Cozy Christmas Murder

by Summer Prescott

  “I knew Mr. Bellington for many years. I don’t believe that,” Lottie replied.

  “What you saw in everyday life was a facade, a big fat lie. Did you know that Robert and I almost divorced ten years ago? Do you want to know why?”

  “Does it really matter now?”

  “It might in the long run. The children know nothing of this and I would like to keep it that way for now. It’s going to be hard for Kimberly Ann to find out this information about her dad as it will crush her.”

  “I would never say anything to hurt Kimberly Ann,” Lottie insisted.

  “When Robert would fly to California for meetings, I would sometimes call him. His secretary always said he was out on business and couldn’t be reached. He would disappear days at a time. This happened quite often and when I would ask him about it, he would brush me off and never give me a direct answer,” Patricia stated. “So, I hired a private investigator and had him followed.”

  “You spied on your own husband?”

  “Yes, and if I hadn’t, I never would have found out about his secret,” Patricia answered solemnly.

  Miss Lottie remained quiet and waited for Patricia to continue.

  “Robert was leading a double life. He had a mistress and two young children living in California. When I finally confronted him about it, he admitted he moved us out here to Colorado to make it easier to keep us all apart.”

  “I can’t believe this,” Lottie quietly whispered.

  “Believe it,” she said, reaching into a desk drawer and pulling out a picture of Robert Bellington and his other family. “Things like this picture is why I was never allowed in here.”

  Lottie stared at the picture in disbelief.

  “What are you going to do?” she asked, handing back the picture.

  “I don’t know yet. Robert and I agreed on an open marriage at that point, but we always made it look like we were still the happy couple for the kids. I know you saw myself and James heading into his apartment the other night. We have been happily seeing each other for five years and kept it a secret until you caught us.”

  “It was a well-kept secret,” Lottie agreed.

  “Yes, but now I fear everything is going to come out into the open now that Robert’s murder has been splattered all over the news. His mistress is bound to see his picture and come looking for answers,” Patricia sighed. “I just wonder if there are any more out there that I don’t know about.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Robert was never happy with one woman. It bored him. The third month into our marriage he began seeing other women and it never stopped. I looked the other way convincing myself that someday he would change, but he never did. I was already pregnant with Robert Jr., so I played the dutiful wife and let things go.”

  “But you had two other children,” Lottie replied.

  “I never said that I stopped loving Robert. We just didn’t lead the same lifestyle. My children were my world and I was always happiest when I was pregnant. Like any other mother, I wanted my children to have the best of everything, so I put up with Robert’s wandering ways.”

  “Do you think that there is another will somewhere?” Lottie questioned.

  “Yes, I do and that is why I don’t want Kimberly Ann to be the executor. I don’t know if she can handle what might be coming her way,” Patricia admitted.

  “Does anyone else know about Mr. Bellington’s second family?”

  “No, not even James knows. I have kept it secret all these years.”

  “You know you have to go to the police with this information, don’t you?”

  “I know, I keep putting it off, but it all is going to come out sooner or later and it’s probably better that the police and the kids hear it from me and not on television.”

  “Do you have any idea who killed Robert?” Lottie inquired.

  “I don’t know, it could have been anyone. The cash and my Christmas presents are missing from the safe, so it had to be a robbery. My yellow diamonds were worth over five-million dollars according to the what the police learned from Mr. Tagnello,” Patricia admitted.

  “If things between you were as you say, why would he buy you such extravagant gifts?” Lottie asked.

  “When we were together, Robert did love me to his fullest. We promised each other that the kids would never be hurt because of our chosen lifestyles. Personally, I think he felt bad that he could not commit totally to just me, but that didn’t stop his carousing. I think when he bought me diamonds it was to ease his own conscience,” Patricia replied. “He did love me, but not in the conventional way.”

  “What a strange way to go through life,” Miss Lottie insisted.

  “Yes, maybe, but you do what you have to do for your children,” Patricia commented.

  “You need to call Detective Adams as soon as possible and tell him everything you just told me. I don’t mean to be giving orders; it has been made quite clear that I am not a member of the family and not wanted around here anymore, but the sooner you do it, the better,” Lottie advised. “If you hide this, it could be considered the motive that the police are looking for.”

  “Miss Lottie, don’t take what Robert Jr. says to heart. I think he misses his dad more than he lets on and is striking out at anyone who implies anything different,” Patricia confirmed. “You are not going anywhere. You ARE a member of this family as long as you choose to be.”

  Patricia returned the picture to the desk drawer. As she pushed the chair away from the desk, Lottie heard a thump come from the far corner of the room; a noise that Patricia did not hear.

  “I’m going to my room to call the detective on my private line and request he come for a meeting this afternoon. I need to get this out of the way. Christmas Eve is two days away and I really wish I had canceled this stupid party, but I couldn’t do that to the kids. They needed this to remember their father,” she said, heading for the door.

  “I’ll check on the party arrangements and make sure everything is verified and ready to go,” Lottie assured her. “You worry about the kids.”

