“I’ve been thinking about that window, and I have some ideas. You ready to go exploring?” Raven asked Poppy.
“Oh yes! I’m glad we have something concrete to start with. It’s been difficult not knowing where to look or even what we were looking for.” She looked up at Stella with startled eyes. “I’m sorry; I hope that didn’t sound rude.”
She laughed. “Of course not. I was in the same boat as you, you know. But now we have two leads, so let’s get going. How about we meet up after dinner to share what we’ve found?”
“Sounds good.”
Poppy and Raven left Fiona’s bedroom. “What is it, Fi, you’ve been giving me side-eye all morning.”
“No I haven’t. It’s just . . .I’m worried about you. You’ve been especially quiet ever since you learned Reginald was the dead guy.”
“I don’t know why, but I feel like he’s the key to this whole manor thing. As soon as I saw the three portraits, my gut started churning. I feel like I know who he is, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.”
“You know what I always say,” Fiona grinned. “Think about something else. If you’re meant to remember, it’ll come to you in its own sweet time.”
Stella wrapped her arms around her friend. “That’s why I love you, Fi. You always say just what I need to hear.”
“Good, then let’s get moving. I want to see if Martha will let us use the computer in the office. My phone is great for a quick search, but the computer would make it a whole lot easier.”
“I agree. Let’s go tackle the Headset Queen.”
“I dare you to call her that to her face,” Fiona teased.
“Nope. I’m not falling for your dare, friend. I have a mission to complete and poking the bear at this point is just not wise.”
“You’re no fun.”
“Haha! I am so fun.”
They continued bickering as they left the room and all the way to the office. They found Cash standing at the window, staring out at the driveway.
“Hi, Cash. What are you looking at?” Fiona walked up next to him, peering out the window.
“Hi Fiona.” He sighed and turned, catching sight of Stella. “Hi Stella,” he said with a smile.
Fiona snorted and pretended to be more interested in what was going on outside the room than in the lovebirds inside the room.
“Afternoon, Cash,” Stella replied, a smile curving her lips as well.
Cash sat down at the desk and looked up at her. “I don’t know how your friend did it, but the detective said we can stay here until we finish the show.”
“I’m glad she was able to help.” Stella’s stomach twisted as she wondered what deal Raven had made with Carl to make that happen. “We were wondering if we could use the computer to do some research on the manor.”
“Research? About Reginald?” Fiona’s startled gasp had Stella hurrying to explain.
“Cash is interested in the manor as well, Fi. He and Chad chose this place partly because they were interested in the story of how it changed hands.”
“Do you think his murder has something to do with how the Mabel Marwood got the manor?” Cash asked.
“I’m not sure yet, but the timing is too close to be a coincidence. We’re going to see if we can figure out who he was and why his portrait is hanging next to Mabel’s and Martha’s.”
Cash stood up and moved away from the desk. “Absolutely. You can use the computer for your research on one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“That you keep me in the loop.” He paused and ran his hand down his face. “I keep telling you I’ll help you with your search, but things have been so crazy that I haven’t had a chance. I’m sorry, Stella.”
She looked into his tired eyes and felt her heart do flip-flops in her chest.
Fiona cleared her throat. “What about Martha? Is she going to give us any trouble?”
“No. I’ll let her know I gave you permission.”
“Thank you.”
“No problem. See you later.” Cash looked at Stella one last time, then left the room
“He’s got it bad for you,” Fiona commented.
“He’s not the only one that’s got it bad,” she murmured, her eyes distant and unfocused.
“Okay, enough with the lovey-dovey eyes. Let’s figure out who Reginald was and how he fits into the whole ‘steal the manor’ thing.”
Stella pulled a chair around the desk and set it next to Fiona, who’d taken the desk chair. Her fingers were flying over the keyboard as she entered data into the search bar.
She didn’t want to get her hopes up, but she was sure this man was the key to solving the mystery. She only hoped it wasn’t her great-grandmother that had shot and killed him. For years Willow had been seen as the gullible, sad woman who’d lost the family home. Stella didn’t want to be the one to find out she was actually a murderer.
When the Four Rich Witches met up after dinner, there was no good news to share. Stella tried not to let her disappointment show, but Poppy couldn’t hold back.
“This is so bogus. Why can’t we access blueprints of this house? That’s just . . .stupid!”
“I’ve already explained it about a thousand times,” Raven muttered. “We aren’t the owners of the house and we aren’t contractors, so there’s no reason for us to need them, at least according to the county clerk.”
“But I thought blueprints were public record?” Fiona asked. Stella looked at her with a grin on her face and Fi made a face back at her. “What? I know things.”
“Technically, they are. But this place is old and the blueprints and building permits aren’t digital. Someone would have to try and find them in the piles of old documents in the basement of the building. The clerk said they don’t have the manpower to do that unless it’s the owner or contractor making the request for something other than curiosity.”
“Wait a minute. At the time of the murder my family owned this property. I wonder if there’s an old copy of the blueprints somewhere in the family vault.”
“Family vault?” Raven asked.
