Murder on a Silver Sea (Myrtle Grove Garden Club Mystery Book 3)

by Loulou Harrington

  “Mr. Hardy, you don’t know,” Bethany argued. “You weren’t here. Lady knows. She was there when it happened.” Wrapping her arms more tightly around the dog, she tucked its head under her chin. “She’s been so upset.”

  “We’ll be reading Amanda’s Last Will and Testament in the library within the hour,” the attorney announced. “I’ll need you there.” With a courtly bow, he walked past the trio of women and on toward the house.

  Vivian placed her arm around Bethany’s shoulders and gently turned the woman toward their destination. “My dear, I hope I don’t upset you further, but do you happen to have anything to calm your nerves just a bit?”

  “The doctor who came out to examine Amanda wrote a prescription for me. But what good does that do me out here? There’s nowhere to fill it.”

  “I see your point,” Vivian said. “Well, perhaps a nice cup of tea then.” She patted the other woman on the shoulder. “We’re here now, dear. You’re not alone any more. Don’t you worry about a thing.”

  “I want you with me when the will is read,” Bethany announced with nervous defiance.

  “I’m not sure Mr. Hardy is going to allow that,” Jesse warned.

  Upon closer inspection, she could see that Bethany was in far worse shape than when they first met. No wonder Winnie had been insistent.

  “He wants me there, and I won’t go without you, so he can just deal with it.”

  “How about the others?” Vivian asked. “How are they holding up?”

  “Well, as soon as they took Amanda’s body away, Mrs. Shoemacher—Nettie—packed her bags and started crying. She’s convinced that Mr. Hardy and the executor are arriving to kick us all out. She has no idea where she’ll go and is distraught with worry.”

  “Mr. Pitts doesn’t seem very worried,” Jesse said. “He does seem upset about Amanda’s death, but I get the impression he was fond of her.”

  “Oh, yes.” Bethany nuzzled her chin against Lady’s head, and the dog closed her eyes and snuggled into the embrace. “Yes, he and Amanda had a very close relationship. Her death has hit him hard, but he says that he trusts Amanda to have made arrangements for him.”

  “And the others?” Vivian asked. “Who does that leave? Treena and Celeste?”

  “Ah, those two.” Bethany shook her head. “I overheard them arguing this morning. Treena accused Celeste of kissing up to Amanda to get more than her fair share, and Celeste told Treena that she was delusional. Then Treena said it wasn’t a delusion that her mother, Helen, was Amanda’s closest living relative.”

  “Is she?” Jesse asked. “None of them seem particularly close relations. Oops, sorry, please go on.”

  “So, then I started crying, and when they realized I was there, they left.” Bethany’s face crumpled as tears bubbled to the surface again. “Why do people argue at a time like this? Don’t they know how fragile life is and that we should all cherish each other?”

  “Hmmm, it’s a shame they didn’t get to talk longer.” Vivian moved away a step to give Bethany room to grieve unhindered.

  “Why? They were saying awful things to each other.”

  “Because, Bethany, we’re trying to determine who might have done harm to Amanda.” Jesse worked to keep her impatience hidden. “If you think she was killed, who do you think killed her?”

  Round, tear-blurred eyes lifted to stare back at Jesse. “Surely you can’t mean one of us?”

  “Who else do you think it could be?” Jesse asked. “Everyone else who might have had a motive is back in Oklahoma. And you gave us a list with all their names on it.”

  “But that was before,” Bethany protested. “And you can’t mean Celeste or Treena. Why, Amanda practically raised them both.”

  “There’s you, dear,” Vivian suggested quietly.

  “Me?” Confusion, worry and fear followed each other across Bethany’s face like a scrolling billboard.

  “If the police decide that Amanda’s death wasn’t accidental,” Jesse explained, “then Nettie Shoemacher and Gordon Pitts will be as suspect as Treena and Celeste. And you. Just because you’re the one who suggested murder, doesn’t mean they won’t include you as a suspect.”

  Bethany’s horrified expression went suddenly slack. Her eyes fluttered before rolling back into her head, and she sank to the ground in a slow spiral.

  Halfway down, Lady jumped straight into Jesse’s arms, which she had extended too late to catch Bethany before she hit the ground. The grateful dog climbed up to Jesse’s shoulder and licked her on the chin.