  Patricia turned and walked back to give Lottie a hug.

  “I am so sorry that we deceived you all these years. I hated to do it, but Robert insisted it be that way,” she said, teary eyed. “He deceived everyone that he came in contact with.”

  “We’ll get through this. Go make your call,” Lottie said, wanting to check out where the noise came from.

  “You will be here this afternoon for the meeting with the police?” she asked.

  “I will,” Lottie confirmed.

  Patricia departed, and Lottie hustled to the corner of the study. The noise had seemed to come from behind the bookcase. She knocked on the wall behind the books. It made a hollow echo as she traversed the length of the space.

  Someone was back there listening to everything that was being said. How do I get this thing open?

  She ran her fingers along each shelf and moved every book trying to get the secret area to open. Out of frustration, she kicked the bottom of the book case. She heard a click. Pulling on one of the shelves, the whole unit slid effortlessly out of the wall.

  A corridor that turned at a ninety-degree angle about fifteen feet in was hidden behind the bookcase. Miss Lottie didn’t want to go in as she had no flashlight with her and if the door swung closed on its own she’d be left in the darkness. She had to show this to Patricia to see if she knew anything about it. She closed the bookcase hoping she could open it again not knowing how she really opened it in the first place.

  Lottie filled her time checking on the arrangements for the Christmas party. She kept one eye on the kitchen door for Patricia to come down from her room. The doorbell rang and Timmer escorted Detective Adams into the study where Mrs. Bellington requested he wait.

  Patricia collected Timmer, James and Miss Lottie and asked them to follow her to the study. She had them all sit on the leather couches with the detective and proceeded to tell her story again. Miss Lot
tie kept watching the corner of the room like something was going to happen. The staff remained quiet when the lady of the house finished speaking.

  “We will have to check out your story,” Adams finally said, breaking the silence. “This does give whoever knew about this motive to kill Mr. Bellington.”

  “No one knew but myself,” Patricia insisted. “And Robert.”

  “The three children know nothing about this?” Adams inquired.

  “No, I plan on telling them tonight before it gets splattered all over the news,” Patricia answered. “The media loves to dig up dirt and destroy someone’s life in the process.”

  “Thank you for being upfront with me. This will save me a lot of time and effort in checking into Robert Bellington’s life,” Adams replied. “I’ll see myself out.”

  “Merry Christmas, Detective Adams,” Patricia said, standing to shake his hand.

  “To you, too, ma’am,” he answered.

  Adams left, and Miss Lottie hustled everyone out of the study and back to work. She closed the door and turned to Patricia.

  “I have something to show you,” she announced to Patricia.

  Leading her employer over to the bookcase, she pulled a flashlight out of her apron pocket and kicked the bookcase.

  CHAPTER 9

  * * *

  “What are you doing?” Patricia exclaimed as the housekeeper kicked the bookcase again.

  Lottie heard the familiar click the second time her foot made contact with the wood. She cautioned Patricia to step back and she pulled open the secret door. Patricia’s mouth dropped open as she looked down the passageway.

  “This is crazy,” Patricia muttered.

  “I assume that you didn’t know about this,” Lottie inquired.

  “I had no idea. This wasn’t in the original plans that were drawn up when the house was built.”

  “Well, someone does know about it. When we were speaking earlier, someone was behind the wall listening. They made a thumping noise that I happened to hear, but you didn’t. I checked out the area the noise came from and found this,” Lottie stated.

  “Robert must have had this built while we were away on one of our many vacations,” Patricia claimed.

  “Someone else in this house is keeping secrets, too. The workers had to be let in and out by a member of the staff,” Lottie deduced, turning on the flashlight. “Shall we check it out?”

  The two women walked down the short corridor to where it turned off at an angle. A room, a man cave, had been built in the hidden space. This private area displayed pictures of all the people Robert loved. It was then that Patricia found out that there was a second mistress, no children. They stood there, looking picture to picture, getting a glimpse into Robert Bellington’s private world.

  “If I hadn’t seen it for myself, I wouldn’t have believed it,” Lottie whispered.

  One wall in particular caught Patricia’s eye. She walked over to peruse it more closely. Three portraits hung in fancy frames over the leather couch. Hers was first in the order, the mistress from California was second, and the newest mistress to Robert’s collection was the third. Patricia had no idea who the third woman was.

  “This just gets more and more complicated,” she said, staring at the frames on the wall and sighing.

  “It’s about to get even more complicated,” Lottie announced, pointing to the far corner of the room. “I think we need to call Detective Adams again.”

  Casually draped on a statue of Abraham Lincoln was the missing diamond necklace. Next to it were the missing bracelet and one earring.

  “You know what this means, don’t you?” Lottie asked.

  “What?”

  “It means that this was an inside job and whoever killed Mr. Bellington lives or works inside the house,” Lottie answered.

  “You can’t be serious?” Patricia gasped.

  “Think about it; no outsider would know about this room. You didn’t even know about it. That has to mean that someone who either spent time with Robert in this room or someone who found the room had to have killed him and hid the necklace in here believing it wouldn’t be found.”

