by Bobbi Holmes
“I’d like to run down to the police station and see if I can talk to the chief. When I spoke to him on the phone earlier, it sounded like something was going on regarding Agatha’s case. If her grandsons are serious about pursuing a lawsuit, I need to call my insurance agent again, but before I do, I want to find out if any of them was involved in her death. If so, that’s going to put an entirely different spin on any lawsuit.”
“Danielle, if Agatha’s spirit keeps showing up here, why doesn’t she just tell you what really happened to her?” Ian asked.
Danielle shrugged. “Spirits aren’t that much different from living people. Being dead doesn’t mean you’ll tell the truth or want to answer questions. Although, after someone has died, they tend to be more truthful because the reasons for lying no longer apply. In Agatha’s case, I don’t doubt she remembers what happened, but for some reason she refuses to share that information. I suspect she’s protecting whoever took her up the stairs—and maybe pushed her.”
“Why would someone protect her killer?” Lily asked.
“For one thing, if it is one of the grandsons, he is family. Plus, she may feel guilty for manipulating them all these years and realizes she probably drove the grandchild to violence,” Danielle suggested.
“If she was pushed, who’s to say it wasn’t Joyce?” Ian asked. “I imagine she had years of pent-up frustration having her mother live with her all those years, always so demanding.”
“As far as I know, she wasn’t on the second floor when it happened,” Danielle explained.
“The most likely suspect, Shane. After all, he was right there. But it could have been Larry. No one saw him leave, and maybe he got that phone call after he took her upstairs. And Henry was in the downstairs bathroom. It’s possible he pushed his grandmother while Shane was in the attic and Ben was in the bathroom, and he then got downstairs before Shane found her. Unfortunately, most everyone was outside when all this happened,” Lily said.
“I’m going to go to the police station and see what they know,” Danielle said. “Can you guys stick around until I get back?”
“Only if you return with some Chinese food,” Ian teased.
DANIELLE PULLED into the parking lot of the Frederickport Police Department a little after four on Friday afternoon. Inside the station, she found Joyce Pruitt and her daughter, Martha, sitting in the front waiting area, whispering amongst themselves, clearly agitated. When the women looked up to see who had entered the building and saw Danielle, Joyce said something to her daughter, to which Martha grabbed hold of her mother’s arm, gave it a little reassuring squeeze, and then stood up. She walked to Danielle.
“Hello, Martha. I didn’t expect to find you and your mother here. Is everything okay?” Danielle glanced over at Joyce, who immediately looked down, reluctant to look Danielle in the eyes.
“They brought my brothers in for questioning. I believe they think one of them had something to do with Gran falling down the stairs.”
Danielle looked from Martha to Joyce and then back to Martha. Not knowing what to say, she simply muttered, “Oh.”
“I also found out my brothers stopped at your house earlier to talk to you about Gran’s death.”
“Umm…yes, they did. From what they tell me, your family is considering a wrongful death suit against me and Marlow House.”
Martha shook her head emphatically. “No. We aren’t. My brothers weren’t speaking on behalf of my mother, and she’s the one who represents Gran’s estate. Mother wants you to know she has absolutely no intention of suing you.”
Before Danielle could respond, a commotion from down the hall distracted their conversation. Glancing down to the hallway leading to the offices and interrogation room, they saw Henry and Larry walking in their direction, the police chief trailing beside them.
When they reached the waiting area, Larry whispered something to Joyce. She stood up and then started toward the door with her two oldest sons.
As Joyce approached her daughter and Danielle, she nodded at Danielle and then said, “Martha, let’s go.” Both Henry and Larry walked past Danielle without acknowledging her.
Glancing at the exit, Danielle watched as the Pruitt family walked out of the station.
MacDonald, who had escorted Henry and Larry to their mother, walked up to Danielle. “You aren’t here to see me, by any chance?”
