How to Murder a Millionaire (Movie Club Mysteries, Book 3): An Irish Cozy Mystery

by Zara Keane

  “If Huff knew that Amb wasn’t his biological son, why did he say nothing?”

  “Huff would hate to be regarded as a cuckolded husband. He’d feel it would make him look foolish, and Huff could never abide being laughed at.”

  “So he cooked up a plan to rip off Jimmy, and more or less disinherit Amb the first chance he got.”

  “Exactly.” Helen rose and leaned on her cane. “Now do you understand why I don’t believe my son killed Jimmy? It wouldn’t make sense. He’d already exercised his revenge. Why would he risk going to jail for murder?”

  “I don’t see how I can help, Helen. What can I do to clear Huff’s name if the evidence against him is compelling?”

  “I don’t expect you to work miracles. I’d just like you to take another look at the case and give me your honest conclusion.”

  “What if my conclusion is that your son was guilty?”

  “Then I’ll have to make my peace with it.” Helen accepted my offer of support as we walked back toward the house, arm in arm. “I blame myself for his behavior. He was an only child, and not by choice. I always imagined, I’d have a large family, but Huff’s birth was complicated. When the doctors told me I wouldn’t have any more babies, I didn’t believe them. But as the years passed and I didn’t fall pregnant, I poured all my affection into Huff. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I spoiled him horribly.”

  “Lots of parents spoil their kids,” I said. “But kids grow into adults, and adults are responsible for their own behavior.”

  “You’re right, of course. The logical side of me knows this, but the emotional side of me feels I failed him by not setting boundaries.” She blinked back tears. “Now it’s too late.”

  In that second, I made my decision. “All right. I’ll take another look at the case.” Reynolds would have a fit, but hopefully, he’d be too busy solving Huff’s murder to worry about me taking another look at Jimmy’s.

  Helen squeezed my arm. “Thank you, Maggie. Your grandmother would be so proud of the woman you’ve become.”

  When she left me standing on the patio, I stared after her retreating form. Helen Huffington didn’t just enjoy the movies. She was an excellent actress. I’d just witnessed her in the role of grieving mama, which was doubtless accurate—up to a point. But I knew when someone was manipulating me. How much of the story she’d spun me was true? How many slivers of information had she conveniently left out? Regardless, I’d keep my promise. I’d take a fresh look at Jimmy Wright’s murder and draw my own conclusions, even if my gut told me that Huff was guilty.

  15

  WHEN MY TURN TO be questioned by the police rolled around, I was surprised to find Reynolds alone in the library. I closed the door behind me and took a seat in the leather armchair opposite his.

  “Where’s Timms?” I asked. “I thought he was in here taking notes.”

  “He’s on an errand. When that’s done, he’ll talk to Carl Logan and his staff.” Reynolds rubbed his eyes and allowed the tiredness to show through his professional demeanor. “Apart from Carl and Lenny, they all stayed overnight at a hostel in the village, but they still need to be questioned.”

  “I doubt Carl, Lenny, or anyone outside the family is the killer.”

  “I agree, but I have to make sure.” He flipped through the papers on the desk. “Besides, I have to rule out an intruder as the culprit.”

  This made me laugh. “You don’t seriously believe that somebody traveled all the way to Gull Island just to bump off Huff? That’s extreme, even for the most disgruntled of business associates.”

  “True, but you know how this works, Maggie. I have to keep an open mind. My gut tells me Huff Huffington was killed by a member of his family, but a hunch is useless without proof.”

  “Once you’ve finished eliminating outsiders, you’re going to be left with a substantial list of people who had a motive, the means, and the opportunity. I don’t envy you the job of sifting through that bunch of suspects.”

  “Tell me something I don’t know.” Reynolds reached for his coffee cup and took a gulp. “Let’s go over your statement again.”

  I ran through the events of last night from the time the noise had jolted me awake to the point at which Reynolds had entered the scene. “You showed up pretty soon after I’d gone downstairs, and the only person I’d encountered before you arrived was Lenny.”

