Gary looked at Deena with surprise. She had told him all about the confrontation from the day before. “Can you even imagine the upkeep on a house that size? Just the cost of heating and air alone would be a small fortune. I wonder what their property taxes run?”
“You’re such a nerd. Let’s focus on what’s important here—getting to snoop around in the house!”
A few minutes later they pulled up to the house. “Looks like we won’t be alone,” Gary said. There was a Jeep parked in the driveway.
“You know I was kidding about snooping, right?”
“Of course. But I can’t wait to get a better look at the place.”
They rang the doorbell and a young man with red hair opened the door. Deena gasped and grabbed Gary by the arm, ducking behind him for safety.
“Hello,” the man said. He seemed somewhat annoyed by Deena’s reaction. “Can I help you?”
For a moment, Deena felt like she was having one of those dreams where suddenly everything seems odd and out of place. Like having amnesia. She looked down subconsciously to be sure she wasn’t wearing her pajamas.
“Deena?” Gary turned around to retrieve his wife. “I’m so sorry. We’ve just come from the funeral and—”
“No problem,” he said quickly. “Can I help you with something?”
Gary looked at Deena who had turned a grayish shade of white. She cleared her throat to find her voice. “Wendy—Wendy Fairmont—asked us to come over and get a picture to take to the church.”
“Oh sure, come on in.” He stepped aside for them to enter. “I’m David O’Malley, Wendy’s boyfriend.”
“Wendy’s boyfriend?” Deena felt her knees go weak. “Were you here the night of the Christmas party?”
“Yeah. I drove down from Dallas to help her out. She likes to have extra help for big events. My job today is to babysit the house so no one breaks in to steal anything while everyone is at the service.” He laughed and slapped Gary on the back. “You’re not going to steal anything, are you?”
“Ha. I’m not, but you can never be too careful.” He nodded toward Deena.
By this time, Deena had regained her senses. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “There’s a reason why I reacted that way. It’s a funny story actually…”
“No problem.” He shrugged his shoulders and walked back toward the parlor.
Deena started to explain, but Gary held up his hand. “Don’t even try. You can tell me about it later.” They climbed the stairs, and Deena led Gary straight to Carolyn’s sitting room.
He looked around and walked over to the balcony door. He pulled back the curtains. “Wow. Look at this view. If it weren’t so cloudy, I’d bet you could see all the way to Bingham. You forget how flat this area is out this way.”
Deena walked over to take a quick look. “Here’s the picture,” she said and lifted it off the wall. The floral wallpaper behind it was clean and revealed fading on the rest of the paper. “This must have been here awhile.”
Gary rattled the doors of the balcony. “I wonder if you can still walk out here?”
“Now’s not the time to find out. Let’s get going.”
He stepped back and closed the curtains. His eyes roamed and followed the Victorian molding around the ceiling, coming down to rest on the built-in bookcase. “Is that the vase where Carolyn hid the key?”
“Yes.” Leaning the picture on the floor next to the wall, she picked up the vase and turned it over to show him the broken part.
“Ouch. That cost a pretty penny, I’ll bet.” He looked back at the shelves filled with books and small framed photos. “Look at all these old books. Some of these are probably first editions.” The bibliophile in Gary was coming out. He loved rare books and had a small collection himself. Scanning the titles, he pulled out an early copy of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass. “I never thought I’d see one of these.”
“Okay, we’ve got to go. I’ll ask Estelle if you can come back and salivate over her mother’s books another time.”
He gingerly replaced the book. “She must have loved Gone with the Wind. She’s got three copies.”
“Actually, she hated that book, according to Betty.” Deena reached out and pulled one of the copies forward. “What’s this?” The book had a leather spine but underneath it was made of wood. “Look.” She pulled it out to show Gary, and two letter envelopes fell to the ground.
Gary quickly picked them up and turned them over to see the fronts. Handwritten on one was “Blake Whitman.” The other said “Russell Sinclair.”
