Angels Undercover

by Diane Noble

  She scooped another spoonful of oatmeal dough onto the cookie sheet, listening as the ancient oven creaked and popped its way to the temperature she had set. Another glance at the clock told her that Paul would be home about the time the cookies came out of the oven.

  She smiled and took a deep calming breath, whispering a quick prayer for peace and well-being. She put her thoughts of the break-in aside, concentrating instead on the expression she knew would fill Paul’s face when he walked through the door and breathed in the scent of fresh-baked cookies and creamy hot cocoa.

  She had just started to spoon more dough onto a second cookie sheet when the phone rang.

  She reached across the kitchen counter and grabbed it, hoping it was Paul.

  “Kate?”

  It was Livvy. Kate knew Livvy so well that she could hear the anxiety in her voice.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I just got a call from the sheriff,” Livvy said. “Someone broke into the library.”

  “Oh, Liv!” Kate’s already jittery nerves headed toward eight on the Richter scale.

  “The sheriff is on his way to investigate. The library’s silent alarm just went off at the station, so I don’t know yet what we’ll find. But I’m afraid this break-in has something to do with our new exhibit.” She stopped and took an audible breath. “The exhibit...” Her voice broke. “It’s the first time we’ve had anything this valuable on loan to us. If anything has happened to it...” She paused. “Have you heard from Paul?”

  “I talked to him a little while ago. He said they were about an hour from home. It’s been about that long, so he should be dropping Danny off any minute now.”

  “I’m going to run over to the library right now. I can’t wait for Danny to get home...” There was hesitation in her voice. “And Kate—?”

  “You don’t even need to ask. I’ll meet you there. We can leave notes for the guys.” She glanced at the oven timer. “I just put some cookies in the oven, so it’ll take me a few extra minutes.”

  She ended the call, put away the hot-cocoa ingredients, and slipped the bowl of cookie dough back into the refrigerator. Then she hurried to the bedroom to freshen up.

  She was standing in the kitchen, trying to decide what to do about leaving the house with a crackling fire in the fireplace, when the garage door opened.

  Paul walked in, looking weary but surprised when he saw her.

  “Are you okay?” He glanced around the kitchen and into the dining room and living room. “Did you call Skip?”

  She gave him a guilty grin. “I decided to peek through the windows first to see if there was actually a crime in progress.”

  He let out a worried sigh. “Oh, Katie, it could have been—”

  “But it wasn’t,” she said. “Nothing was going on, so I came on in.”

  “Had someone been here?”

  She nodded and told him about the drinking glass on the kitchen counter and evidence that someone had used the guest bathroom.

  “Then we should call the sheriff.”

  “But nothing was taken. It’s the strangest thing. Nothing was taken, but something was left.”

  She told him about the manila envelope and the strange typewritten letter that demanded she make stained-glass angel votives for a sizable number of Copper Mill residents. Then she hurried to her studio, grabbed the envelope, and handed it to Paul when she returned to the kitchen.

  As he was reading the letter, the timer chimed. Kate winked at Paul and saw the worried look on his face soften when she pulled the cookies out of the oven.

  He took a deep breath and closed his eyes as if in ecstasy. “Ahh, there’s no greater scent this side of heaven. Oatmeal?”

  She nodded. “And I’d planned hot cocoa, but that will have to wait until I get back.”

  “Where are you going at this hour?”

  She told him about the break-in at the library.

  “I’ll go with you,” he said immediately.

  Kate shook her head. “I’m just planning to nose around a bit and give Livvy some moral support. I doubt I’ll be gone long. Besides, you must be tired from the drive, not to mention the stress of the retreat.”

  He shot her a look of appreciation as he shrugged off his coat. “Normally, I would argue with you, but yes, I’m a bit weary tonight.” The discouraged slope of his shoulders worried her; it was unlike him.

  “How’d the retreat go?”

  He gave her one of his lopsided smiles. “Saying the dispute is akin to the Civil War might be putting it mildly. But I’ll wait till after you get home to fill you in.”