Looking from the exit door to the chief, Danielle smiled. “How did you guess? So what’s the deal with the Pruitt clan?”
MacDonald nodded toward the hallway. “Let’s go in my office and we can talk there.”
DANIELLE SAT in one of the chairs facing the chief’s desk. Before sitting down, MacDonald closed his office door for privacy.
“We’ve arrested Shane Pruitt for the murder of his grandmother.”
Danielle arched her brows. “No kidding? Am I to assume he acted alone, since his brothers just walked out of here?”
“I suspect the brothers were in on it. But we brought Larry and Henry in, interrogated them both, and while they confirmed what I already knew—those Pruitt boys have some issues with each other and their family in general—neither Henry nor Larry were prepared to roll on Shane. They insisted they have absolutely no knowledge of Shane taking any aggressive action against Agatha.”
Danielle leaned back in the chair and crossed her legs. “So why did you arrest Shane?”
“I’ll admit it is circumstantial. But the fact is, according to everyone—including members of Agatha’s family—there was no way she got up those stairs alone and managed to walk over to the attic stairs without help. Shane was the first one on the scene, and he had the motive.”
“Walt pointed out that perhaps whoever took her upstairs isn’t coming forward because they’re afraid the family might sue them. It’s entirely possible someone innocently helped her up there and just left her. And then she fell on her own. Which makes sense, considering she had no business trying to get around without her wheelchair.”
MacDonald shook his head. “I have always considered that possibility. But after what we found on his computer, I’m afraid this is a little darker.”
“What did you find?”
“I can’t really discuss it right now. But I can tell you I found your mystery blogger. The one behind the Mystery of Marlow House website.”
“You did? Who is it? Someone I know?”
“It’s Shane Pruitt.”
Danielle frowned. “Shane?”
“We were able to track down the owner of the domain. Once we found out it was Shane, we brought him in for questioning and were able to secure a search warrant to check his house and computer.”
“Wow.” Danielle let out a deep breath. “Well, he was at the first open house. So I imagine he’s the one who took the photos that were on the blog. Did he say why he started it?”
“According to Shane, he was trying to make money off the advertising.”
“That makes sense. But why blog about planning to kill his grandmother—and then actually kill her?”
“In all fairness, he never mentioned her by name, and he never said he was going to kill anyone, just that someone was going to be murdered,” MacDonald reminded her.
“I know. But still. If you’re going to kill someone, why blog about it? Did he want to get caught?”
“Come on, Danielle, we all know there are lots of stupid people out there. Not-too-bright criminals that think it’s a terrific idea to film their crimes and then post it on Facebook. Happens more than you realize.”
THIRTY-SEVEN
When Danielle discovered Joanne’s sister from Colorado had surprised her with a visit, she told the housekeeper to take the weekend off. Marlow House was already spotless from Joanne’s recent cleaning, the linens had all been changed, and there was a fresh supply of bath towels stacked neatly in the laundry room.
On Saturday morning, Lily helped Danielle set the table for breakfast and prepare the meal. They served homemade waffles, sausage, hicko
ry smoked bacon, scrambled eggs, and sliced melon. The guests seemed to enjoy the meal, which made cleanup easier, since there were no leftovers.
After breakfast, the guests left to do more sightseeing. Lily stayed to help Danielle clean up the kitchen, and when they were finished, she went across the street to Ian’s to discuss wedding preparations.
Danielle hadn’t seen Walt since they had served breakfast. He had come down briefly when she was making coffee, and then he disappeared. She also hadn’t seen Agatha and couldn’t help wondering if she knew her grandson had been arrested. Danielle was thinking of Shane’s arrest when the phone rang. It was Marie Nichols.
“Morning, Marie.” Holding her cellphone to her ear, Danielle walked from the kitchen to the library.
“Good morning, Danielle. I hadn’t talked to you for a few days and was wondering how you were doing. I heard about Agatha, how she really didn’t have any money, and I was worried those moneygrubbing grandkids of hers might be coming after you now.”