“It’s where the old rich keep all of their records to pass on to future generations. And when there’s a dispute between family members of what belongs to whom,” Fiona explained.
Stella was already on her phone, texting her mother. “There. My mother knows everything that’s in the vault. If there’s an old copy, she’ll find it and get it to us.”
“What about you two? Were you able to find out anything about the mysterious dead man?” Poppy asked. Stella saw Raven wince at the words and placed her hand on her friend’s arm.
“You okay?”
“I don’t know actually. I feel like finding him has disturbed his peace, or something. I really hope this helps you figure out what happened. I’d hate to think it was all for nothing.”
“It’s not all for nothing. This man isn’t listed as being part of the Marwood family, and we couldn’t find any mention of him in any of the papers published around that time. So far, he’s truly a mystery. It’s possible he has family that doesn’t know what happened to him. If we figure out what happened, we might be able to bring them some closure.”
“Thanks, Stella,” Raven replied. “But that’s all conjecture. Truth is we still don’t have any idea who he was, why he was here or who shot him.”
“No, we don’t. But we’re not giving up. We’ll figure this out. The Four Rich Witches aren’t quitters.” Fiona’s rallying speech fell flat, leaving them all sitting in an uncomfortable silence.
24
The next few days passed quickly, if uneventfully. Cold-eyed Stephanie returned from her dates with Chad convinced that she’d won his heart. And she told everyone else about it, over and over and over again.
“He couldn’t stop gazing into my eyes, it was so romantic,” she crooned, making Stella’s stomach turn with revulsion. She pushed her breakfast plate away and glared at the woman responsible for making her lose her appetite.
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“He was probably wondering how she managed to be born with snake eyes instead of human eyes,” Fiona muttered under her breath.
“Fi! That’s mean.”
“I know. But tell me it isn’t true.” She paused and waited for a moment. “See, you can’t. She’s got the coldest, meanest snake eyes I’ve ever seen. Having spent time with Chad, I can safely say she isn’t his type. At all.”
Stella snorted. “I feel the same way, but you never know. Maybe he was able to see past the coldness and find a warm, beating heart inside.”
The two women looked at each other. “Nah,” they both spoke at the same time, then burst into giggles.
“Why aren’t you eating your breakfast?” Poppy asked as she sat down at their table.
Stella jerked her head towards Stephanie. Poppy looked up and frowned. “Oh. That explains it. I wonder why Raven’s putting up with her.”
Raven was seated with Stephanie this morning and appeared to be listening to her blather on and on about how much Chad liked her.
“It sure isn’t because she likes the company. I’m guessing she’s on a recon mission, to learn more about our common enemy.”
“Well if she is, then more power to her. I couldn’t do it. I’d have already shoved her quiche into her face.”
“Poppy!” Stella laughed out loud.
“What? I’m allowed to be nasty every once in a while.” She grinned as she ate a bite of quiche. “Okay, I take it back. This quiche is too good for her face. I wouldn’t want to waste it that way.”
Stella laughed again and pulled her plate back. Her appetite had been restored by her friend’s words and she was right, the quiche was exceptional this morning.
“Sorry to interrupt your breakfast, ladies, but we have a change in plans today. We have several interviews scheduled and some photos we need to reshoot. Stay close and be prepared to jump when I say jump.” Martha left the room as quickly as she’d entered.
“Sir, yes sir!” Stella said, softly, making Fiona and Poppy chuckle. “I guess that means our research is on hold for now,” she sighed.
“That’s okay. It will take a day or so for the birth certificates and marriage certificates to arrive. And your mom is still looking for the blueprints.”
“The birth certificates and marriage certificates?” Poppy asked.
“Stella has a feeling that Reginald might be Mildred’s father.” She looked at Stella who swallowed hard, then nodded. “She also thinks he might be her great-grandfather.”
Poppy’s eyes nearly popped out of her head and she gasped. “What?”
“The portrait of Mildred looks very similar to portraits of my grandmother at her age. I’m thinking it was a love triangle that started this whole mess.”
“Oh my gosh. That would have been quite the scandal back then. But weren’t Mabel and Willow married? I mean, not to each other of course, but to men?”
“That’s one of the questions I’ve always had. My mother says the Spinney name will be passed down regardless of the fact that we haven’t had any sons born for a couple of generations. I know that my father kept his name and mother stayed a Spinney, passing that on to me. Same thing with my grandmother and grandfather. But whenever I asked about my great-grandfather, there was a lot of confusion and I never got a clear answer. It never really mattered before, so I always let it drop. But now, I really need to know.”
“I wonder how Susan is making out on her first date with Chad,” Fiona piped in.
“Hopefully she’s not making out with him on their first date,” Poppy giggled.
“Nice segue, Fi,” Stella said, appreciatively.
“You’re welcome.”
Martha kept everyone busy for the next few days, so they didn’t have time to work on their sleuthing or even meet up, all four of them together. Before Stella knew it, Susan was back, and Poppy had left the manor to get ready for her dates.
“It’s going to be quiet without Poppy around,” Raven said.
Fiona cocked her head, looking at Raven. “Is that a complaint or are you missing her already?”
