Murder at Peacock Mansion

by Judy Alter

  But the scream must have frightened him as much as he frightened me. He bolted around the other side of the house, jumping the low fence to the driveway with more agility than I thought a man his size would have.

  All hell broke loose. Lights went on in the kitchen, and the girls burst out the door, screaming, “Aunt Kate! Are you all right? Where are you? Aunt Kate!”

  David came behind them on his crutches, bellowing for them to get back into the house with one breath and calling me with the next.

  Struggling to my feet I managed a weak, “I’m over here. I’m okay. Just frightened.”

  David made his way off the porch and over to me where I stood holding on to the fence to support myself, my knees shaking. “You fall?”

  “Yes, but that wasn’t why I screamed. There was a man in the yard, wearing a ski mask.”

  “Are you sure? Maybe you just thought you saw something when you fell.”

  That angered me enough that I got over my shakes. “I am definitely sure. Call Chester now!”

  “I don’t have my phone,” he said. “Give me yours.”

  “It’s over there on the ground somewhere,” I said.

  The girls had come outside by now, carefully looking around, waiting to be scolded back inside.

  “The receipts! And my phone. We can’t leave them out here all night.”

  The girls immediately began to search. Ava found the bank bag near the gate and handed it to me. Jess, meantime, was down on hands and knees, patting the ground, looking for the phone. At last she called triumphantly, “Found it. But it’s muddy.”

  “I don’t care,” I said, holding out my hand. I gave David the phone, saying, “Chester is number two on speed dial.”

  As he punched the button, he asked, “Who’s first?”

  I was tempted to hit him.

  Ava and Jess followed us into the kitchen. Ava remembered to lock the gate, for all the good it would do.

  David was on the phone. “Chester? David Clinkscales. Kate saw a man in the backyard wearing a ski mask….no, no, he’s gone….yes, we’re all back in the house, doors locked….okay, thanks.”

  At least he didn’t say, “Kate thinks she saw!” I would have whacked him in the head with the bank bag. Instead, all my anger disappeared into fright and great sobs. I leaned against his chest, almost throwing him off balance on his crutches, and cried into his shirt, soaking it with my tears.

  David steadied himself and stroked my hair, crutch still under his arm.

  “It must have been the man Jess saw in the woods today. It was Rodney in the woods. I knew it and didn’t want to scare the girls. But why is he here? What does he want?” I got the words out between great, heaving sobs.

  “We don’t know, but I swear we are going to find out.” He turned to Ava. “Would you pour your aunt a sip of the bourbon on the high shelf in the cupboard?”

  “Why does she keep it there?”

  “Guess.”

  But Ava was climbing up on the counter, reaching for the bourbon bottle. She got a wine glass, so David reminded her, “A bit more than a thimbleful.”

  I crossed that fine line between tears and laughter and began to giggle. “I hope Gram isn’t watching.” Shouldn’t have said that.

  “Gram? What about Gram?” Jess tuned in at just the wrong moment.

  “Oh, sweetie, just an expression. You know Gram watches over us from heaven.”

  “And she wouldn’t like you drinking whiskey,” Jess replied. She earned one of Ava’s condescending looks.

  Gram was looking…and listening. “Kate, you’ll figure this out. Just be careful who you trust.”

  “I don’t know who to trust,” I wailed. But she was gone, and both girls and David looked at me as though I’d taken leave of my senses.

  Noises in the driveway drew our attention, and through a window we could see a flashlight. “Chester’s here,” David announced unnecessarily.

  And in a minute, Chester was at the back door, scraping his shoes on the outdoor mat. “Guy must have taken a heck of a jump and landed hard. Found big holes where his heels dug into the gravel on the driveway, and a few prints of him running down the driveway. Must have had a car parked close by.” He looked me carefully. “You okay?”

  “A bit shaky but okay.”

  “Tell me every little detail. Start with closing the café.”

  I did, leaving nothing out as far as I could tell. I even told him I was pretty sure it was Rodney. Then I waited for his response.