“This must have been one of Carolyn’s hiding places,” Deena whispered.
“Can I help you?”
Deena and Gary both jumped when they heard the woman’s voice in the doorway. Gary stuffed the two envelopes inside his suit pocket.
“Irene,” Deena said and shoved the book back in its place. “You startled us.”
“Clearly.” She stood with her arms crossed and her jaw set.
“I thought you went to the graveside service.” Deena tried to sound casual even though she knew she had just been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
“Miss Fitzhugh sent me back to make sure you found the wedding picture.”
“The picture. Yes. We have it right here.” She reached down and picked it up. “My husband was just admiring this collection of books. He just loves old books.”
Irene stepped backwards in the doorway, signally it was time to leave.
“Good to see you.” They filed out of the room and hurried down the stairs. Once back in the car, Deena breathed easier.
“Why did you take those letters?”
Gary took quick breaths and jerked the car around in a quick U-turn. “I didn’t know what else to do. I just reacted.” He reached in his pocket and tossed them on Deena’s lap.
She held up her hands as though a rattlesnake had just landed on her. “Don’t give them to me! You’re the one who stole them.”
They turned a corner and one envelope slid to the floor. She tentatively leaned over to pick it up. It was the one labeled with Russell’s name. She studied it carefully, noting the top had been sliced with a letter opener. It was hand addressed to Mrs. Carolyn Fitzhugh and had a pre-printed return address in Dallas. The other one looked the same but was thicker.
“Okay. Let’s consider our options,” Gary said in his business-like tone. “We could tell Estelle exactly what happened. Give them to her and all have a good laugh about it.”
“But aren’t you curious about what’s inside? This one has Russell’s name on it.”
“Sure, but there’s no way we’re going to look inside, right? Right?”
“Let’s just think for a minute.” She held one envelope in each hand. “Why would Carolyn be hiding letters with her daughter’s two boyfriend’s names on them? I think she had them checked out when they started dating Estelle. I have a feeling these are from a private detective agency.”
“You may be right. But it’s none of our business.” He pulled into the church parking lot and found a space near the door. He looked back at Deena whose eyes were glue to the letters. “Remember, curiosity killed the cat.”
“Ha,” she said, snapping out of her trance. “It only injured the cat, in this case.”
“Deena…”
“What if it says something bad about Russell, and Estelle dumps him? It would be our fault that he missed out on his one true love.”
“Your brother’s a good guy. There’s no skeleton in his closet.” They both chuckled, thinking about her uncle’s case from the previous summer.
“Well, there were those months he spent in the psych hospital when he came back from the army with PTSD. What if I just take a peek at the letterhead? Maybe that’s not even what it is.”
“You’re a grown woman. This is all on you.” He leaned in.
She knew her husband was just as curious as she was. She carefully pulled on the sides of the envelope. The papers inside were folded with the letterhe
ad on the top. She held it up to read. “Hawkeye Investigative Services. I was right!”
“Okay, you’ve had your fun. Now what?”
“Maybe we should just put them back where we found them and pretend this never happened.” She watched his reaction.
Gary looked down at the letters. “What would Russell want you to do?”
“Good question. All I know is that the last time I kept something from him, he acted like I had put a knife through his heart.”
“Well then, there’s your answer. Tell him the truth. After all, it just means Carolyn had Estelle’s boyfriends checked out. I’d probably have done the same thing if we had a daughter.”
Deena nodded and put them in her purse. Gary got the portrait, and they headed back into the church. I’ll tell the truth, she thought. What’s the worst that could happen?
*
An hour or so later, most of the visitors had left. Wendy and her crew were cleaning the hall.
Deena caught up to her as she stacked folding chairs.
“Hey, thanks for going back to the house for me,” Wendy said, wiping beads of sweat from her forehead with the back of her sleeve.
“No problem. By the way, we met your boyfriend.” She searched for the right words. “He’s going to tell you that I screamed when I saw him. It’s nothing personal.”