  She gave him a peck on the cheek and handed him the spatula. “Meanwhile, your only task right now is to try a couple of these cookies so you can tell me what you think of my new recipe. But only a couple...Don’t you go eating the whole plate, Mr. Cholesterol.”

  “Now that’s a task I can sink my teeth into.” He grinned as he bit into a cookie, then he followed her to the entryway.

  He took her hand, a look of concern in his clear blue eyes. “Be careful, honey. The letter seems harmless enough, but someone is obviously keeping track of our comings and goings. I don’t take that lightly.”

  She nodded, and her heart did a little staccato dance. “I’ve got to go...Livvy needs me.” She smiled and patted his cheek. “I’ll be fine.”

  He kissed her, but the worried look on his face did little to calm her jitters.

  Chapter Three

  The library had been cordoned off by the Sheriff’s Department. Just the sight of the yellow tape draped on poles in front of the building made Kate put all thoughts about the parsonage break-in at the bottom of her list of concerns.

  Sheriff Roberts’ SUV was parked in front, and Livvy’s car was parked beside it. Kate pulled in beside her car, turned off the ignition and quickly exited the Honda. She pulled her hood over her head and hurried to the front entrance.

  The sheriff was kneeling by the entrance, examining the lock. He looked up with a nod as Kate approached. It wasn’t a surprise that he showed up; Roberts didn’t quite trust his deputy, Skip Spencer, and whenever anything big—like a library break-in—happened, he liked to handle the investigation himself.

  Kate smiled and gave him a nod, which he returned with a friendly half salute. Then he went back to studying the lock with a puzzled expression.

  “Over here, Kate!” Livvy called to her from the front of the new Civil War exhibit, which spanned the room in five massive glass cases.

  Kate walked over to Livvy, who was leafing through a stack of papers.

  “Is anything missing?”

  “I haven’t noticed anything yet.” Livvy tucked a strand of hair behind one ear, briefly glanced at Kate, then went back to her list.

  Kate thought she saw tears in her friend’s eyes.

  “Let me help,” she said gently. “Where can I start?”

  “I’m matching each item on the list of artifacts on loan with those in the display cases. The larger items are obvious; we’ll know right away if anything’s been taken. But we’ve got at least a couple hundred smaller display items, everything from ammunition to photographs. Some of the documents, the photos especially, are among the most valuable items in the collection. Irreplaceable. Original letters, some from President Lincoln himself.” She sighed. “The library is up for accreditation this year. Plus there’s that grant we’re being considered for...” She shook her head slowly. “If anything’s happened to the items on loan from the museum....”

  “Maybe nothing was taken,” Kate said as hopefully as she could. The entire exhibit was to coincide with the coming Civil War reenactment, an event that’d had all of Copper Mill abuzz for weeks. Now she had to wonder if the publicity the valuable artifacts had received had been wise, but she didn’t mention her concern to Livvy, who had quite enough worries of her own right now.

  The sheriff walked toward them and heard Kate’s comment.

  “There are only two reasons for breaking
and entering,” he said. “The suspect takes something or he destroys something. He obviously didn’t destroy anything, so that leaves only one possibility.”

  Actually, three reasons, Kate thought, but now wasn’t the time to mention the break-in at her house.

  Without waiting for Kate to respond, he looked down at Livvy’s list. “How are you coming with the inventory?”

  “It’s going to take a while to match the list with every item on display. You don’t need to stay. I’ll let you know in the morning what we’ve discovered, if anything.”

  His gaze drifted to the display cases, and Kate could see he wasn’t listening. “You know, it’s strange...” He moved closer to one of the cases and peered at the metal lock on the glass door.

  Kate and Livvy exchanged glances. “What’s strange?” they said, almost in unison.

  “I checked this over earlier. Came up with zilch. Same with the front entrance and the back door. Clean as a whistle. No sign of entry. No scratches around the lock. No marks. No prints.” He narrowed his eyes at Livvy. “You sure you locked up at closing time?”