  “I suspect this Rodney was trying to frighten you. If he’d been intending to hurt you, he wouldn’t have run. But this is a warning. A fairly serious one.” He turned to David. “You got a gun?”

  “In Dallas.” David’s tone was wry. “Didn’t think I needed it out here in the peaceful country.”

  Chester scoffed. “Hah! City boy, don’t know much about East Texas. You licensed for concealed?”

  David nodded.

  “I’ll get you a pistol. Keep it with you all the time, and stay by Kate as much as you can. I’m not sure which one of you is in danger. Maybe both.”

  Jess began to sob quietly, and Chester turned to her. “Little lady, you’re perfectly fine. Nobody’s gonna hurt a fine child like you.” His voice was soothing, but Jess looked skeptical.

  I sat down and drew her, gangly as she was getting, onto my lap, stroking her hair and talking softly to her, and she calmed. Ava looked bored.

  Chester declined offers of coffee or beer—“Carolyn would shoot me with my own gun!”—and left shortly after. “If you hear my siren briefly, don’t be alarmed. Just my way of telling Carolyn I’m on my way. Don’t hurt either to let your masked friend know I was here. Lock all the doors and windows and leave some lights on.”

  We obeyed, and then I made the girls hot cocoa and tucked them in bed. Jess begged to sleep in my bed, and Ava volunteered to put her sleeping bag on the floor. I sat with them until Jess was gently snoring.

  David sat at the kitchen table. “Let’s talk.”

  My list! I’d forgotten all about it. And I was too tired to talk about it.

  “Tomorrow. I’m too tired tonight. I made a list tonight at the café, and I’ll go over it with you tomorrow. Right now, my money is on Rodney, though I’m surprised he’s agile enough to jump that fence.” I stared off into space for a second, beginning to doubt my sure identification of Rodney. “Could it have been Steven Connell?”

  “Steven Connell? Kate, he’s a licensed PI, not a thug.”

  “He’s for hire, isn’t he? I’ve been uneasy about him ever since Edith Aldridge said he sometimes reports to her. You hired him, didn’t you? But how much do you know about him? How long have you known him?”

  “Come on. He was recommended by a lawyer friend, and I’ve been using him about three years. Reliable. Trustworthy. Let me see the list.”

  “Okay, but I’m going to bed.” I knew if I didn’t go right then, we’d talk all night. And I was about to fall over.

  That night, curled around Jess, I thought about these children and what a difference they’d made in my life. In Dallas, I could never have imagined myself with such protective feelings about children, but now, if anyone threatened them, I’d fight bear to keep them safe. Sometimes, if you let children into your heart, they have a softening effect. I wonder if Donna feels that way. How will she react when she hears about tonight?

  ****

  Tom and Henry came back from camping earlier—a spring rain dampened their enthusiasm for fishing, although I reminded them fish bite best in the rain. Tom looked glum, and I surmised it was Henry’s idea to give it up. They joined David and the girls in ordering chicken-fried pork cutlets, David’s new favorite. I was nibbling on mine between taking orders and running the cash register.

  “When’s Ma coming home?” Henry asked.

  “It’s Mom, not Ma, and I have no idea.” Tom took another bite of his pork cutlet.

  Donna didn’t get to Wheeler until almost six Sund
ay night. She came straight to the café, bursting through the front doors just after Henry’s question. Her hair done, her makeup professional, her outfit new and stylish. She almost glowed with self-satisfaction. A huge bag from Neiman-Marcus hung on one arm. “Hi, everyone. Miss me?”

  They were good kids. They answered with a chorus of happiness, and I hoped they really meant it.

  “I’ve got goodies for everyone.” She pulled out adorable matching outfits of short tops and miniskirts for the girls. Jess was delighted, Ava less so. She did not need to match her little sister. Ah, Donna, when will you learn about your girls?

  For Tom and Henry, she had matching heavy wool sweaters, obviously on sale now that sweater season was over. “Mine looks awful big,” Henry said tentatively.