Wendy stopped what she was doing and stared at Deena.
“He reminded me of someone else, and I was caught off guard.”
“Okay…”
“Also, I wanted to tell you that we found Chef Jacques’ missing knife. It’s a long story. I’ll have to tell you some other time.”
“Sure. Thanks.” Wendy looked puzzled as Deena turned to walk away.
Not a good time to tell her one of the catering staff might be a thief, she thought. I already treated her boyfriend like a serial killer. Gary was right. Honesty is the best policy. I’m tired of secrets.
Russell and Gary stood awkwardly waiting for Estelle as the last few guests gave her their condolences. As soon as they left, she plopped down in a chair and took off her shoes. “My feet are killing me,” she said. Deena could see she was emotionally spent.
Hearing loud footsteps behind her, Deena turned around to see Howard Collier headed toward their small group.
“Mr. Collier, you’re back,” Estelle said, pulling her shoes back on.
“Yes. I wanted to catch you before you left. I just got off the phone with the sheriff in Brindle County. He had just come back from checking on Mr. Bigelow. Apparently, your uncle had fallen off the wagon recently and was a little…out of it, shall we say. He hadn’t eaten in days and was in bad shape. They got him to the hospital just in time.”
“That explains a lot,” Estelle said.
“Yes ma’am. It seems that your visit might have saved his life.”
Russell reached for Estelle’s hand and gave it a squeeze.
“And this was the oddest thing. The sheriff said when they were at the house, they found a big box filled with unopened envelopes, all from my office. It seems your uncle hadn’t spent any of your mother’s cash in years.” He shook his head. “Well, I just thought you’d want to know. I’ll see you in a few weeks. Again, my deepest condolences.” Estelle thanked him as he shook hands with Gary and Russell.
“Wow,” Russell said. “Maybe we misjudged the poor guy.”
“I’m willing to forgive him,” Estelle said. “I just wish I had known about him from the beginning.” She stood up and looked at Russell. “This has been quite a day. I’m ready to go home. Would you mind giving me a ride?”
“I rode with them. What do you say, guys?”
“Of course.” Gary offered her his arm. “We can’t leave a lady standing at the church. Remember that, Russell.” Estelle smiled and walked with Gary.
“Hey, you’re stealing my girl.” Russell came up on her other side and she took his arm as well.
“Don’t worry about me,” Deena said, bringing up the rear. “By the way, we met Wendy’s boyfriend.”
Estelle stopped and spun around to Deena. “With the red hair? I know. I screamed when he first showed up at the house.”
“Me, too! He probably thinks everyone in Maycroft is crazy.”
Russell held the door open. “Hey, Estelle finally met Cliff today.”
“I really like him,” she said. “He has your same sense of humor.”
When they got to the house, Russell walked Estelle to the front door and kissed her goodbye.
Deena turned to Gary. “So should we tell Russell now? I feel like I’m carrying around contraband. Like the police are going to pull us over and slam me face down in the gravel.”
Gary laughed. “It’s your conscience getting you. Why don’t we tell him when we get back to the house.”
“You’re the one who should have a guilty conscience. You took them.”
They drove across town to Butterfly Gardens. Dark clouds had blown in and a light mist fell on the windshield. They pulled into the garage just as the mist turned to rain.
“I know you want to get home, but I need to talk to you for just a minute before you leave,” she said to Russell as they got out of the car.
Once inside, Gary headed straight to the refrigerator to get a couple of beers. Handing one to Russell, he headed to the bedroom to change clothes.
Russell removed his coat and tie, and Deena let Hurley outside.
“Do you mind?” Russell held up the remote. “I think there’s a hockey game on.”
“Sure,” she said, waiting for Hurley to run back through the rain to the patio. She took off her shoes and let out a sigh of relief. Hurley was wet, so she picked him up with a towel before he could shake water all over her.
Gary came back in wearing jeans and a sweatshirt. He sat in his recliner and leaned back. “So, Russ, Deena has something she needs to tell you.”
