by Brian Meeks
Henry poured himself a glass of lemonade. “I have to admit I’m enjoying myself and have been trying to guess who the victim might be,” Henry said, taking a seat at the table.
Celine and Catherine got up and joined him. Catherine leaned in and said, “You may not believe this, but I really didn’t know anything about Dwight’s plans for this weekend. He has even written a mysterious back story for me, too.”
“Oh?”
“Well, if you really must know, I was married once before. A man from Calcutta, very wealthy and handsome, swept me off my feet. It was a whirlwind romance. I was much too young, but there I was saying ‘I do.’” She let out a heavy sigh and brought the back of her hand up to her temple as if about to faint. “Sadly, just a few weeks later I was widowed when he fell off the yacht on our way back from Bora Bora,” she said with a slight shudder. She continued, “We had just finished our honeymoon.”
Celine said, “I think she might be a black widow!”
Catherine laughed. “I might be...I can’t wait to see if there is more on the next card.”
Henry said, “So, even as we drink our lemonade you are plotting to kill husband number two.”
Catherine seemed delighted by the prospect.
Rita appeared, asked how everyone was doing, and informed Henry he had a call.
Henry excused himself and followed Rita into the house. They walked down the hall and passed Atkins, the chauffeur, and Harriet who were having a heated discussion. It didn’t look too heated though, as Harriet kept referring to her card. She flashed Henry a smile as he walked past and accused Atkins of meeting someone shady at the front gate.
When they reached the small table with the phone, Rita picked it up and handed it to Henry. Henry took the phone and said, “Hello, this is Henry…hello…anyone there?”
“That’s strange; I said it would only take me a moment to get you. Why would they hang up?” She tapped the cradle a couple of times. “Oh, the line is dead. I’m terribly sorry, Mr. Wood. We have been having problems with the phones.”
Henry told her it was okay. He walked back to the pool wondering if Rita was just playing her part. If she were, she would get the “Best Actress” award. She seemed genuinely upset that the call had been lost.
Henry paused and looked over the back yard. A glint of light had caught his eye. It had come from somewhere along the old stone wall, but he couldn’t see anything. Henry remembered seeing a similar flash of light before a sniper took out a man who had just transferred to his unit. He couldn’t remember the soldier’s name, which bothered him. He headed back down to the pool, but he found the girls were gone, and Edward and Judith Harriman were now sitting at the table. They each had gold envelopes and were reading them intently.
“May I join you?”
Judith looked up. “Why certainly, Henry, dear, do sit down. We just got our next golden cards. This is such a pleasing distraction. Are you enjoying yourself?”
“I would be lying to say otherwise.”
A female staff member rushed up to the table and said, “Mr. Wood, I’m glad I found you. Here is your next card.”
“Thanks,” Henry said, noticing there was only one left in the basket. The young woman rushed away as Edward set down his card and said, “Very interesting indeed.”
“I better give mine a look then.”
Henry opened the envelope and pulled out the card. It took but a moment to read. Judith and Edward were watching him intently, so he put on his best poker face. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to make a call.”
CHAPTER 43
There had been three calls to the major in the morning. Two were business related, and one was from a woman who sometimes accompanied him to dinner. He had expected to hear from his source within the police department. Within minutes of the last two murders he was informed of the calls that had come into the station. They had taken place in a timely fashion and he had expected the lieutenant to accomplish his current mission last night and went to bed prepared for the call.
Having slept through the night uninterrupted, he awoke in a foul mood. The papers had reported both murders, but nobody was connecting the dots. The evening news had not mentioned them at all. The muted reaction started Doyle thinking. He picked up the phone.
When the voice came on the other line, he kept it short and said, “I need you to find out something for me.”
The man on the other end simply said, “Yes, sir.”
“I’m interested in these recent murders of the cop and the waitress. There doesn’t seem to be much news. Is someone down there keeping a lid on things? Is there a connection between the two?”
“I’m not working on either case. I don’t know, but I’ll find out.”
The major made a second call and said, “This is Major Doyle Worth III. Please have my table ready. I’ll be at least an hour.” He hung up without waiting for a response. It didn’t matter how the lieutenant was doing. He had prepared contingency plans and felt it best to set one of them in motion. Though the lieutenant was most loyal, his grasp of reality had begun to wane, and as such, there were other people available who could step in to complete the mission.
Years of planning had resulted in a network of associates who were more than capable of finding the sort of people the major needed. It was all done in a way to minimize any links to him. He would contact one of these people; they would meet with another; and this third person would make the arrangements. This type of work was easy to subcontract out, but those hired would lack the artistry that the lieutenant provided. Still, if he couldn’t accomplish the mission with infantry, he would use tanks.
* * *
Mike awakened when Carol started to cook breakfast. Buttons was on his neck and made a feeble plea for 10 more minutes. After setting the cat on the pillow, he got up and apologized profusely for having fallen asleep. Carol had been very nice about it and even insisted on him staying for some eggs, toast, and coffee.