  A smile cracked through his serious expression. “If anyone else had donned that suit of armor, they’d be high on my list of suspects.”

  “Even if Lenny wanted to kill Huff, he knows electronics. There’s no way he’d wear a metal suit of armor to throw an electrical appliance into the water. He’s not suicidal.”

  “He could have done it before he got into the armor,” Reynolds pointed out.

  “Would Lenny have had time to run back from the pool area and put it on before I came downstairs? Less than five minutes passed between the splash and Lenny falling over in the main hall. How could he—”

  An almighty crash interrupted my train of thought.

  “That’ll be Timms,” Reynolds said dryly. “Want to see how much of a mess he’s made?” With these cryptic words, he stood and strode toward the library door. After a second of bewildered inactivity, I bolted after him.

  Out in the main hall, Reserve Garda Timms lay on the stone floor, moaning and surrounded by pieces of metal armor. He’d managed to get the helmet on, but the visor had slammed shut, leaving Timms gasping for air.

  The commotion had attracted the group from the morning room, all of whom were staring at the dented armor on the floor.

  “What on earth are you doing?” Helen demanded, brandishing her cane like a weapon. “Are you trying to destroy the house?”

  “Just a hunch I had,” Reynolds said easily and hauled Timms to his feet. “And I have a feeling Timms here proved it beyond a reasonable doubt.”

  Günter ambled over and took in the destruction with a jaundiced gaze. “You should have picked a helmet with a battle visor,” he said to Timms. “This one is designed for jousting. Harder to see and breathe. It shouldn’t be paired with this suit of armor. Someone made a mistake.”

  “Never mind historical accuracy,” Reynolds said, unfazed by the chaos around him. “Help me get Timms out of this helmet.”

  Günter held Timms still while Reynolds pulled off the man’s helmet.

  “What’s the verdict?” Reynolds asked his gasping underling.

  “There’s no way, Sarge,” Timms said, wiping sweat from his brow. “Even if Lenny knew what he was doing, I can’t see anyone getting into this clobber in less than five minutes.”

  Günter snorted. “Even with help, it took me close to half an hour.”

  “Am I the only person in the house who hasn’t attempted to get into a suit of armor?” I asked. “Is this a European thing?”

  “I took part in battle reenactments back in Germany,” Günter explained as though this were an everyday occurrence, “and the armor we wore was similar to these suits.”

  “Would you mind helping Timms clean up the mess?” Reynolds asked Günter.

  “Sure.” Günter gave the suit a disapproving frown. “Even if the bits don’t match. When we get back to Whisper Island, I’m contacting the museum.”

  “You do that,” Reynolds said in a soothing voice and ushered me back into the library. After he’d reclaimed his seat behind the large wooden desk, he said, “Timms’s experiment rules Lenny out.”

  “And you can probably scratch Brandi off your list of suspects,” I added. “She had more to lose from Huff’s death than gain. If he’d lived and changed his will to include the terms he mentioned last night, her baby would have benefited enormously.”

  “On the surface, yes, but we don’t yet know the exact contents of either the will Huff intended to make or the current one. Maybe Brandi was sick of her domineering husband. She’d seen how he treated his existing children. Maybe she didn’t want that future for her baby. What did she
care that her son stood to inherit the majority share in a business that may or may not exist in eighteen years? Perhaps she wanted money now.”

  “These are all valid points,” I conceded, “but we can argue that Amb and Doug stood to lose the most if their father changed his will. I don’t know about Martha. I don’t get the impression that she plays a role in Huffington Enterprises.”

  “What about Candace? She strikes me as a woman with a temper when riled.”

  I considered Candace for a moment. “She’s uptight and snobby, but devoted to Amb and Hailey.”

  “In other words, she’d do anything to protect them,” Reynolds said.

  “But murder?” I frowned. “Huff wasn’t threatening her family with physical harm. Killing him is an extreme reaction.”

  “Murder is always extreme,” Reynolds pointed out. “It would depend on how badly Candace and Amb would be affected financially by the new will. From what Huff said at the dinner table, the change seems to mean a demotion for Amb. Isn’t he the vice president at the moment?”