  Kate knew the accusation must have stung, but her friend smiled graciously.

  “Of course,” Livvy said. “Just as I always do. Especially with this valuable collection on display. I checked and double-checked.”

  “Hmm.” The sheriff didn’t look convinced.

  “What?” Kate gave him a pointed look.

  “Well, maybe the alarm malfunctioned,” he said, raising a bushy eyebrow. “Alarms are known to do that. Especially those silent ones. Can’t always trust technology these days.”

  Livvy looked almost relieved. “Why didn’t you say so?”

  He chuckled. “Well, I didn’t want to say anything until I had a chance to look things over myself, but due to the undisturbed nature of the locks, both exterior and interior, I’m beginning to think we might not have a break-in after all.”

  He glanced at the list in Livvy’s hand. “But seeing as how valuable these display items are, you’d better check for stolen property anyway. That’ll tell the tale.”

  “Okay then,” Livvy said. “I’ll call you if anything is missing. Maybe you’re right and it was a false alarm.”

  The sheriff nodded, hiked up his pants by the belt loops in an attempt to cover his rotund belly, then headed for the door.

  “Maybe he’s right about the alarm malfunctioning,” Livvy said. “I just wish he’d mentioned it earlier. When Skip called, it sounded like they had caught someone red-handed. I expected the place to either be in shambles or the display cases emptied out. I’ve made it through about a third of the list, and so far I can’t see that anything’s missing.”

  As Livvy spoke, Kate walked over to the largest display case. She had seen the exhibit before the break-in, but now something didn’t look quite right to her. It nipped at the edges of her mind, but she couldn’t put a finger on it. She turned back to her friend. “Let me take a look at the list.”

  Livvy raised an eyebrow as she handed it to Kate. “You’ve got that look on your face.”

  “What look?” She grinned.

  “That look you always get when you’re trying to solve a mystery, and nothing will deter you.”

  Kate laughed. “Paul says I do that when I’m baking cookies.”

  “Because that’s when you do your noodling.” Livvy chuckled. “We’ve all added a few pounds since you turned into the Jessica Fletcher of Copper Mill.”

  Livvy’s expression was more relaxed now that there was a possibility her display hadn’t been tampered with.

  Kate didn’t want to ruin her respite from worry, but as she peered into the display case, she knew something was wrong. To most eyes, it would appear that nothing had been disturbed.

  Livvy came over and stood beside her.

  “You told me the items belonging to war heroes from Copper Mill were going to be displayed in this case, the largest of the five, to honor them, right?”

  “Yes...”

  “How many war heroes are featured?”

  “Three, the most prominent being—” Livvy went pale and grabbed hold of Kate as if her knees had given out.

  “Major General J. P. Beauregard,” Kate finished. “Renee Lambert’s great-grandfather.”

  “Caroline Beauregard Johnston’s maternal grandfather,” Livvy said, her voice no more than a hoarse whisper. “How did you know?”

  “I remembered the traveling writing desk in the exhibit. When I didn’t see it, I looked for his uniform, his pistol, his rifle—”

  “They’re gone. Everything belonging to J. P. Beauregard is gone.” Livvy moved closer to the case. “But whoever took them rearranged the rest of the items to make the exhibit look complete without his things.” She walked slowly down the row of cases.

  “There may be other items missing,” Kate said.

  Livvy let out a deep sigh. “I agree.” She glanced up and down the exhibition cases. “Though the Beauregard exhibit is the most valuable. Someone obviously knew that.”

  She stared at the space where the writing desk used to be, as if willing it to reappear. Finally she said, “Let’s see what else is missing.”

  Kate nodded, wishing she’d thought to pack a few cookies for sustenance. It was going to be a longer night than she’d expected.

  As she made her way through the checklist of display items, one thought kept returning: How would they tell Renee and her mother about the robbery? It was known throughout Copper Mill that Caroline Beauregard Johnston’s grandfather was the greatest hero the town had ever produced. And Caroline took great delight in that fact. To her, the sun rose and set in the heroism of her grandfather. It was more than her claim to fame; it was her identity.

