03 Murder by Mishap

by Suzanne Young

  “Not yet, but I’m sure we will very soon.” There was a short pause on the line before he added, “Mary spotted your gunman in town. We’re close to picking him up.”

  “Do you think he knows where Goran has taken Jaycee?” She refused to be comforted until she knew for certain the young woman was safe and sound.

  “I told you before that I doubt the two men work together. Let’s take one thing at a time, shall we? First we catch this guy, then we find out what he knows and who he’s working for. After that, we can concentrate on finding your missing neighbor.” Charlie paused and she could hear voices in the background. “Gotta go, Edna. I’ll let you know when I have news.” He ended the call before she could say another word.

  Setting her phone on the bedside table, she went slowly back downstairs feeling more frustrated than before she’d spoken to Charlie. She’d learned nothing from him and had received very little comfort that they were any closer to finding out what had happened to Jaycee. She sighed. At least I’ve passed on the information about Goran, for what it’s worth.

  Peg had built up the fire and was pacing in front of the hearth, rubbing her upper arms as if she were cold, although the room was overly warm. She stopped and turned when Edna entered.

  “Talk to me, Ed. Detective Ruthers’ mention of Goran’s name has unduly upset you for some reason. I think it’s more than his being mixed up in this business with my jewelry.”

  Edna didn’t answer immediately. She didn’t want to add to the burdens Peg was already shouldering, so pushed her worries for Jaycee to the back of her mind for the time being. “Weren’t you surprised to learn that he conspired in these threats against Stephen?”

  Without hesitation, Peg said, “I certainly was. I still find it hard to believe. He seemed so kind, gentle even.”

  “His being an imposter helps to explain why he knew so little about gardening,” Edna said, then asked, “Did you ever see him lose his temper or act violent in any way?”

  Peg paused, looking down into the fire for several seconds before lifting her chin and answering decisively, “Never. He was always cheerful and often considerate, doing small favors, particularly for Virginia.” At the mention of her housekeeper’s name, Peg gasped and her eyes widened. “Do you think Virginia found out what Goran was doing, and he killed her to keep her quiet?”

  Edna shook her head. “Why would he use such a slow and uncertain method? If he wanted to silence her, he would have done it quickly.” She refrained from describing the methods that came to mind. Instead, she stood beside Peg and stared into the fire. The flames were mesmerizing, helping her to relax and consider what she knew and what she had just learned that afternoon.

  “What are you thinking?” Peg had turned her back to the fire, holding her hands behind her to warm them while she studied Edna with sad, blue-gray eyes.

  “I’m wondering about the way Virginia died,” Edna replied. “I can’t quite put my finger on what’s gnawing at me, but something I saw in her rooms is tickling my mind. There’s a clue up there, but it’s staying just outside my grasp.”

  After another moment’s silence, Peg spoke with forced enthusiasm. “Let’s take a break from the gloom in this old house and go for a walk. It’s a nice day and the fresh air will do us both good. Maybe the exercise will help to jog loose whatever is stuck in your head.”

  For the next hour, the two friends strolled around the neighborhood and through the Brown University campus. Starting out, they’d made a pact to avoid any mention of Stephen’s behavior or Virginia’s death or Goran’s complicity. They spoke of family matters, bringing each other up to date on the activities and accomplishments of their grandchildren and, eventually, found themselves back at the house.

  Peg suggested an early, simple supper. Over a cup of hot tomato soup and a scoop of chicken salad on lettuce, she and Edna talked about what needed to be done by Sunday noon. With all that had happened, they’d lost a full day. They’d be twice as busy tomorrow with preparations for Virginia’s memorial service.

  “Besides Janette and her husband, will any other relatives be coming to the service,” Edna asked after taking a sip of tea and setting down her cup.

  Peg shook her head. “Janette has a son and two daughters, all married with children and grandchildren. The daughters, Virginia’s nieces, are organizing a graveside service for the family in New Hampshire where Virginia will be buried next to her parents.” Tears sprang into Peg’s eyes, and she stopped talking.

