Last Pen Standing

by Vivian Conroy

  Circling the room, Delta ended up near the hearth where the family portraits were. She compared them, the faces, how everyone had changed as they grew up.

  In the very old ones, where the children were little, Mrs. Taylor was there too. By the time Rosalyn was about twelve, she had disappeared. Delta felt a stab of pain for the three kids looking at her from the silver frame, so suddenly left without a mother. They grew up quickly, Ray turning from a scrawny boy with serious eyes into a muscled young man who seemed to challenge life with his chin up.

  In a photo from more recent years, Rosalyn had a young man by her side, leaning into him with a radiating smile. He was also in the next portrait, but after that he was gone. Rosalyn’s expression had become emotionless, her posture tight. This was the Rosalyn Delta had come to know in the past few days.

  But who was the man? Another loss in her life? A broken relationship? Delta heard footfalls and turned around, hoping it might be Hazel coming to fetch her for lunch. But it was Jonas, all dressed in dark green, with binoculars dangling on his chest. “I’m taking a group up to the birding hut,” he said. “Why don’t you come along? If you have the time.”

  “I’d love to, but I promised Hazel we’d have lunch together. She’s had a rough week.” Delta took a deep breath. She didn’t know if it was smart to tell him, but she needed to talk to someone about it. Someone other than Hazel, who was worried enough as it was. “There was a threatening note left at the cottage Saturday afternoon. Hazel found it just when she had been released.”

  “You didn’t mention that when we were boating.”

  Delta shrugged. “You started talking about the envelope in the jewelry box revealing that Vera wanted a divorce, and I just forgot. But Hazel is nervous about it. She doesn’t say so, but I can tell.” She held his gaze. “Do you think it’s serious or some…prank?”

  “That depends. Any clues as to who might have written it?”

  “No. It was a standard envelope, the kind you can buy everywhere. The paper was printer paper, like you use at home. Then the letters had been cut out of newspapers or magazines, like a ransom note in a movie.”

  “Cut out letters? How old-fashioned.” Jonas grimaced.

  “But smart. A typewriter or printer might be traced. I took it to the police, but the sheriff looked at me like he figured I had put it together myself to distract him from the murder case.”

  “You can’t do a lot with an anonymous threat,” Jonas said, fingering the binoculars. “Still, why would someone want to threaten Hazel? What did it say anyway?”

  Delta grimaced as she repeated the offensive words. “Stop poking your nose where it doesn’t belong, or you’ll join Vera White”

  Jonas narrowed his eyes. “So it wasn’t directed at Hazel, but at you. You are poking your nose where it doesn’t belong, going around asking people questions. Someone must have seen you talking to people or…”

  “Talking to the press? I told you that both father and son LeDuc were at the shop on Saturday morning. But I told them nothing. They didn’t come back, so they must have figured they wouldn’t get anything from me. If they’ve been writing about the case, it wasn’t on my authority.”

  “Who would be nervous about your involvement?” Jonas mused.

  A grandfather clock on the far wall struck one, and Jonas jerked upright. “I have to go meet my group.”

  “OK. Oh, one more thing. I’ll walk with you.” Delta fell into step with him on his way outside. “Do you know who owns a dark-blue station wagon with a bumper sticker that has a moose on it? Or something that looks like a moose?”

  Inwardly, she apologized to Rattlesnake Rita for doubting her identification of the antler-bearing animal, but not everyone could know everything about wildlife, right?

  “Sure,” Jonas said. They were outside now, him ready to turn left in the direction of the parking lot. A young man in riding clothes came across the lot on a gorgeous chestnut. With a mere click of the tongue, he coaxed the animal from a walk into a trot. Muscle rippled under the horse’s smooth skin as he passed Jonas and Delta, his hoofbeats making the ground tremble.

  “I’d like to go riding sometime,” Delta said with a longing sigh. “Haven’t done it since I was a kid. My best friend at Gran’s had a pony.”

