be right on schedule for our appointment.”
“Wouldn’t you rather drive?” Autumn asked me.
“No, this will give me a bit of time to get ready for him. I’m guessing he’s going to be a pretty smooth talker, and I have to be at my best if I’m going to get him to tell us the truth.”
“Why do you think he’s so slick?” she asked me as we started off.
“He talked Cecile Marbury into letting him handle her money, and we both know that your late mother-in-law was not an easy woman to convince of anything.”
“You can say that again,” Autumn said.
We spent the rest of the walk in near silence as I prepared myself for the verbal battle to come. I was going to try to outwit a man who made his living being fast on his feet, but I had one thing going for me that he didn’t realize.
I knew about his troubled business relationship with Cecile Marbury.
Even if she wasn’t the mystery woman in the conversation that Davis had overheard, it figured that if Charleston played fast and loose with one client’s money, it wasn’t that big a stretch to imagine he did it with them all.
Henry Charleston’s office was elegant, from the expensive artwork adorning the walls to the antique furniture everywhere to the Oriental rug on the hardwood floor. Charleston matched his décor, his three-piece suit cut to perfection, his silver hair perfectly styled, and his wingtip shoes polished to a blinding gleam. He was starting to get portly, but his tailor had done a good job disguising it, at least so far. He looked startled to see my attire, blue jeans and a T-shirt, but he was even more surprised to see Autumn Marbury with me. “Mrs. Marbury, I didn’t realize you were coming. So sorry for your loss,” he said automatically.
“Thank you,” she said. “I’m the one who recommended you to Suzanne. After all, you seem to have done so well with my late mother-in-law’s funds.” There was a twist of disdain in the last few words, and I was afraid that she’d overplayed it when she spoke again. “However, after learning of a few things since, I’m afraid I won’t be able to recommend you after all.”
What was she doing? Grace had gone rogue before in our investigations, and I’d even come to expect it, but I hadn’t seen this coming, at least not from Autumn. Still, I had to play along. “There are some troubling rumors that are starting to come to light, sir,” I said as I frowned.
“Please, sit. I’ll do whatever it takes to assure you that I’ve done nothing to deserve any negative things you might be hearing about me.” He was backpedaling as fast as he could to keep us in his office, and I had to wonder if he’d managed to dig into my mother’s assets in the short time since I’d made the appointment. I made it a point not to ask Momma what she was worth, but I had a hunch that even my wildest guess wouldn’t even be close to the true amount.
“You and Mrs. Marbury were arguing about money,” I said. It was a statement, not a question, and I waited for him to deny it.
“That’s true enough,” he said.
Did he actually just admit it? No way did I ever get that lucky when I was questioning a suspect. “Go on,” I said.
“Against my advice, she had me move some of her funds into an account that I didn’t approve of, but she claimed that it was her money and her decision, so what could I do? Unfortunately, it turned out badly rather quickly. She blamed me for not objecting harder. It wasn’t all that great a shock to me. When clients go against my advice and lose money, they often blame me for their bad decisions. I don’t have power of attorney. I can’t make them do anything; my position is to advise.”
“What was the investment?” I asked. After all, if he was using a fake entity as an excuse in order to steal from her, he would be reluctant to give out that kind of information.
“I’d rather not say,” he said. “I consider it privileged between my clients and myself.”
“You’re not a doctor or a lawyer, so nothing is really privileged information, at least not legally.”
“But you’re not an attorney yourself,” he said. “In fact, you’re a donutmaker.” He said it as though it were an insult.
“Yes, that’s true enough, but I’m about to become a very rich donutmaker.”
He nodded. “I’m not sure what else I can tell you, but if you’ll trust me to guide you through difficult financial waters, I assure you that I’ll keep you afloat, no matter how troubling the shoals ahead of you might be.” It was clearly a canned speech, but I had to give him credit. He said it with a great deal of conviction and panache.
“When did you last see my mother-in-law?” Autumn asked him.
He looked surprised by her interjection. “This morning, as a matter of fact,” Charleston admitted. “She summoned me to your former home.” He shivered for a moment before adding, “It’s difficult to believe that two hours later, she was gone.”
“She didn’t vanish, Mr. Charleston,” I said icily. “She was murdered.”
“Of course. I can assure you though, the dear lady was very much alive when I left.”
“Is there any way you can prove that?” Autumn asked.
“How does one go about proving a negative?” he asked her. “I appreciate what you’ve been going through today, but I’m not sure it’s proper for you to be present during this meeting.”
We’d gotten everything we were going to get from this man, so I decided to shoot one last salvo. “I have one last question for you. Will your books stand up under an audit, sir?”
Charleston feigned surprise at my comment. “They have in the past, and I’m sure they will again. Once a year, I undergo one voluntarily, and my records have been deemed immaculate every single time.”