Much of the morning had been spent in the captain’s office getting yelled at for being late and not having any leads. It was repeatedly pointed out that the first victim was one of their own. Mike had listened to the tongue-lashing respectfully as he felt the criticism was well deserved. It wasn’t the lack of leads that was bothering Mike, it was the inappropriateness of showing up at Celine’s place at such a late hour, disturbing Carol, and falling asleep. Mike was a great cop, a better detective, and a guy who built a life around maintaining rules and order. He hated being late for appointments and being late for work, well that was unthinkable.
At Mike’s core, he was honest. He believed in truth and justice in that order. When the captain asked why he had been late, he said he overslept. It was true, but he didn’t mention the circumstances. It felt like a lie of omission.
Still, Carol had been really nice about it. She had said how much she liked the time Henry, Celine, she, and Mike had gone to that baseball game. She even made a comment about feeling safe with a cop on the couch. Carol had made every effort to put his mind at ease but had failed. He left, still apologizing profusely but with a full belly. She was a really good cook.
After the captain finished, he returned to his desk and tried to keep busy.
Mike placed his fourth call to the Henry Wood Detective Agency and let it ring. It was well after noon but still nothing.
A man brought a box with folders of the crime scene photos from the diner shooting. Mike thanked him and started on the pile. He hoped to find something that hadn’t been apparent when he was in the apartment.
The precinct was busier than normal. It was loud. Two women were both under the impression that they were Mrs. Kowalski. They were taking turns screaming at Mr. Kowalski who seemed to be enjoying himself. He kept saying, “Hey, baby, you know I love you,” but it was hard to tell if he was talking to either of them specifically. A man was being arrested for selling apartments in a building he didn’t own. Another man was trying to file a complaint against his brother for ste
aling his car or wife; Mike wasn’t sure and didn’t care. He needed to get away and find Henry. He got up and left a message with the desk sergeant saying he would be at the diner going back over the crime scene. As he walked out of the building, he thought about dropping by Carol’s work, thanking her again for the breakfast, and maybe apologizing one more time. Should he take her flowers?
CHAPTER 44
Associates of the Enclave were trained to handle monotony. Their hiding place was situated so that they could see the spot where Henry and his assistant were supposed to show up and the pool area. It had been a few hours since watching the pool had been interesting and only one person had ventured down the path all day. Associate 2 watched the pool and 3 watched the path. They didn’t talk as there wasn’t anything to say.
Through the binoculars, 2 saw an older man walk down the steps to the pool area. He looked around, seeming confused, and headed straight to a table with a pitcher of drinks. He poured a drink and looked like he might sit down but instead stood awkwardly. A moment later, he headed towards the pool house but, after only a few steps, turned back around and set his drink on the table. He thought for a moment, knocked the drink over, and strode into the pool house.
2 gave a tap on the shoulder to 3 and whispered, “Something strange is going on.”
3 changed positions so that he could see the pool, too. “Let me take a look.”
They both watched and saw movement in the building. It looked like one person had thrown something at the other. The associates were too far away to hear what was being said, but could hear the general commotion. Off to their left, a woman was walking towards the forest. At the same time, someone was looking out of a second story window. A man with a wheelbarrow was walking along the stone wall. Both 2 and 3 ducked out of sight.
The man stopped just on the other side of the wall. A woman’s voice could be heard saying, “I’m supposed to ask you to help me move the heavy vase in the pool house.”
He said, “I know. I thought the wheelbarrow would help.”
She giggled. “I don’t think we really need to move the vase.”
They started to walk away together, but 2 and 3 heard the man say, “Oh, you think this is part of the game?”
“Yes! It’s such fun.”
“Well, I’m bringing the wheelbarrow anyway just in case.”
2 and 3 poked their heads up and watched the two people head towards the pool. The woman, obviously a maid, seemed to want to run. When they were a few feet from the open door, she hurried ahead of the man and disappeared into the pool house. A one beat pause, and the calm of the afternoon was pierced by a scream. The maid ran out of the pool house, bolted past the man with the wheelbarrow, said, “He’s dead,” and continued up the stairs and into the house. The man went inside and came back out nodding as if impressed.
* * *
Mr. Palmeroy was the first to arrive on the scene. The body of Peter Witherspoon lay on the floor still holding a lit cigar. Dwight bent down to take it from his hand, and the corpse said, “Hey!”
“Dead guys don’t talk…or smoke.”
“I don’t mind being dead, but I won’t give up my cigars.”
“I’ll send some up to your room. You can be a smoking ghost.”
“Deal,” Peter said and resumed being dead.
Peter’s wife Lillian was the next to enter the pool house. “Oh my god, it’s Peter…someone killed Peter.”
Dwight took a sheet from a cabinet and laid it over the victim. “We need to protect the crime scene.”
Catherine appeared in the doorway. “What happened?”
Lillian, trying to cry, said, “Someone has killed Peter. It was terrible. He was lying there on the floor…no color in his cheeks…all dried and wrinkled…he looked like he had been dead for hours. He was hideous.”
A grumble from the dearly departed was ignored as Catherine tried to suppress her laughter. “Who would do such a thing?”