“Ahh, you mean suing me because of the accident?” Danielle sat down on the library sofa and put her feet up on the cushion, stretching out. She leaned back against one of the sofa’s padded arms.
“Seems like the world is sue happy these days,” Marie told her.
“I guess you haven’t heard. They arrested Shane Pruitt last night for the murder of his grandmother.”
“No!” Marie gasped. “Are you serious?”
“Yes. They believe he was the one who took her up there and pushed her down the stairs.”
“Did someone see something? They must have something if they’re charging the boy.”
“I think part of it hinges on the fact Agatha couldn’t have gotten upstairs alone. Her wheelchair was downstairs, and Shane was right there when it happened. I suspect he would have been smarter to simply admit he had taken her up the stairs and then claimed she fell. But he’s denied taking her upstairs, and someone had to have because she wasn’t physically capable.”
“Does this mean you won’t have to worry about one of them suing Marlow House?”
“From what I understand,” Danielle explained, “only Joyce can really do that, and according to Martha, she doesn’t intend to.”
“She shouldn’t,” Marie snapped. “Considering she tried to make off with your coins and you didn’t press charges.”
“If Shane didn’t have anything to do with his grandmother’s death, then I can understand the estate suing. After all, the poor woman did fall down my stairs and die. Actually, most people would sue.”
“I suppose you’re right.” Marie let out a sigh. “So tell me, how is poor Lily doing? I have been worried sick about that dear girl.”
“Lily? Oh…you mean because of her and Ian breaking up?”
“I still can’t believe it. They seemed so perfect together.”
“I’m happy to say they got back together. Not only that, they’re engaged,” Danielle told Marie.
“Engaged? Is that why Ian wanted to move out of the house? Does he plan to move someplace else now that he’s getting married?”
“Actually, Ian regrets giving his notice, but he understands it’s too late to do anything now. But between you and me, if your buyer changes his mind and wants to back out of the deal, I know Ian would love to buy the house.”
“I told my grandson Ian and Lily would probably get back together. But would he listen to me? Sometimes I would like to give Adam a good shake.”
“Me too,” Danielle said under her breath, suppressing a giggle.
“Oh…just a minute…” The line was silent for a moment. Finally, Marie got back on the phone. “Danielle, I’ll have to call you back. There is someone at my door.”
“WE WERE JUST TALKING about you,” Marie told Adam when she opened the front door a few minutes later and found him standing on the front porch. “Why didn’t you use your key?”
“I left it at home,” Adam said, following Marie into the house. “Is someone here?”
“No, why?” Marie frowned.
“You said you were talking about me.”
“I was just talking to Danielle on the phone when you rang the bell.”
“I won’t even ask what you were talking about,” Adam said with a chuckle. “Do you have any coffee on?”
“What do you think?” Marie started walking to the kitchen, Adam trailing behind her.
“Do you have any of those cinnamon rolls left?” Adam asked.
Ignoring his question, Marie said, “I want you to know I was right.”
“Right about what?” Adam asked, now standing in the kitchen, watching his grandmother pour them each a cup of coffee.
“Ian and Lily got back together,” Marie said.
“Really?” Adam smiled.
“I told you they would!”
“Okay, so you were right.”
“I usually am.” Marie reached into the pantry and pulled out a paper sack. She handed it to Adam.
“Yes! Cinnamon rolls.” Adam grinned, pulling one from the sack.
“Oh, and you know what else Danielle told me?”
While tearing off a hunk of cinnamon roll, he asked, “What?”
“They’ve arrested Shane Pruitt for Agatha’s murder.”
“You’re kidding me?” Adam popped the cinnamon roll in his mouth and listened to his grandmother tell him all Danielle had told her about the arrest.
Licking the sugary residue off his fingers, Adam frowned. “So you’re telling me if Agatha could have gotten up those stairs on her own, they might not have arrested Shane?”