“I’m not talking about something general,” I pushed. “I’m talking about Cecile Marbury’s account specifically. You have to know that the Marbury brothers are not going to just take your word for the state of their mother’s financial affairs.”
Was it my imagination, or did he flinch a bit from that last statement? “When and if they ever decide to review her investments, I’ll be more than happy to explain everything to them.”
Autumn shrugged. “I imagine they’re going to hire an outside auditor to go over the accounts for them,” she said. “In fact, as soon as we leave here, I’m going to suggest they do just that, the sooner the better.”
He was definitely paler now. “I was under the impression that you and your husband were estranged.”
“We might be, but we still talk every day, and I know that he takes my opinion seriously. Is there anything else you want to add before we leave?”
He shook his head. “I’m afraid my time is up.” As he stood, he offered to shake both our hands, and when he took mine, I found that it was cold and clammy. “Ms. Hart
, I look forward to hearing from you soon.”
He couldn’t get us out of there fast enough, though.
Once we were outside, I started to say something when Autumn held up one hand and pulled out her cell phone. “It’s me. No, I don’t want to talk about that. Just listen. Cecile’s money was being controlled by Henry Charleston. You knew that? Well, did you know that at least one older woman has accused him of embezzling from her? I don’t know if he took anything from your mother, but if I were you, I’d get a forensic accountant on his books tomorrow at the latest, tonight if you can manage it. I just left him, and he looked as though he’d seen a ghost when I brought up your mother’s name. That’s not important. You need to do something, Jefferson. Good-bye.” After she put her phone away and we started walking back to the car, she said, “Well, at least I tried to warn him.”
“Did he want to know what you were doing there in the first place?” I asked.
“He did, but I wasn’t about to tell him what we’re doing.”
“Will he follow your advice?” I asked her.
“If it were just him, maybe not, but I’m willing to bet that Adam is going to jump all over this. Unless I miss my guess, he’ll have a court order, and someone will be digging into those books by midnight tonight.”
“How can you be so sure?” I asked her as we approached her car.
“It’s been my experience in the past that a liar expects you to lie to him, and a cheater does the same. Adam will follow through. I guarantee it. So, what happens now?”
I was about to answer when I spotted someone leaning against Autumn’s car.
Apparently Chief Samantha Seaborne wasn’t quite done with us for the day yet.
Chapter 20
“YOU TWO HAVE BEEN BUSY little bees, haven’t you?” the chief asked us as we approached her.
“There are a lot of people who want to express their grief over us all losing Cecile,” Autumn said seamlessly.
“I bet,” she said. “Is that really your story, that you’ve been making the rounds giving folks a chance to tell you how sorry they are about your mother-in-law?”
“Late mother-in-law,” I corrected her. “Have you found out who did it yet?”
Chief Seaborne looked at me a moment before she spoke. The icy stare may have worked on some people, but I was immune to it, and not just because I was married to a former state police investigator. I’d had better training than that. I’d had my mother give me the exact same stare the entire time I’d been growing up, and if she hadn’t been able to crack me, Chief Seaborne didn’t stand a chance. “The famous donut detective,” she said with a bit of a smirk.
“I make donuts for a living. I only step in to help solve homicides when the police don’t have any luck doing it themselves.”
“Really? Is that the tone you’re going to take with me?”
I wasn’t about to back down. She was trying to bully me, and I didn’t take well to that, not ever. “I’m just matching your general demeanor,” I said calmly. “If you want to have a discussion, I’m ready to talk anytime, but if you’re trying to intimidate me into dropping this, then I’m afraid that you’re wasting your time.”
The police chief took that in for a few moments, and then she turned to Autumn. “Is that your opinion, too?”
“We just want to know who killed Cecile,” Autumn said flatly. “We don’t mean any offense to you, Chief.”
“I beg to differ. You’re saying you don’t think I can solve this murder, so you’re going to step in and do it for me,” she said.
“We never said that,” I corrected her.
“Maybe not in so many words, but your actions speak louder than your words. You both need to knock it off, and I mean now.”
“Or else?” I asked her.
She looked at me quizzically. “Or else?”
“Usually there’s a threat attached when someone says that,” I told her.
“I don’t threaten. I deliver on my promises.”
“Then promise us you’ll find Cecile’s killer,” Autumn said. “There are plenty of suspects besides me, you know.”
“I know you think you’re helping, but in actuality, you’re not,” she said.
“We’re trying to clear Autumn’s name,” I answered. “That’s all we’re trying to do.”
“If she didn’t do it, then she’s got nothing to fear from me, but that’s an awfully big if.”