  Edna spoke to give Peg time to regain her composure. “On the drive here, Starling said to tell you she’ll drive down from Boston. If we need her for anything last minute, I can call her tomorrow or early Sunday morning.”

  “Geoff and Kadie will come, but not their children,” Peg said, referring to her son and daughter-in-law.

  Edna thought of the television shows she’d watched where they mention the murderer always shows up at the victim’s funeral. “I expect Detective Ruthers will want to be here.”

  Peg frowned. “Do you really think so?”

  Edna shrugged. “No harm in inviting him officially, but I bet he’s already planning on coming.”

  Once the supper dishes had been cleared away, the women decided to go to bed early and leave everything until the next day. Both were exhausted from the previous evening, and Edna found the afternoon’s walk had relaxed her sufficiently to ensure a good night’s sleep. In her room, she decided to phone Albert before crawling into bed.

  “Looks like we’ll be able to keep to our Sunday schedule,” he reported. “We’ll check out of the condo and head for home as early as we can. I’ve rented a car to drive Bea and Stan, so he’ll have enough room to stretch out. George and Arthur will follow us in George’s SUV. Stan’s doing okay, but we’ll stop fairly often along the way to let him walk around. I probably won’t get home until late Sunday afternoon.”

  “That’s wonderful, dear. It will be good to see you,” she lied.

  Ending the call with wishes for a safe trip and words of love, Edna felt her heart thudding in her chest. What if Charlie doesn’t catch the gunman before Albert gets home? Would Albert challenge a man with a gun if the thug got into the house again? How do I tell him the danger is thanks to our new neighbor who happens to be missing at the moment, along with Peg’s gardener who isn’t a gardener at all? And wait until Albert learns I put Peg’s husband in the hospital.

  She almost laughed aloud at this last thought, but when the realization hit that they might all be in danger from unknown criminals, she tossed and turned for another hour before she was able to sleep.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Saturday morning Edna woke and dressed early only to find Peg already in the kitchen making coffee. She looked more rested than she had the day before.

  “Sleep well?” Peg handed Edna a mug of coffee.

  “Fitfully,” Edna admitted, “but well enough. How about you?”

  “I think I’ve found the perfect sleep remedy in that hot toddy of yours.”

  Edna laughed, and the women set about making a hearty breakfast while they chatted cheerily. Edna suspected Peg was acting happier than she felt, as was Edna herself. She smiled inwardly, thinking how nice it was to have such a friend. She rummaged in the refrigerator to find onions, green peppers and mushrooms, while Peg whipped up eggs with a little milk. Peg made the veggie omelet. Edna grated cheddar cheese and toasted English muffins.

  They had only that day and the next morning to prepare the house and finish organizing Virginia’s belongings, so after breakfast, they agreed on what needed to be done and what could be ignored if they ran out of time. Neither of them wanted to go into the attic, so Peg decided to put it off. She thought if she ever felt like exploring the upper regions again and found anything belonging to Virginia, she could deliver it to the relatives in New Hampshire at that time. She could probably talk Geoff into driving with her, if necessary. That decided, they got to work.

  As Edna dusted and pol
ished furniture, her mind churned away at the questions for which she so desperately wanted answers. Where were Goran and Jaycee? Has he harmed her? Who poisoned Virginia? Frustratingly, the answer to this last question hovered just out of reach of her consciousness.

  Shortly before one o’clock, she finished cleaning the small bathroom off the back entryway. Still pondering the manner of Virginia’s death, she was staring up the back stairwell when she heard Peg call from the kitchen.

  “Ready for lunch?”

  “Be right there,” Edna called back, setting aside her pail and mop.

  Peg had made tea, grilled cheese sandwiches and chocolate chip cookies which they ate at the kitchen table while comparing notes on what was still left to be done in preparation for the next day’s memorial service.

  “I need to get flowers,” Peg said, about to rise and clear away the dishes. “Want to come with me?”