  “It will just fit next fall,” Donna assured him. “I believe I’ll have the tuna salad plate. Watching my figure, you know.”

  “So am I,” Tom retorted, leaving in the air whether he meant it as a criticism or compliment.

  Donna, of course, took it as a criticism and huffed a bit.

  Jess had poured out the story of our adventure last night to Tom as soon as she saw him. Nothing would do but that she repeat it for her mother, in spite of Tom’s efforts to hush her.

  “What?” Donna’s voice rose octaves. “You put my daughters in danger?”

  “Not purposely.” I was more than a little defensive.

  “I should have known. Trouble follows you like a magnet. After this, Tom, we can’t both leave town at the same time.”

  I sighed. There go Tom’s fishing and camping trips with Henry, and Henry needs them so much!

  “I want to spend the night with Aunt Kate.” Jess’ look challenged her mother directly.

  Donna looked at me, then at her daughter. “No, darling, it’s not safe. What if that bad man comes back?”

  “David will keep us safe. He has a gun now.”

  Out of the mouths of babes!

  Donna shrieked. “No, no one may stay there if there’s a gun in the house.” This time she glared at me.

  David kept silent through all this, but he finally spoke to Jess. She was sitting next to him, and he reached out an arm to hold her closer. “The bad guy will go away pretty soon, and I’ll get rid of the gun. Then you can come back. Okay?”

  Jess didn’t look happy, but she nodded.

  Donna looked at David with resentment, and I knew she was thinking he wasn’t family and should be interfering.

  Dinner was effectively ruined. Conversation fell flat, and we all picked at our food. The Bryson family left shortly after, Donna striding out the door as usual with no mention of payment. As he passed me, Tom gave me a hug and said, “I’ll settle up tomorrow. You don’t have to feed us.”

  How did my difficult sister get such a good guy? And why did he stay with her? I knew the answer to that question. He loved his children beyond measure.

  ****

  David went along home, and I stayed to close. This time David gave me strict instructions to call when I was leaving and handed me a flashlight.

  “Better than that puny thing on your phone. You could use this one to club someone if necessary.”

  “I sincerely hope that won’t be necessary.” I gave him a quick kiss and said, “I’ll call in about an hour.”

  Less than forty-five minutes later, the last customer left, Sallie had cleaned the tables while I counted the day’s take and put the credit receipts in order. After she left, I locked the front door, turned out the lights, and called David from the kitchen to tell him I was leaving. Then, kitchen lights off, and I slipped out the back door, locking it behind me.

  I had on better walking shoes this night, and the flashlight created a wide arc of light around me. Made me a great target, but it also made me feel safe. I couldn’t help but wonder if beyond that circle of light, someone waited in the shadows. Stop scaring yourself, Kate! I looked up to see David, crutches propped under his arm, standing at the gate waiting for me. I assumed the gun was handy…but it was concealed. Huggles stood beside him, barking a welcome.

  When I reached the gate, David gathered me in a big hug while Huggles jumped, anxiously to be in on the loving.

  “Me first, buddy,” David said.

  We turned, and he led me into the safety of my own kitchen.

  Chapter Twelve

  David and I finally had a chance that evening to go over my list privately. He agreed that both Rodney and Edith were contradictory and probably both distorting the truth on each side. He even seemed willing to take my opinion of James on good faith. But he remained stubbornly convinced that Steven Connell was to be trusted.

  “What about Rose? Why hasn’t Steven found out more about her? Surely that can’t be hard.”

  “He’s determined she’s away from her residence. Since she left before he came on board, he’s had no chance to trace her.”

  “Can’t he check her cell phone, get her license plates, check the home phone?”

  “I’m sure he’s done what he can—phone records require a warrant, and we have no reason to request a warrant. I think he has the license number—most PIs can get such information easily. But where would he look? He’s checked airlines—she hasn’t used her passport. She could be anywhere.”

  “What about her husband?”

  “He goes to work every day, says ‘No comment’ when Steven tries to talk to him. So does the rather large house staff.”