  She kept his memory alive by retelling, to everyone who would sit still long enough, the stories he’d told her when she was a child—of battles fought near Copper Mill Creek, of the time he met with Gen. Robert E. Lee at a place just outside town, how he even rode the great man’s horse on a secret mission in the dark of night.

  Best of all were the stories of how Beauregard had risked his own life to save the lives of several of his men. Kate suspected that Caroline embellished her stories with each telling, but she had noticed how others in town, who’d obviously heard them again and again, graciously listened once more, nodding and commenting, oohing and aahing appropriately, to which Caroline sat back with a pleased sigh and a sparkle in her eyes.

  In her eyes, it was sacrilege to refer to the war as the Civil War. To her it would always be the War between the States, or more appropriately, according to Caroline, the War of Northern Aggression.

  As if reading her thoughts, after a few minutes, Livvy said, “How will I tell Caroline?”

  “It’s too late to call now, but you’ll need to let her know in the morning.”

  Livvy checked another item off her inventory list. “You know she volunteered to give the welcoming speech tomorrow for the official opening of the exhibit.”

  Kate nodded. “I don’t think there’s anyone left in town who doesn’t know. She tells everyone she meets. This was to be the proudest day of her life.”

  Livvy had tears in her eyes when she looked up at Kate. “Of all the artifacts, why did someone have to take her grandfather’s? This will be devastating. I’ve never known anyone so proud, so taken with her ancestry.” Then she added softly, “It’s my fault. I should have been more careful. Hired more security.”

  Kate put down the list and hugged her friend. “Liv, don’t blame yourself. There wasn’t a thing you could have done to prevent the break-in. It seems to have been the act of someone not only selfish, but also savvy, and we’ll find out who’s responsible.”

  Chapter Four

  Nothing else was missing,” Kate told Paul, then took a sip of cocoa.

  She sank back into the living room sofa and sighed, glad to curl up in her robe and slippers and enjoy the cocoa he’d made while he waited for her.

  “Just the items
belonging to J. P. Beauregard—his dress uniform, which was in pristine condition, his pistol, rifle, ammunition, a letter from Robert E. Lee, an original photograph of him on horseback, and a writing desk that Caroline and Renee had given to the museum.” She hesitated, then noting Paul’s puzzled expression, went on to clarify. “It was among the items on loan to the library.”

  “Do they know what happened?” Paul leaned back in his chair, shaking his head.

  “Livvy said she would stop by to see Caroline and Renee first thing in the morning. It’s the kind of thing you wouldn’t want to tell them over the phone.”

  “I agree.” He took a sip of cocoa. “Which brings up another point. Could this be connected to our break-in?”

  “I’ve thought about that. But they seem to be two totally unique scenarios, so I think it’s probably only a coincidence that they happened on the same night.” She gave him a tired smile. “Someone left something here, and someone stole extremely valuable items from the library.”

  Paul nodded thoughtfully. “I still think we should let the sheriff know. I’ll call in a report tomorrow.” He took another sip of his cocoa. “How about the opening ceremony for the exhibit? Is it still on for tomorrow?”

  “Livvy wants to go ahead with it. There’s just not enough time to contact everyone and cancel.”

  “I wonder if Caroline will still want to speak when she finds out about the stolen property?” Then he smiled. “Though knowing that spunky senior, she won’t let anything stop her from proclaiming her pride in the famous Major General J. P. Beauregard. I’m guessing she’ll be there with bells on, ready for her moment in the sun.”

  Kate nodded her agreement and studied Paul’s face for a moment. His weariness was still evident. “Do you want to talk about the retreat?” she asked gently. “Or will it keep till morning?”

  He stared into the glowing embers of the dying fire for several moments, then turned again to face her. “Danny and Sam and I presented the case for adding contemporary music to our services, and you should have heard the protests.” He shook his head. “Everyone else was dead set against it. Renee Lambert led the charge, stating that such music is better performed in a dance hall than in a church sanctuary.”