  Edna shook her head, following Peg to the sink with her own cup and plate. “Unless you need my help, I thought I’d finish up in Virginia’s rooms. There’s not much left to do, but I want to go through the drawers and closets once more to make sure we didn’t miss anything. Then a quick vacuum and dusting.”

  “Do you really want to do that by yourself? If you wait until I get back with the flowers ...”

  Interrupting, Edna shook her head. “I can handle it in no time. Probably will be done before you get home, so then I can help you with floral arrangements.” She wanted to spend time alone in Virginia’s rooms and knew Peg would be a distraction. To give herself more time, she grinned at Peg and said, “Why don’t you pick up a movie while you’re out ... and popcorn, unless you have some in the house. We could do with some fun tonight.”

  “That’s a great idea.” Peg grinned back and left to run her errands.

  Upstairs, Edna walked around the bedroom, sitting room and bathroom. Clothes, books and most of the knick-knacks had been boxed up and carefully labeled. The framed photographs had been left on the table so Virginia’s sister Janette could select the ones she’d like to keep. Edna again studied the picture of Virginia with Renee and Cherisse Froissard, taken during their Florida vacation. She wondered if Renee would like it and set the picture beside the potted jade plant.

  Her next chore was to pack up shoes and purses, all that were left in the closet. She then rechecked dresser drawers, closet shelves and, just to be certain, she got down on all fours and checked beneath the bed. When everything seemed to have been done, she stopped in the bathroom on her way to the sitting room. She opened the door to the linen closet and then turned to the medicine cabinet above the sink. It was full of bottles, cans and tubes.

  Going down to the kitchen, she brought back several resealable plastic bags and began to sort through the cabinet shelves. She set one sack in the sink to hold whatever would be disposed of and filled it with an old tube of toothpaste, a bottle of aspirin that had passed the expiration date, a nearly-empty bottle of mouthwash, an old toothbrush and a comb. On the top shelf, she discovered an empty prescription bottle for Virginia’s heart medication. From the date, she guessed that when Virginia had emptied it more than a year ago, she’d kept the empty container. Edna herself saved old bottles for reuse, particularly if they were clean and had tight lids. This one she held in her hand for a long moment, staring at the label. She assumed Virginia had still been on the medication and that the police had taken away the bottle that wasn’t empty.

  “That’s it,” she murmured. “It’s the only thing that makes sense.” She slipped the bottle into the pocket of her slacks and finished cleaning out Virginia’s medicine cabinet with renewed energy.

  When Peg got home, Edna didn’t mention the prescription bottle which, by that time, was sitting on the dresser in her bedroom, waiting for the chance to show it to Detective Ruthers the following day. That evening, the two women had a pizza delivered and ate in front of the television, watching a Meryl Streep movie and sipping warm milk laced with brandy.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  After breakfast on Sunday morning, Peg spread a white linen tablecloth over the dining room table and began to arrange china plates, crystal glasses, silverware and napkins. Flower arrangements from friends began to arrive, and Edna put them on tables around the foyer, library and living room. Peg had made a graceful arrangement of calla lilies in a clear-glass rectangular vase which Edna centered on the dining room table.

  The day was cloudy and cool with the smell of rain in the air, although the forecast didn’t call for precipitation. Edna filled the wood baskets in the library and living room, laying fires, ready to be lighted.

  Virginia’s sister Janette and her husband arrived shortly after noon and were soon followed by guests carrying dishes of finger sandwiches, raw vegetables, cookies and tiny cakes. Detective Ruthers showed up looking properly somber in a charcoal gray suit. Before Edna could close the door behind him, Starling came running up to the house and slipped inside, giving her mother a quick hug.

  “Sorry I couldn’t get here earlier,” she said, shrugging out of her coat. “What can I do to help?”

  The downstairs looked festive, but the mood was solemn. Renee and Guy Froissard were the last to appear at a quarter to one. Peg had begun to show signs of impatience since the priest wanted to begin at half past noon. He’d have to leave by one to perform a wedding ceremony later that afternoon. Shortly after the service was supposed to start, Peg told Edna she’d delay ten minutes more because she didn’t want to begin without Virginia’s best friends present, and she also didn’t want to offend Renee and Guy after her recent and tenuous reconciliation with them. Edna had a different reason for being anxious to see the brother and sister, and she was beginning to wonder if they would make it when they finally did walk through the front door.