“I don’t think it’s the stairs as much as walking across the second floor alone to get to the attic stairs. I imagine it would have been possible for her to get up the stairs alone if she held onto the rail and walked slowly.”
“Oh crap. I got to go, Grandma.” Adam set the bag of cinnamon rolls on the counter.
“But you just got here,” Marie protested.
“There is something I need to do. And it can’t wait.”
“What about Ian and Lily?”
“I’ll deal with that after I finish what I have to do.”
AFTER LEAVING his grandmother’s house, Adam drove directly to his office. It took him about thirty minutes to get what he needed off his computer. From his office, he intended to drive directly to the Frederickport Police Station, but then he remembered it was Saturday. There was a good chance the chief wouldn’t be there, and that was who he wanted to talk to.
Sitting in his car in front of Frederickport Vacation Properties, Adam glanced over at the flash drive he had just tossed on the passenger seat. After a moment of consideration, he turned on his ignition and started toward Chief MacDonald’s house.
Adam pulled up in front of the chief’s house ten minutes later and found MacDonald in the front yard with Evan and Eddy Jr., playing a game of catch. When the chief saw Adam get out of the parked car, he paused a moment, ball in hand, and watched Adam approach.
“Hey, Adam. What’s going on?” the chief greeted him.
Adam flashed a quick hello grin to the two boys and then looked to the chief as he walked into the yard. “I need to talk to you a minute, about Shane Pruitt. Grandma told me you arrested him yesterday.”
“Yeah.” MacDonald tossed the ball to Eddy and motioned to the boys to go play so he could talk to Adam. Reluctantly they complied.
Adam held up the flash drive for MacDonald to see. “You need to watch this.”
Taking a step toward Adam, MacDonald frowned. “What is it?”
“It’s probably going to make your case against Shane Pruitt fall apart.” Adam handed him the flash drive.
The chief let out a sigh. “Come on, let’s go inside. You think this will work on my computer?”
“It should.” Adam followed McDonald into the house.
“So tell me how you got this,” MacDonald asked after they walked into his den.
“You know Joyce Pruitt works for me, right?” Adam asked.
MacDonald took a seat at the desk and turned on his computer while Adam sat on the nearby sofa.
“She cleans houses for you, right?”
“Right. After the incident with the gold coins…well, let’s just say I had some trust issues with Joyce.”
“You didn’t trust her anymore?”
Adam shrugged. “In all fairness to Joyce, she’s always been a hard worker. I never had a problem with her showing up when she was supposed to, and I haven’t ever had a complaint about her. But over the last six months, there’s been a significant increase of household items disappearing after a renter moves out. Oh, some of it is to be expected. The vacation properties are completely furnished, and dishes do break, and linens disappear. At first, it never crossed my mind that maybe Joyce took the stuff.”
“And then she took Danielle’s coins.”
Adam nodded. “Exactly.”
The chief held up the flash drive. “So what is this?”
“I had Joyce clean a property that I recently restocked with a number of brand-new household items. New pillows, beach towels, linens, silverware, dishes, and some pretty nice wineglasses. I was curious to see if…well…if she’d take any of it. I set up a security camera in the house, and when she came to clean, I watched.”
“Did she walk away with anything?”
“You need to see for yourself what’s on there.”
THIRTY MINUTES LATER, Adam and the chief sat silently in MacDonald’s den. Finally, the chief spoke.
“Well, I suppose I should call my sister, see if she can watch the boys for a couple of hours.”
“What are you going to do?” Adam asked.
“I guess the only thing I can do. I need to get Shane’s charges dropped.”
CHIEF MACDONALD HADN’T PLANNED to come into work on Saturday. But sometimes, it was unavoidable. Sitting alone in his office, he picked up the phone and called Danielle.
“Hey, Chief, what’s going on?”
“I just wanted to let you know we had to drop the charges against Shane Pruitt.”
“Why?”