  “I haven’t a clue how their company is structured, but you could be right. Huff mentioned Doug and Amb working for the company but not running it. Doug said he doesn’t currently hold a position with the company, so that would be new. Amb does work for Huffington Enterprises. The terms of the new will could have been synonymous with a demotion—and a pay cut.”

  “I’m running financial checks on all of Huff’s heirs,” Reynolds said. “So far, all I know is that Doug Huffington is a frequent visitor to Vegas casinos, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s in debt.”

  I appreciated Reynolds trusting me with this information. He’d trusted me with insider info during a previous investigation, and I’d screwed up by withholding information from him. I wouldn’t make that mistake again. “Liam, there’s something you should know. Helen has asked me to look into Jimmy Wright’s murder. She’d like me to prove that her son was innocent.”

  Reynolds stared at me, incredulity written all over his face in flashing neon letters. “You can’t be serious, Maggie. The case against Huff is watertight.”

  “Maybe it is, but I’ve promised her I’ll take a look. At the very least, it might help me discover what it is that she’s holding back. I can’t put my finger on it, but I know she was deliberately steering me in a certain direction. Why and where, I don’t know.” A thought occurred to me. “Did your tech guys manage to track down the woman Jimmy had arranged to meet on the day of his death?”

  Reynolds shook his head. “We’ve questioned two women he met on kink dating sites, but both have cast-iron alibis for the day of the murder. There’s no way they could have been on Whisper Island at the time Lenny says he saw the half-naked woman.”

  I turned this info over in my mind. “Thanks. I’ll see if Lenny can help me track her down. Could you write down their profile names so we can rule them out?”

  “Okay, but I’m not giving you their real names.”

  “I didn’t expect you to.” If necessary, Lenny should be able to find that out, but I refrained from mentioning that tidbit to Reynolds.

  The policeman scribbled on a piece of paper and handed it to me. I took the proffered sheet gingerly. It listed the profile names Lenny had tracked down before. “Did you ever find the woman’s clothes?”

  “No. If she witnessed the murder, or found the body after and fled, her clothes should have been somewhere on Wright’s property.”

  “It’s a puzzle, all right.”

  “You’re wasting your time trying to prove Huff’s innocence, but if Helen’s paying you, go for it. But keep me posted, yeah? If you play fair with me, I might let you see some info on this murder investigation, but only if the information exchange is a two-way street.”

  “Okay.” I stretched out my hand. “It’s a deal.”

  The gong sounded, and Reynolds looked at his watch. “Time for lunch. I need to go into the village and ask if anyone saw or spoke to Huff yesterday. Want to meet for a walk later? I’d appreciate someone to bounce ideas off of, and Timms isn’t the right person for the job.”

  My chest swelled with joy at being asked to help. “Sure. How long will we all have to stay on the island?”

  “I’ve spoken to the district superintendent,” he said. “He’s fine with us returning to Whisper Island this evening. The younger Huffingtons may need to change their travel plans, though.”

  “When were they supposed to leave Whisper Island? Helen mentioned something about them traveling around the country.”

  “That’s correct. Brandi and Helen’s rooms are booked at the hotel for another two weeks, but the others were due to leave next Wednesday. Unless I have someone in custody by then, I’ll have to ask them to stay a while longer.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “They won’t like that.”

  “No. Amb’s already started throwing his weight around.” Reynolds led me out of the room and paused in front of the dining room. “Meet at three outside O’Dwyer’s Pub in the village?”

  “Sounds good. I’ll see you then.”

  After Liam had left to question the locals, I took a deep breath. Time to start my covert investigation into Huff’s death while giving Helen the impression I was concentrating my efforts on Jimmy’s murder. And I knew just the person who could help.

  16

  AFTER LUNCH, I went in search of Lenny. I found him in the kitchen, loading plates into an industrial-sized dishwasher. His bored stance vanished the instant he spotted me. “Hey, Maggie. How’s it hanging?”

  “At the rate my day is going, backward.” I gave Lenny’s brother Carl my most ingratiating smile. “Can I borrow Lenny for a while? Mrs. Huffington needs his help.”