  Jonas laughed softly. “Riding a pony in a meadow is a bit different from riding a horse out in the open here. The Taylors aren’t likely to lend their horses to inexperienced riders.”

  Before Delta could protest against his judgment of her riding skills, Jonas added, “But I know a few people who have horses, so if you’re serious about riding, I can take you there and we can see how well you do. Now, about that station wagon with the animal sticker on the back…” Jonas gestured across the parking lot. “I’ve seen it here in the lot a couple of times.”

  “Could it belong to a guest?” Delta asked with a sense of deflation, as Ralph White going out with another hotel guest probably had no bearing on the murder case at all.

  “Then it’s a guest who’s practically living here,” Jonas retorted. “I saw it for the first time maybe six weeks ago? I don’t know the exact date, but I do remember the trees weren’t turning color yet.”

  He smiled half-involuntarily. “As a police officer, even a former one, you’re always paying closer attention to your surroundings than average people do. Gotta run now. Talk to you later. And if you get more threats, let me know. Be careful.”

  With a wave to underline the latter words, Jonas rushed off.

  Delta looked around the parking lot. There were only a few cars there now, and none of them were dark blue. But it was interesting that it might belong to someone who stayed here.

  Or worked here? That would explain why he was here often, over a longer period of time.

  Delta turned back inside, seeing the door into the office open and Hazel come out with Rosalyn. Hazel said, “I hope that it has cleared up a few things.”

  “I never was a fan of the relationship,” Rosalyn said in a prim tone. “And this isn’t making it better. But I suppose Isabel can do what she wants. As soon as she hears he lied to protect her, she’ll think it’s romantic and fall into his arms again.”

  She huffed. Then she looked Hazel straight in the eye and asked, “Are you 100 percent sure your brother isn’t the killer?”

  “Yes,” Hazel said without flinching. “I know Finn. He’s not violent.”

  “Not even when he’s desperate?” Rosalyn tilted her head. “People are different under pressure.”

  You should know, Delta wanted to say as Rosalyn’s reddish face and hurried manners on the night of the murder came back to her, but after Hazel had just gone out of her way to build bridges, Delta could hardly barge in and ruin it again for her friend.

  The sensation that Rosalyn was a little too eager to keep the focus on Finn lingered uncomfortably in the back of her mind. However, there was nothing to connect Rosalyn to the crime. No fingerprints, no witness statement. Nothing.

  Delta wished she had asked Jonas if he had noticed anything odd about Rosalyn that evening. Like he had said, former policemen did notice more than average people, and perhaps an observation he had made could shed light on it.

  Then again, if he had noticed anything important, he would have mentioned it himself, she supposed.

  Hazel shook Rosalyn’s hand again, saying she hoped things were cleared up now, and then waved Delta along to the doors leading onto the terrace.

  Taking a table far away from the building, Hazel let herself down onto the chair with a sigh. “I did my best to smooth things over, but it was awkward. I would be mad in her place. You don’t want someone with…well, an issue in your business. Or getting close to your sister.” She wrung her hands. “Finn should never have started working here.”

  “But he did,” Delta said briskly, “and we have to make the best of it now. Come
on, have a look at the menu and decide what you’d like. I could have gone bird watching with Jonas, but I said no to have this lunch with you, so I intend to enjoy it. Maybe the fall salad with beets, cheese, and walnuts?”

  Hazel picked up the leather-bound menu with gold leaves emblazoned on the front. “Jonas asked you out?” she queried casually, leafing through the pages.

  Delta gave her a sharp look “Just bird watching with a group he was taking. It wasn’t going out as in…” She felt a flush coming up. Jonas had also asked her to go riding together. Did he want to spend more time with her? Or was he just being nice to a new arrival in town? “I guess he just wants to show me around.”

  “Sure. Nice. Too bad you said no.” Hazel leaned over the menu. “I think I’ll have freshly squeezed orange juice to begin with. How about you?”