  “She can’t stay away forever.” One niggling thought was in the back of my mind, and I hatched a plan but I didn’t tell David.

  “You’ve already decided he’s unreliable and are on a fishing trip to prove it. It’s supposed to work the other way around.”

  “What about Halstead?”

  David sighed in exasperation. “He’s obsessed with Walter Aldridge’s murder. Thinks if we solve the old murder, we’ll prevent a new one and solve this mystery. But he’s also convinced that Edith Aldridge did murder her husband and got away with it. Makes no sense—why would she ask you to investigate and work with Steven if that were true? She has been uncooperative with Halstead.”

  “You know,” I said, “I just might dig into that myself, see what I can find online. Does your office have the court records?”

  “They were in the file you gave to Halstead.”

  “Can they get more copies?”

  “I suppose so. I’ll probably have to go to the city to do some digging. Wish this darn cast would come off.” He didn’t sound at all enthusiastic. “Can we please talk about my new house now—our new house?”

  Oops! The possessive pronoun had gone from his to ours. I spent the next hour looking at architectural plans. The architect had sent them to David by courier, and David was excited about them—but of course I couldn’t make heads or tails of them, and David had to explain everything to me.

  The house was wooden inside and out, with a tin roof and double-paned windows for energy efficiency. It was a thousand square feet, plus an added sleeping porch for summer with sliding double-paned glass doors that could be closed in cooler weather.

  “When it’s really cold, we’ll have to sleep at your house, of course.”

  He has all this planned out! While I’m worrying about men in bushes and conniving stepchildren, he’s been focusing on this house. Seemed I had two choices—I chose to put my arms around him in a huge hug.

  “See? There’s a stairway to the loft. It’s pretty skinny, I admit, but it has a railing and real risers. It’s not a ladder.”

  He wanted so badly for me to like it, how could I resist? He showed me where his office would be and outlined plans for a small but really efficient kitchen, cleverly disguised storage space that would never hold enough to suit me for permanent living, a seating area around an old-fashioned wood stove. I would always be a guest in this house, but that was okay.

  “Security?” I asked.

  “Alarm system, deadbolts, motion-sensitive outdoor lights. And it’s not on wheels
so nobody can cart it away when I’m not there. It will sit on a concrete pad.”

  I didn’t mention that alarm systems were of minimal use when help was so far away.

  “So when do you start?”

  “Demolition people are going to bulldoze the old house tomorrow. Cary’s promised to take me out there in the afternoon.”

  At last, talked out, we went to sleep. But as I drifted off, I thought, Gram’s house is probably 1,700 square feet! I’m glad I won’t have to leave it. I also sketched out in my mind a plan for the next day. It would be busy.

  ****

  Next morning David asked about my plans for the day. He would be home all morning doing some work but would go to see his cabin demolished as soon as Cary could go after school…unless, of course, I wanted to go earlier.

  “David, I love that you’re so excited about this, but I’m not much into watching bulldozers at work. I’ll go when the new house begins to take shape.”

  “You’re sure?”

  I put my arms around his neck, kissed him soundly, and said, “I’m sure.” I had plans of my own but I didn’t say that.

  David usually didn’t get up early enough to see me off to the café, but he had this morning, so I wasn’t surprised when he showed up early—seven thirty—for his breakfast. By eight he was headed back home. “Going to do some work,” he said.

  “Researching Edith’s husband’s murder.”

  He looked startled. “Maybe a little, but I do have other clients, you know.”

  “Okay. See you at lunch.”

  The morning kept me busy with orders and inventory checking. Lunch was upon us before I knew it, and the café got unusually busy. When David came in, I didn’t have time to check with him on his morning’s work—besides, he probably would have thought I had no need to know. We talked briefly, and he went back to the house, suggesting I bring supper home when I could, rather than both of us eating at the café. I readily agreed, and he left the menu choice up to me.

  “I’ll be late,” I said. “Can’t ask Marj to close too often.”

  “No problem. I’ll open some wine.”