  Carl, who was concentrating on a list of ingredients, barely glanced my way. “Sure,” he said vaguely. “We’re nearly finished here anyway.”

  “Great. The food was awesome by the way.”

  This snagged his attention. “Hey, Maggie, I heard Paddy Driscoll hired you to look for that sheep.”

  “Yeah.” I eyed him curiously. “Why? Do you remember something about Nancy’s disappearance? You must have been a kid at the time.”

  “I remember hearing people talk about it.” An emotion flickered over his face too fast for me to pinpoint. “They all thought Paddy was crazy to care so much about a missing sheep.”

  “You didn’t think he was crazy?” I prompted.

  Carl averted his gaze. “No.”

  I hesitated for a second. “Carl, do you know what happened to Nancy?”

  A flush darkened his tanned cheeks. “No. Why should I? You’d better have that chat with Lenny. I need him back in the kitchen in fifteen minutes.”

  “Got it.”

  I grabbed Lenny’s arm and dragged him outside into the gardens. We collided with the young uniformed policeman guarding the back door.

  “Names?” he demanded. “I have orders not to let anyone out.”

  “Maggie Doyle and Lenny Logan.” I eyed his insignia. “Are you part of the backup from the mainland?”

  “Yeah. Just here for the day.” The guy consulted a printed list. “Okay, you’re on the list of people who can leave the house, but you need to inform me if you want to go beyond the grounds.”

  “Sure. I’m due to meet Sergeant Reynolds in the village at three, but I have no plans to leave Marley House before then.”

  “Fair enough.” The man cast his gaze toward the dark clouds above. “Rain’s forecast. You’re going to get soaked.”

  “Rain’s always forecast in Ireland,” I said with a laugh. “We’ll take our chances.”

  Once the policeman was satisfied that letting Lenny and me out of his sight wouldn’t cost him his job, we skedaddled and headed in the direction of the Japanese garden.

  “What’s going on, Maggie? Why did you tell Carl that Helen Huffington needed my help?”

  “She does, even if she doesn’t know it.” A fat raindrop hit my nose. “Quick. Let’s find shelter before
the downpour hits.”

  We took the steps up to the Japanese garden two at a time and made a beeline for the pagoda.

  “So,” Lenny began once we were settled on the wooden bench. “Spill. What’s going on?”

  I gave him a brief summary of my morning, leaving out any confidential information that Reynolds had shared with me. “Basically, I need your help in tracking down the woman Jimmy Wright had arranged to meet on the day of his murder.”

  “You don’t seriously believe Huff was innocent? From what Reynolds said last night, he has hard evidence to back up his theory.”

  “Heck no. Huff killed Jimmy.” I leaned back on the bench and stared out at the raindrops dancing off the stream. “Something doesn’t add up. First, why does Helen seem more concerned with clearing Huff’s name than in solving his murder? Second, what happened to the clothes of the woman you saw?”

  “No clue. Pity she hasn’t come forward to give her story to the police.”

  “Yeah, but if she was cheating on her partner with Jimmy, she wouldn’t want to be called as a witness in a court case.”

  “True, but this is murder,” Lenny said. “Would you keep your mouth shut over something that serious?”

  “No, but you’d be surprised at how people justify their decision not to do the right thing.”

  “Speaking of doing the right thing…” Lenny gave me a long look. “Timms questioned the kitchen staff about our movements on the night of the murder. Timms is a good guy, but he doesn’t always ask the right questions, you know?”

  I did know. And so did Reynolds. “What did Timms not ask?”

  “After Timms had gone, the Whisper Island Hotel staff got talking. Carl let slip that Helen and Huff and arrived at the hotel on Monday with an entourage of six employees.”

  “Six?” I frowned, mentally checking Felicity, the valet, and Helen’s nurse off my list. “Are the other three still on Whisper Island?”

  “That’s where it gets weird.” Lenny frowned. “Apparently, there was a fight on Wednesday evening, and Huff sent three of their staff back to the mainland on the last ferry.”