  Vivian stood staring down at the unconscious figure at their feet. “Really, someone should have made more of an effort to get that prescription filled.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Vivian looked at Jesse. “What in the world do we do now? We can’t carry her and we can’t leave her here.”

  Lady began to squirm in Jesse’s arms. “Sh-h-h, sh-h-h.” Jesse petted the twisting bundle of fur, whose front paws were now shoving against her. Afraid to let the dog go, Jesse tightened her grip while petting the small head and whispering meaningless, soothing sounds.

  Whining, the spaniel pushed harder against Jesse while the drumming sound of distant footsteps became louder.

  “Oh, thank goodness.” Vivian turned toward the sound. “Apparently, Gordon noticed what happened.”

  “Sweetie, you’re just going to have to calm down.” Jesse renewed her grip on the squirming animal. “If I put you down now, you could get trampled. And if I remember correctly, our main mission in all this is to keep you safe.”

  “Oh, that’s right.” Vivian gave Jesse a look of consternation. “I had forgotten Bethany’s real worry was keeping the dog safe should anything happen to Amanda.” Vivian put her hands over Lady’s ears and whispered, “No slight to fuzzy-wuzzy here, but I think I want to solve Amanda’s murder for Amanda’s sake. Just in case somewhere along the line I wasn’t as good a friend to her as I should have been, maybe I can make it up to her now.”

  “Bethany!” Gordon shouted as he neared. “What in God’s name happened to her?”

  His question sounded accusing and more than a little upset. Jesse hadn’t thought much about the previous conversation she had witnessed, but now she began to wonder if Gordon and Bethany might not be better acquainted than she had first supposed.

  “We were talking, and she just…”

  “Passed out,” Vivian said when Jesse seemed to hesitate. “She just passed out. Poor thing seems to be terribly overwrought.”

  Gordon dropped to his knees and gathered Bethany’s limp body closer, cradling her head to his chest. He turned a haggard gaze to Vivian, then Jesse. “What happened? What did she say?”

  “She was upset,” Jesse said.

  “And crying,” Vivian added. “A lot.”

  “And she was describing how everyone else was doing, and…”

  “The police. We had just mentioned the police.” Vivian extended her hands in a helpless gesture. “And she just swooned. Like a leaf floating from a tree, she just swooned at our feet.”

  Gordon scooped Bethany into his arms and stood. “I’ll take her to her room. Follow me.”

  Vivian and Jesse exchanged a shocked glance, and Jesse bit back the words she longed to say. Bethany was not a small woman, and Gordon was not a large man, but he stalked away with her as if she weighed nothing. Oh, yeah, much better friends than Jesse had first thought.

  Vivian poked Jesse with her elbow and pointed toward the man who was quickly outdistancing them. Then she drew a small heart in the air in front of her. Jesse laughed, silently, of course, and nodded her agreement.

  Finally, when he was far enough ahead of them, Vivian whispered, “Good grief, is there anyone who doesn’t have a secret liaison going on? Trisha has a secret boyfriend. Mandy and Bobby Don have been carrying on like Lady Chatterley and her gamekeeper when Amanda wasn’t around. And now the bad boy with a past seems to be besotted with Bethany O’Connor, who didn’t appear to have a pulse th
e first time I met her.”

  “Isn’t that who the bad boy always falls for?” Jesse whispered back. “He discovers the passion hidden beneath her goodness. She finds the goodness hidden beneath his wildness. It’s the classic romance. Who knew we’d find Heathcliff and Cathy here on this island?”

  “No wonder she didn’t mention him when she was listing suspects.” Vivian stopped and turned toward Jesse. “That’s what she got so upset about. With a police record, he’ll be the first one the police suspect if they decide Amanda’s death wasn’t an accident.”

  Lady grew restless again, which reminded Jesse that they needed to keep moving. “Another sure indication that their attraction is mutual,” she said as they walked on.

  “It’ll be interesting to see if she’s still so gung-ho on finding Amanda’s killer now that our dear Mr. Pitts may become implicated,” Vivian said.

  “I’m really looking forward to hearing what the attorney has to say. I’m hoping Bethany can get us into that room.”