“What? No, I don’t miss her. It’s just that she’s supposed to be helping me with the window mystery and now I have to do it all myself.”
“Methinks one thing has nothing to do with the other,” Fiona said, mysteriously. “Aw, you miss her.” She grinned impishly and Raven made a face at her.
“Alright, children, that’s enough. Raven, we’ll help you with the window once the blueprints arrive. My mom said she had a copy made and she sent it over by courier. It should be here later today.”
“Sounds good,” she muttered. She stood up and announced, “See you both later. I have to meet Stephanie for a cup of coffee in the garden.”
“What’s up with that, anyway?” Stella asked
“What do you mean?”
“Why are you spending so much time with Stephanie?”
Raven stepped closer to Stella and replied in a quiet voice. “I noticed that there were no poisonings or stages collapsing when she was out of the house. It might be coincidence, but I thought it would be wise to keep an eye on her. She’s really hard to read, so I thought I’d stay close to her and see if I can pick up on anything.” She paused, “And besides, it doesn’t look good for the four of us to be seen hanging out all the time.” She waved goodbye and walked away.
“Wow, she’s full of surprises lately.” Fiona remarked.
“Yes, she is.”
The blueprints arrived and Raven called a meeting in the office. Fiona and Stella joined her, bringing cookies and iced tea for a snack.
Stella pulled two side tables together to place the blueprints on while Raven set up her easel with her paintings and Fiona pulled up the photo of the stained-glass window on her phone.
Once the blueprint was laid out, they moved in closer to take a look.
“This is the wall we need to be looking at,” Fiona said, using one of her long, pointed fingers with flame red nail polish to point it out.
“How can you tell?” Raven asked. “I can’t make heads or tails of this thing.”
“I can kind of make out some familiar shapes, but this part here looks wrong.” Stella pointed to an area of the blueprint near where Fiona had pointed.
“Yes, that’s it,” Fiona exclaimed. She clapped her hands with excitement, but the other two looked at her blankly.
“That’s what?”
“That’s why you couldn’t find the room from the inside.” She rolled up the blueprint and headed out the door, the other two following behind her, wondering what had her so excited. She led them upstairs, then down two corridors. At one point, she unrolled the blueprint, laying it on the floor. As she studied it, the other two looked on, wondering what she saw that they didn’t.
“Okay. We’re very close. Let’s see.” she muttered. She turned around and walked back down the hallway, looking at the wall to the right. She walked back towards them, running her hand along the wall. Just before she reached them, she stopped, a big grin on her face. “Here it is, witches.”
“Here’s what? Quit being so dramatic, Fi and tell us what’s going on.” Stella was losing her patience and from the look on Raven’s face, she was too. But that didn’t faze Fiona.
“Run your hand along this wall. From here to here,” she told them. “Just do it, and all will become clear.” Raven went first and at the same point where Fi had stopped, her eyes went wide.
Stella followed her lead and ran her hand along the wall. Sure enough, when she got to that spot, she could feel a ridge. She ran her hand up the wall and the ridge went across to the right, then down again. “It’s a door?” she asked.
“I think so. It looks like there’s a room here that’s been sealed off. From the blueprints, this would be the room with the window.”
Fiona sounded excited and Stella felt her heart start racing. “We can’t just tear up the wall, can we? What do we do, Fi?”
“Why don’t we just pop in
there and check it out?” Fiona said, raising her hand, but Stella stopped her.
“No, Fi. We don’t know what’s on the other side. I think we should let the police know. That way it’s all legit.”
Raven made a rude noise, then pulled out her cell phone. “Carl, can you come over to the manor? There’s something I think you need to see.” She hung up and grinned at them. “He’s on his way.”
“Carl?” Fiona asked, a worried look on her face.
“Yes, that Carl,” Stella told her. “He’s the reason we didn’t have to leave the manor. By the way, Raven, what did you promise him to let us stay?”
“Nothing much, I just promised to go on a date with him when this show is over.”
Stella wanted to argue with her, since it was a huge deal for Raven to go out with her ex-boyfriend, but now wasn’t the time. They needed the help and she’d already promised. It was a done deal, but it worried her. She met Fiona’s gaze and saw the same discomfort in her friend’s eyes.
25
Carl arrived 30 minutes later, and after examining the wall, called the Marwood attorney to get permission to open up the room. At first, the attorney refused, but Carl explained that since they’d found a dead body buried in the garden he was sure a judge would be willing to authorize a search warrant for every nook and cranny of the manor, while he was only asking permission to open up a room that had been closed off for years.
As Stella listened to him argue with the attorney, she remembered why it wasn’t a good idea for Raven to be around him. He was a good man, and he loved Raven with all his heart, but he was a serious man; a man with a strong work ethic who gave his all to everything he did. Raven was more erratic, and she had commitment issues. When he’d asked her to marry him, she’d told him no, and she’d believed it was the right decision at the time. Raven had broken his heart, and she’d suffered for years, her own heart damaged, too.
A Get Witch Quick Scheme (Bewitching the Rich Guy Book 1) Page 10