  “But, where are the rest of the contents of the safe?” Patricia questioned.

  “Good question,” Lottie agreed. “I don’t see it anywhere here in the room. Why would someone leave the necklace out in plain view, but not the rest of the stolen items? It makes no sense.”

  Patricia walked over to the necklace and went to reach for it.

  “Don’t touch it until the police can dust it for prints,” Lottie warned. “Don’t touch anything. That way we can see who has been in here.”

  “It is so stunning,” Patricia whispered. “He outdid himself this year.”

  “I don’t see the marble bust of you anywhere in here,” Lottie stated, still looking around. “I think we need to close this place up and call the detective to come right back here if he can.”

  Lottie pushed the secret door open and looked around to make sure no one was in the study. They exited, closed the door and Patricia sat at the desk placing the call to Adams who promised he would be there in twenty minutes.

  “I think it would be wise if we told no one about finding the room,” Lottie advised. “I’m going to go check on dinner preparations and will be right back.”

  She left Patricia sitting behind her husband’s desk looking stunned. Lottie felt bad for her. She had lived a strange life, a life of lies, and now her whole world was unraveling around her. Her future was uncertain, and she knew it.

  The staff was busy with dinner preparations as the housekeeper entered the kitchen. It was eerily silent and only the banging of pots and pans could be heard. Timmer looked at Lottie and shook his head. He couldn’t say anything as Chef Ramon and the maids hadn’t been confided in by the lady of the house.

  The gate buzzer sounded.

  “Timmer, would you please show Detective Adams to the study? And if any of the children come in, please advise them that Mrs. Bellington would like them all to be at the dinner table at six-thirty, no exceptions,” Lottie requested.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Timmer answered, wondering why the detective was returning.

  Lottie hustled to the library, stumbling a bit from a still sore ankle. Detective Adams came through the door, notebook in hand.

  “Why have I been called back here?”

  Lottie locked the study door from inside and placed the key on the desk.

  “Follow us,” she told Adams.

  Kicking the bookcase in the same place, it took three tries to get the clicking sound that signaled the door was ready to be opened. Lottie swung the bookcase open. She explained that she heard someone behind the wall, listening to their conversation and found it when she nosed around.

  “Did you know about this?” Adams asked Patricia.

  “No, I had no idea it was here.”

  “It’s not so much the space that we found, but what we found in it. Follow me,” Lottie ordered.

  They entered the secret room, Adams first.

  “Look over in the far corner,” Lottie advised the detective. “What do you see?”

  “A statue of Abraham Lincoln?”

  Lottie and Patricia stepped further into the room.

  “It’s gone!” exclaimed Patricia. “My Christmas present is gone.”

  “Are you saying the stolen jewelry was in this room?”

  “It was here not thirty minutes ago draped on that statue. The other pieces were on the table next to it,” Lottie answered.

  “I was in the study the whole time. I never moved from behind the desk,” Patricia stammered. “How did it disappear?”

  “There has to be another entrance into the room,” Adams stated.

  “I had told Patricia not to touch the necklace, so you could dust it for fingerprints. Whoever took it must have been hiding in the other entrance listening and didn’t want their prints discovered on the jewelry,” Lottie deduced. “We need to find the second entra
nce and see where it leads.”

  Adams walked over to the wall of portraits. Noticing that there were two mistresses and not one, he asked if he could remove them from the wall and take them with him. Patricia nodded yes. He put on rubber gloves and placed the frames, one at a time in separate evidence bags.

  Lottie had walked over to the opposite wall from the entrance and was rapping on the structure listening for any change in the noises created. Adams watched her, amused by her persistence. As amused as the detective was, he was more amazed when she discovered a large hollow area behind the wall.

  Adams joined her and together they figured out how to open the second entrance into the room by sliding Lincoln’s statue towards the wall. An electronic eye opened the door when the statue’s base had been moved enough to form a connection of the beams.

  “God knows what else is in this house,” Patricia moaned.

  “Stay here. I’m going to see where this leads to,” Adams ordered.

  “Not on your life,” Miss Lottie answered. “You don’t know this house like I do, and I am going with you.”

  “Fine, but stay behind me,” he relented, removing his flashlight from his belt.

  Fifty feet later, they came to a dead end.

  “There has to be a door somewhere,” he stated, shining the flashlight beam around.

  He found a small lever to the right of the door and pushed it down. A door slid quietly sideways and disappeared into the wall. They stepped out into the servants back-door entrance hallway. The door had been cleverly hidden in the molding that decorated the wall under the staircase that led to the laundry room.

  Adams walked to the door and looked out over the backyard.

  “Unfortunately, this is a quick get-a-way for anyone who knows about it,” he declared. “And, now, this points to an inside job.”

  “I said the same thing to Patricia not an hour ago,” Lottie confirmed.

  “I hate to do this to Mrs. Bellington, but we will be coming back here with a warrant to search the grounds and all the structures,” Adams stated. “At the same time, we will dust Robert Bellington’s secret room for prints.”