  “Iced tea for me.”

  The waiter came, and they ordered their drinks and asked for a few more minutes to make their choices for the meal. Hazel flipped from one page to the next and back. “I think that this leaf-peeping cheese platter sounds delicious. Brie, Manchego, goat’s cheese, and several chutneys, nuts and grapes…”

  “I’ll have the peppered beef wrap. That will have a nice strong flavor I can then douse with my iced tea.”

  They put the menus away and let their gaze wander the view of the lake. Bright canoes shot across the water as the canoers raced each other.

  “The water seems greener today,” Delta observed. “I’m always surprised how water changes depending on the weather. It can be bright blue or almost inky black. I should draw this.” She reached into her bag and extracted her sketchbook and pencils. “I could do a design for wrapping paper with outdoor activities on it. Canoeing, skydiving, skiing, and snowboarding. What do you think?”

  “I hope Finn and Isabel can make it work despite this trouble,” Hazel said, nervously fidgeting with the laces that tied her cardigan. She had obviously not been listening at all to what Delta was saying.

  Delta glanced at her. “I thought you considered them a bad match. Isabel the career woman, Finn the outdoor man. I had the impression that if they broke up, you wouldn’t mind.”

  “Not personally, no, but…Finn was in a relationship before, in college, and when it ended, he was really down for weeks. Months even, if I remember correctly. I don’t want him to go through that again.”

  The waiter brought their drinks and took their orders, retreating on his soft soles. The iced tea came with lemon slices in it and a long spoon with a decorated handle depicting the mountain view across the lake.

  Between sips, Delta sketched the vivid greens of water, the yellow of canoes on it, the reddish trees, and the dark green of pine dotting it. As always, her mind calmed down as she worked, transferring the image in front of her to paper. After all those years of practice, much of it was done semiautomatically without her having to make conscious decisions about lines, perspective. She didn’t have to stop constantly to see if it was right, but followed her gut, adding colors and shapes in quick succession.

  Hazel leaned across the table with a grin. “I have a surprise for you. We’re going to an antique fair tonight.”

  “Really?”

  “A Western antique fair. I want you to help me buy some stuff for Wanted to give it even more of an authentic atmosphere. And if you see something nice for the cottage, we can get it. You brought so few things. You should make it more your own, especially since you told me you have no intention of moving on right away. I’ve been to this fair before, and they have amazing bargains.”

  Delta started to reply, when she heard laughter from below. Leaning over the terrace’s railing, she spotted a woman and a man walking on the path that came up from the lake. The woman leaned over to the man and laughed again, touching his arm with a certain familiarity.

  Her simple sundress and the hat she wore made it difficult for Delta to place her until she could clearly see her face. With a shock, she realized that it was Amanda White.

  There was no trace of the sadness over her sister-in-law’s death that had been so prominent the day before. In fact, Amanda looked perfectly carefree, as though she were having a splendid time rather than being embroiled in a murder case.

  “Who’s that man?” Hazel asked in a whisper.

  Delta shrugged. “I don’t know.” She let her pencil hover over the paper and observed the couple as they approached. Her mind was working overtime. Was Amanda White seeing someone without her husband knowing about it? Had Vera found out and threatened to tell? Had Amanda lashed out to silence her? Not just with a blow to the face but with something more…permanent?

  Still, she was walking here in full view of the people on the terrace, apparently not caring who saw her with her companion. That made no sense if you assumed the man in question was indeed a secret lover.

  Delta called out, “Mrs. White!” She waved her sketchbook in the air. “Delightful day for boating.”

  She had no idea if Amanda had been boating, but since she was walking back from the lake, it was a good guess.

  Amanda looked up at them and waved. “Excellent,” she called back. “Are you drawing?”

  “Yes. Do you want to see? Why don’t you join us for lunch? Both of you?”

  Amanda seemed to hesitate. The man said something to her. She laughed and nodded. “We’re coming!”