She set Hurley on the ground and cleared her throat. “So, remember how you got mad at me when you thought I was keeping secrets from you? I don’t want you to think I would ever intentionally do that.”
“I know. That’s water under the bridge. Estelle was on edge, and I was a bundle of nerves. Don’t worry about it.”
“Thanks. But there’s another thing I need to tell you.”
“Yessss!” Russell yelled. “The Stars take the lead.”
Deena looked back at the screen to see hockey players jumping on top of each other. “Russell, I need you to listen.”
“Let’s just rip off the Band-Aid,” Gary said. “Deena and I were snooping around Carolyn’s book collection and found two letters she had hidden. They are from a private detective agency. Irene came in and caught us, and I stuffed them in my pocket. Here they are.” He motioned for Deena to hand them over.
She pulled them from her purse and gave them to Russell.
“What are these?” Russell turned them back and forth in his hands, reading the names on the front.
“My guess,” Deena said, “is that Carolyn had you guys checked out by a private detective. I peeked at the letterhead, but I didn’t take them out and read them, I promise. We were looking at the books and saw she had three copies of Gone with the Wind. One of them was a fake. These were in it. You see, Betty said—”
“Stop. It’s okay. What do think we should do with them?”
Deena sighed. “I can give them to Estelle and tell her the truth about what happened.”
“Or, we could read them first and then sneak them back where you found them,” Russell said.
“Now look who’s keeping secrets!”
Russell grinned. “Maybe I should just read the one with my name on it.”
“Isn’t it a federal crime to read another person’s mail?” Gary laughed. “I’ll put Ian Davis on speed dial just in case you need an attorney.”
Russell tossed the second envelope onto the coffee table. He pulled out the papers and read silently. When he got to the second page, he cried out, “Oh, no!”
“What? What is it?” Deena gasped as she leaned toward her brother.
“Gotcha!” He grinned and handed the papers to her.
“You scared me!”
“Sorry. Couldn’t help it. That’s what big brothers do to little sisters.” He looked over at Gary and nodded.
“What are you going to do with the other one?” She folded the two pages and put them back into the envelope the way they had been before.
“That really would seem like an invasion of privacy. I’m gonna take these to the house and put them back where you found them. I can tell Estelle about it when the time is right. Besides, after tomorrow, Blake Whitman will be a ghost from the past. He’ll never be able to hurt her again.”
Chapter Twenty
Estelle drew herself a hot bubble bath when she got home. Her feet ached. Fatigue gnawed at her whole body. She hadn’t slept well in a week. One thing, though, felt good. She had buried her mother with dignity and self-control. She hadn’t fallen apart. Being a grown-up is exhausting, she thought. The hot water drenched in lavender foam relaxed her, and soon she drifted off to sleep.
She wasn’t sure how long it had been when a sharp knock on the bathroom door jolted her awake.
“Miss Fitzhugh? Are you all right in there?”
Estelle awoke with a start. “Yes, Irene. I’m getting out now.” The water had turned cold, the bubbles melted. She got out of the tub and wrapped herself in a soft, chenille robe. The rich aroma of herbal tea lured her down the back stairs to the kitchen just as Irene was pouring a cup. Estelle sat down at the kitchen table and pulled the robe more tightly around her.
“I made this for you,” Irene said. “It’s sweet orange ginger. I thought you might need some warming up.”
“Thank you. Why don’t you pour yourself a cup and sit with me.” She blew on the steaming tea and took a sip. “I want to explain about yesterday.”
“You don’t have to explain yourself to me, ma’am. I’m just the housekeeper.”
“Nonsense. You know that’s not true. I thought we were becoming friends.” She patted the chair and Irene sat down.
“Me, too.” She slowly stirred her tea. Without looking up, she said, “What you said about your mother’s death. Do you really think someone killed her?”
Sharpe Edge (Cozy Suburbs Mystery Series) Page 14