Dwight took control and ushered the women out of the pool house. He remained in character and said to Harriet, “There has been a terrible murder. Please go call the police and try to find the world famous detective Henry Wood and his assistant.”
“But, sir, the phones aren’t working.”
There was a dramatic pause. In Dwight’s mind, he had always heard the sound of dramatic music at that moment and had considered having the quartet remain for the weekend. He couldn’t figure out a plausible reason for them to be by the pool, though, so he had to live with dramatic silence. The gardener, caught up in the moment, said, “Dahn dahn dahn,” then realized he had said it aloud and added, “Er…sorry.” Dwight thought it better than silence and winked at him as he answered Harriet, “Why don’t you go round up the staff? I’m sure the detective will want to speak to everyone.”
The mood was much more jovial than the typical crime scene. Edward had a glass of port and a cigar and was talking with Rita who looked relieved that they had made it to the murder as planned. Judith Harriman and Catherine were consoling Lillian who continued to describe how terrible her husband looked. Dwight was mostly just standing by the door looking pleased with himself.
Henry Wood arrived ready to earn his ducats. “I have been informed that my services are required.”
In his mind, he was Basil Rathbone having been in the library reading Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror when he was summoned. Henry produced his notebook much to the delight of everyone present. He disappeared into the pool house for a moment. There wasn’t much to look at, and the victim had gotten tired of lying on the floor.
Mr. Witherspoon was smoking and whispered, “I hope you don’t mind. The floor was rather uncomfortable. Since dead men tell no tales, I think I’ll go up to my room and try to decide who I’m going to haunt first.”
“I’m sure I can do without the corpus delicti,” Henry whispered back. He began to examine the sheet that was still on the floor. After a reasonable minute or so, he headed back to the pool.
The crowd quieted, and Henry was center stage. This really is fun, he thought. Henry made several proclamations about nobody leaving the estate and that the authorities would need to be called immediately. Rita reminded him of the situation with the phones to which Henry replied, “Then we will have to solve this mystery ourselves because one among us is…a murderer!” There was a moment of silence. A few people looked at the gardener who looked at Mr. Palmeroy. Mr. Palmeroy gave a slight nod, and the gardener said, “Dahn dahn dahn.”
CHAPTER 45
For the last few hours the guests and staff had been sequestered in the sitting room and been casually interviewed by Henry. The staff was interviewed first and everyone was enthralled watching a real detective ply his craft. Dwight announced additional rules. Each person, guests and staff, would be allowed to write down their theory about the murderer. The actual murderer wasn’t allowed to win though they could submit a guess with the rest to avoid tipping their hand. Dwight had gone so far as to get several prizes. The closest answer with the name of the culprit and the motive would win a cut-glass Stuben vase.
After Henry finished with the staff, they were allowed to go set up a buffet for the evening ahead. Dwight said that everyone was allowed to ask follow-up questions or search the grounds for clues. Finally, Dwight explained that the murderer might not have been as clever as he or she thought and that pieces of the puzzle were to be found that would help expose the villain. Everyone had until noon tomorrow to submit their theories.
Celine spoke up first. “I have only one question.”
Dwight looked at her. “Yes?”
Celine turned to Henry and asked, “And where were you at the time of the murder?”
Everyone laughed. Henry had to think about it and answered a bit too quickly, “I was making a phone call.”
Celine walked around him and asked, “You were making a phone call on the phones that don’t work?”
This got a second and louder roar. Even Henry had to smile. She
was sharp. If he weren’t careful, the door at the office would read ”Buttons and Celine Detective Agency.” “I should say, I was trying to make a call. If you recall, when we arrived our phone in the room wasn’t working, so I went looking for another one.”
Celine nodded. “It’s true, and he was able to find one yesterday. So I suppose that’s a reasonable alibi...except...were you looking for this phone alone?”
Henry looked at Dwight. “I think I’d like to call my attorney.”
Dwight played it straight. “As Celine pointed out, the phones aren’t working.”
Celine was enjoying the laughs too much to let up. “Mr. Wood, please answer the question.”
“Yes...I was alone.”
“That’s a pretty weak alibi...I’m keeping my eye on you.”
Drinks were served, and guest-on-guest interrogations began. Dwight excused himself. He was followed into the hall by Catherine. “I’ll be back shortly; I just need to check on a few things.”
“It’s okay; I just wanted to tell you something...” She threw her arms around him, then pulled back and said, “This has been the best weekend, Dwight. I love you so much, and I just wanted to say that even after five years, I’m just as head over heels as I was on that first date. All the ladies are jealous that you still go to such lengths to be fun.” She gave him a quick kiss and one more hug and then went back inside.
Dwight’s face sank as he headed off to his office which had been deemed off-limits. He had planned this whole weekend to lure Henry Wood away from the city. The last few weeks had been the worst of his life. Though he was sure his plan would work, he was concerned about one thing: he liked Henry and Celine. It never occurred to him that the fellow asking questions and snooping around matters that didn’t concern him could be so damn likable. During his planning, Henry Wood was simply the enemy. He wished he would just go away and so it never occurred to him that there might be problems with that outcome.