“And that’s why we’re digging into it ourselves,” I said, getting frustrated with this woman’s attempt at scaring us off the case. “It’s funny, but my husband spoke highly of you when I mentioned your name to him.”
“Doesn’t that count for anything with you?” she asked me.
“The truth of the matter is that I haven’t seen anything yet to justify his opinion of you,” I admitted. I’d gone too far, and I knew it as soon as I said it. “I’m sorry I said that last bit, I truly am, but we can’t quit.”
“You should know that the only thing you’re accomplishing is making Autumn look even guiltier than she does now,” the chief said. “There are quite a few prominent people in the community who are howling for me to lock her up even as we speak.”
“Based on circumstantial evidence that doesn’t hold up to scrutiny?” I asked.
“Who exactly are you trying to convince of that? She had the means, the motive, and the opportunity. You should know by now that it could all hang her, except for my reluctance to put the cuffs on her right now.”
“If you do, we both know that her lawyer will have her out in time for bed,” I said, hoping that it was true. I wasn’t sure how good an attorney Tom had become, but he was all that we had at the moment.
“Maybe, maybe not,” she said. After a moment, the chief shrugged. “Okay, I admit it. I underestimated you,” she said as she smiled softly at me.
“What do you mean?”
“I thought I could scare you off, but obviously you’re not going to give this up. I could arrest you both for obstruction of justice, but at least so far you haven’t done anything I can hang you with. So far.”
“You’d be amazed by how we might be able to help if you’d just give us a chance,” I told her.
“Thanks, but no thanks. I’m doing just fine without you both, but you’d better be careful.”
“Are you suddenly back to threatening us?” I asked her.
“No, but somebody out there is a killer, and if it isn’t you, Mrs. Marbury, then it’s someone who’s not afraid of getting their hands dirty, if you follow me.”
Autumn looked a bit disturbed by the statement, with good reason. I’d come close to dying on more than one occasion in the past because of an investigation, but I didn’t see how we could just drop it and pretend as though nothing had happened, or that she hadn’t already been tried and convicted by the gossip circulating around town. “We’ll be careful,” I said.
“I hope so, for both your sakes,” she said as she walked away from us, heading back to her squad car, which was parked twenty feet away.
Autumn looked at me steadily before moving to get into her car. “Suzanne, are you sure this is still a good idea?”
“Do you want to live with the stigma of Cecile’s death hanging over your head for the rest of your life? I can tell you that’s what’s going to happen if we don’t crack this case, and fast.”
“I know you’re right,” she said as she got into the car. “What do we do now?”
“Now we go back to your place and regroup,” I said as I slid onto the seat on the other side.
“Really? It’s still early,” she answered.
“Not for me. Remember, I’m still on Daylight Donut Time,” I replied with a grin.
“I keep forgetting,” she said as we headed back to her cottage.
“It’s easy enough to do,” I said.
When we pulled into her long drive, I could swear that I saw someone running into the trees.
Apparently we had startled someone in the
act of doing something I was pretty sure we weren’t going to like.
“Stop the car!”
Autumn did as I asked, but she was clearly concerned about my sudden request. “Suzanne, what’s going on?”
“I saw someone lurking in the trees,” I said as I piled out of the car and headed to where I’d last seen the intruder. I couldn’t even swear if it was a man or a woman because the glimpse had been so fleeting, but I knew that I’d seen someone.
“We don’t have any weapons on us,” Autumn shouted just behind me. Great. Let’s announce to the world that we’re unarmed.
“I’ve got a gun,” I shouted, as much to Autumn as to whoever was ahead of us.
“What?” she screamed.
“Stop or I’ll shoot,” I commanded, even though I couldn’t see anyone ahead of us. All I heard was rapidly fading noises through the underbrush, and I knew that we weren’t going to be able to catch whoever had been there.
I stopped and leaned against a tree to catch my breath.
Autumn stopped just beside me. “Do you really have a gun?” she asked.
“No,” I whispered, “but let’s not advertise the fact, okay?”
“Okay,” she said, clearly looking relieved.
“Does that mean that you don’t?” I asked.
“You know how I feel about those things,” I said.
“Fine. Do you have a softball bat or a golf club, by any chance?”
“Sorry, but you know me. I’m not very athletic,” she confessed.
“I’m not asking you to play a round of golf with me or hit some fly balls, I’m talking about protection.”
“You’ve already discovered that I have some cast iron pans in the kitchen,” she said. “I’ve also got some pepper spray in my purse, if that helps.”
“We might just end up needing both of them before this is all over,” I replied.
“Who do you think it might have been?”
“I honestly don’t know,” I answered truthfully.
She paused a moment. “Do you think it might have been the killer?”
“It’s a distinct possibility. We’ve been asking a great many questions around town. Any one of our suspects could be trying to get rid of us.”