  As the pair disappeared from their view, Hazel said, “How odd to be enjoying yourself while…”

  “Well, if we can trust Mrs. Cassidy’s judgment, Amanda and Vera didn’t like each other much. Apparently, Amanda doesn’t feel the need to constantly play the grieving friend she never was. I wonder who that guy is. Guess we’ll find out in a moment.” Delta barely got the last sentence out of her mouth before the two in question appeared on the terrace and came over to their table.

  Delta rose to her feet, extending her free hand. “Delta Douglas, pleased to meet you.”

  The man took and shook it. “Fred Halliday. Boating instructor.” He wore a red shirt and beige pants, spotless white sneakers, and a rather ostentatious gold watch. Delta wondered if it was real or gold-plated. Would a boating instructor make enough to afford an expensive watch?

  Halliday also shook Hazel’s hand. “If you ever want some lessons on how to sail or row or paddle, I’m your man.”

  “He’s really good,” Amanda said. “This was just my second lesson, but I managed to steer the boat all by myself.” She looked at Halliday. “I did all right, didn’t I?”

  “Better than all right.” He winked at her, then gestured at a chair. “Do you want to sit here?”

  “Please.” She sat down, and he pushed the chair in place before seating himself. “You have already ordered?” He nodded at their drinks. “What are you having, Mandy?”

  Amanda half closed her eyes. “White wine. Chilled.”

  “Great idea, I’ll join you. And what to eat?” Halliday studied the menu. “Chicken is filled with protein. Very healthy.”

  “I’ll have whatever you’re having.” Amanda smiled leisurely.

  Delta didn’t want to stare and focused on her drawing again. Maybe she was reading too much into a few words, a look? Surely a married woman wasn’t overtly flirting with her boating instructor?

  Hazel and Delta’s orders were served, and they began to eat while Halliday told them about the charms of the lake in all seasons. Amanda interrupted him every now and then with a question, nestled into her chair as if she never wanted to leave again. The sun sparkled in a ring with countless small diamonds she wore on her left hand. The gemstones built a flower in two tiers, with emeralds forming the leaves. Delta had never seen anything quite like it.

  She was just toasting Halliday with the chilled white wine the server brought when her husband charged up to their table. “There you are,” he said brusquely. “Come along.”

  “Ralph!” A
manda looked mortified. “We’ve just started lunch. I’ll come up later.”

  “You’re coming right now.” Ralph’s broad neck seemed to widen as he pulled up his shoulders. “It’s not right sitting here toasting like it’s some happy occasion. Herb just lost his wife. Again.”

  “I do have to eat.”

  “You needn’t make such a spectacle of it. Come along.”

  Halliday said, “Just let the lady eat her lunch.”

  “I don’t want to hear anything out of you.” Ralph pointed a finger at Fred as if wanting to stab right through him.

  His hand swooped down and arrested his wife’s shoulder. “You’re coming with me, right now.” He tried to pull her to her feet.

  “Ralph.” A red flush mottled Amanda’s face. “Everyone is looking at us.”

  “That wouldn’t have happened if you had done as you were told right away. Now move it.”

  Amanda stood up and went ahead of her husband, who shepherded her with his arms wide, as if driving geese inside.

  Halliday cleared his throat.

  Hazel gave him a wide-eyed look. “That man has a nasty temper.”

  “Always did have a strong opinion about everything,” Halliday admitted. “He never liked me and Mandy being friends.”

  “Oh, you know each other? I had the impression you had just met here at the hotel.”

  “No, we were at high school together. I took Mandy to the prom, but Ralph put a ring on her finger. He always did know how to sweep in for the kill.”

  Delta frowned at the word choice. “And you just ran into each other here?”

  “Yes. Mandy told me that it had been her sister-in-law’s idea to come to Tundish. She had no idea I was working here now. A wonderful surprise.”

  “Not to her husband,” Hazel said. She nodded at Amanda’s wine glass abandoned on the table.