  “If not, we can always find a window, or a door, or a vent we can listen through. But I do need to get out of these clothes first and wash the sea spray off of my face.”

  “I suppose it would be wise to remember there are police inside the house,” Jesse cautioned.

  “Wouldn’t want to see them, either, until after I’ve changed clothes and washed my face,” Vivian said. “And taken off these clumpish boots.”

  ~~~~~

  A short time later, Jesse and Vivian stood inside the entry hall of what looked and sounded for the world like a house empty except for the two of them. Dark floors of polished wood gleamed under the light of a massive chandelier. A broad staircase hugged the wall to the left of them. On the landing above, two doors stood open slightly to the right of the staircase itself.

  “I guess we should go up.” Jesse still carried Lady Jane Grey, who had become a comforting presence and now appeared to be napping in the cradle of her arms. “There doesn’t seem to be anything going on down here.”

  “There doesn’t seem to be anything going on anywhere,” Vivian said. “Somewhere there are other staircases we don’t see from here. And rooms. There have to be a lot of rooms tucked away down private corridors.”

  A carpet runner cushioned the wooden stairs as they climbed. At the head of the staircase, they saw that the hall curved in a U shape around the entryway below. The doorway to a room opened midway along either side of the horseshoe. From the top of the landing where Jesse and Vivian had their rooms, a corridor extended in both directions.

  At the end of the central hallway, Jesse could see what looked like another landing with one set of stairs going up to the third floor and one going down to the private areas of the first floor. The other end of the main hallway had a single staircase that led down. These would be the stairs used most often by the residents, and one of those was almost surely where Amanda had fallen.

  “It’s like a rabbit warren in here,” Vivian whispered. “Such a big, elegant home set in such magnificent isolation. Can you imagine living here when this was first built?”

  Jesse nodded her agreement. It was beautiful and more than a little overwhelming, but in the late 1800s, it would have been a coveted symbol of success in spite of its isolation.

  “I would imagine there’s a widow’s walk on the roof with a view of the sea. Probably a view of the cove where we docked. At the time, these homes were frequently built by sea captains, and their wives would use the widow’s walk to keep watch for their return.”

  “But why would anyone choose to live in such a remote place?”

  “Maybe it wasn’t so remote then. There might have been a community here. Heck, there might be a community here now. Over a few hills and through a few trees, there could easily be a town we haven’t seen yet.”

  They entered the first open doorway. Vivian’s luggage was neatly arranged on the foot of the bed. The three small bags looked inadequate in the large room, surrounded by the oversized furniture and the jewel tones of the velvet draperies and antique sofa.

  “Is this genuine?” Vivian asked, gazing around her at the ornate armoire and matching chests. “Do you suppose this could all be original?”

  Jesse walked to the wardrobe, opened it and looked inside. The burled walnut was old, the style classic Victorian. The dusky pink sofa and matching high-backed chairs—one for the gentleman of the house and one with low arms for the lady—had been reupholstered but were otherwise original.

  “Considering the effort it would take to get furniture out to this island, I would say that the sea captain himself may have once sat in that very chair.”

  She walked on toward the doorway that stood open to the adjoining bedroom. Her backpack was on the seat of a tapestry side chair. This room’s décor appeared to be as authentic and ornate as Vivian’s, with bird’s-eye maple in place of the walnut. Jesse’s antiques-collector heart did a little skip of happiness. What she wouldn’t give to have these pieces in her shop back home.

  “Do you suppose that when Gordon told us to follow him, he meant to follow him? As in, to Bethany’s room?” Vivian asked.

  Jesse turned. “Oops. I had forgotten that. But we don’t know where Bethany’s room is.” Then she remembered who she was holding in her arms. She looked down in time to see Lady lift her head and yawn. Her little, pink tongue curled in the center of her wide-open mouth and her forelegs stretched straight out over the top of Jesse’s forearm. “But I bet I know who does. Can you hold Lady while I change out of these damp Keds?”

  “Sure.” Vivian gathered the dog into her arms, holding it high on her shoulder while bouncing and patting its back as if she were burping it. “If I fall behind, go on without me,” she said. “I’ll find you.”