  Peg visibly relaxed. The service began and went smoothly. Guy was the last to speak, bringing tears to eyes and laughter to lips as he told a few stories of their friendship with the deceased. Edna was surprised that Renee didn’t get up to say a few words, but thought Virginia’s closest friend might be too emotional to speak without breaking down. Edna was keeping an eye on the woman, waiting for the opportunity to speak to her alone. It was very important that she do so.

  When the service ended nearly fifteen minutes later than expected, the priest rushed off with apologies and the rest of the guests milled around the dining room table. Most wandered into the library or the living room where Edna had asked Starling to light the fires. People sat eating and talking quietly in small groups while a few men stayed in the dining room, picking food from serving trays instead of opting for a plate.

  Busy being backup hostess for Peg, Edna lost track of Renee until, as she was removing an empty tray from the table, she looked up to see Cherisse’s daughter disappear into the kitchen. Here was her chance, but just as she started to follow the elusive woman, Edna was stopped by a chatty couple from the church who wanted to introduce themselves. Half of her attention was riveted on the doorway, waiting for Renee to reappear. When she was still in the kitchen after nearly ten minutes, Edna managed to shake herself free of the couple and go looking for Renee.

  She wasn’t in either the kitchen or the lavatory off the back room, so Edna opened the back door and looked out into the yard. A cool, damp wind was blowing and she didn’t think Renee would have gone outside, but she wanted to make certain. She also thought Renee wouldn’t leave without her brother. A short time before, Edna had noticed Guy in the dining room speaking animatedly to an attractive, middle-aged woman. Having checked all other possibilities, Edna looked up the stairs, certain now where she would find Renee. Perfect, she thought.

  Rather than climb the back stairs to Virginia’s rooms, Edna went in search of Detective Ruthers and found him in the library, standing near the fireplace with Starling. Interrupting their conversation and asking her daughter to excuse them for a minute, Edna pulled Ruthers a few feet away and spoke quietly.

  “I’d like you to come up to
Virginia’s sitting room in five minutes. No sooner, please. Give me five minutes.”

  He frowned down at her. “What’s going on?”

  “I believe this is the key,” she said, removing the prescription bottle from her skirt pocket and handing it to him. “You’ll see. Come up by the front stairs. Five minutes,” she reminded him before leaving the room and moving swiftly up the grand staircase.

  Treading softly, Edna approached the sitting room and peered around the half-opened door. Renee was standing next to the table that held the jade plant and the framed photographs that had not yet been packed away. Her back was to the hall entrance.

  Taking a steadying breath, Edna pushed the door all the way open and strode into the room. “Hello, Renee.”

  The woman spun around, dropping the picture she’d been holding. Fortunately, the frame landed on the rug, silently and unbroken.

  Edna picked it up as Renee stood, still surprised and looking guilty. She’d been crying, but not in the last several minutes.

  “She was a good friend of yours, wasn’t she?” Edna’s question was rhetorical. The picture she held was the one taken of the three women in Florida.

  Renee nodded, her eyes fixed on Edna’s face. Her expression had turned to one of curious impatience, but she didn’t speak.

  “You must have known about her weak heart,” Edna said.

  “I did,” Renee acknowledged, frowning. “What of it?” She probably meant to sound casually indifferent, but her words held no conviction.

  Edna raised her eyebrows, expressing her surprise. “You were a trained nurse. You must have known a shock to Virginia’s system could precipitate a heart attack.”

  Indignantly, Renee retorted, “What are you talking about.” Her words were harsh, but not convincing.

  “You’re the one who cut the rosary pea and put it into Virginia’s food.”

  For a long minute they stared at each other and Edna was beginning to think Renee wouldn’t confess when the woman seemed to shrink before collapsing onto a hard-backed chair set beside the table.