  “Afraid she’s going to take off at a dead run, huh?” Jesse teased.

  Reentering her room, she kicked off her wet tennis shoes and reached for the backpack and her canvas shoes but froze at a cry of distress from the other room. Jesse turned to find Vivian with her empty arms extended toward the open door to the hallway.

  “She jumped! She shoved her back legs against me and went flying through the air!” Vivian exclaimed as Jesse went by her at a jog.

  Charging into the hallway in her damp sock-clad feet, Jesse quickly spotted Lady’s fluffy rear end and long furry tail bouncing up and down and side to side well down the corridor ahead of her. In hot pursuit, Jesse watched the dog stop at the end of the long hallway and look around before choosing the closed door on the front side of the house. Lady leaned toward the door and tapped it with one paw, then sat back and let out a high-pitched yip.

  The door opened almost immediately, and the little dog scurried inside. Gordon leaned out, scanned the hallway, and when he saw Jesse, motioned for her to hurry. Then he disappeared inside again, leaving the door open.

  Within seconds Vivian had caught up. “Well done,” she said softly.

  “Not exactly the way I had planned, but close enough,” Jesse whispered back as they entered the open doorway shoulder to shoulder.

  Chapter Fifteen

  In a room remarkably similar to their own, Bethany reclined on the high bed, pillows piled behind her. Lady stood on the bed next to her, stretching upward to lick her chin, tail wagging furiously. Gordon stood at the window staring out, hands clasped at the small of his back, legs spread, posture ramrod straight.

  Jesse and Vivian paused just inside the door. Bethany’s eyes were closed, but one hand ran soothingly up and down Lady’s back. Gordon seemed a million miles away until he turned and stared straight at Jesse.

  “Can you stay with her? I need to find Hardy and postpone the reading of the will. She’s in no shape for any more excitement right now.”

  “No!” Bethany held out a hand toward him, her eyes fluttering open. “No, I don’t want that. Where…?” As she struggled up onto her other elbow, she looked toward the doorway. “Oh, you’re here. How wonderful. I want you with me.”

  Bethan
y’s extended hand now reached toward Jesse and Vivian, who hadn’t moved any farther into the room.

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” Gordon snapped. “You’ve already fainted once.”

  “No.” Bethany’s hand wiggled impatiently. “This is what I want. I have Jesse and Vivian. They’ll help me.”

  “Have it your own way, then. You have ten minutes until the meeting starts.” Gordon stalked across the room toward the doorway. When he reached them, he paused, stared into Jesse’s eyes again and spoke in a voice harsh and low. “Do not encourage her. There’s nothing to be gained by making a melodrama of this.”

  Vivian moved to the side, giving him room to pass. As he did, she asked, “Not even justice?”

  He stopped. “Amanda is dead. She fell down the stairs in the middle of the night. There is no justice, because no one will ever know what really happened.”

  “Well, we’ll certainly never know if no one ever asks any questions,” Vivian snapped in a voice that strained to remain quiet.

  “Good God, woman, do you really think that you’re serving justice by bringing down suspicion on the heads of everyone living in this house? Do you honestly think that any of us would have hurt Amanda?”

  “We don’t know.” Jesse stepped into the hallway with him, keeping her tone hushed and urgent. “But Bethany thinks it’s possible, and she asked for our help. Have you stopped to consider that if someone did push Amanda down those stairs, they may not stop with Amanda?”

  “Have you stopped to consider that you’re stirring up trouble where there doesn’t need to be any?” he fired back. “Just be careful where you tread, ladies. Some questions are better off without answers.” He stalked away then, down the corridor toward the main staircase.

  Vivian turned to Jesse with an irritated frown and snapped, “Oh, good grief! Was that some sort of veiled threat? Does he seriously think he can scare us off? And whatever did he mean by that?”

  “Maybe he’s just afraid he’ll become the prime suspect,” Jesse said.

  “Or me,” Bethany suggested from immediately behind Jesse, having left the bed and joined them without anyone noticing. “Since I’m the guardian of the primary beneficiary, I suppose I make a pretty good suspect myself.” Bethany dropped her gaze to the floor and lowered her voice to a murmur. “And I suppose you’ve noticed that Gordon and I are more than just friends.”