For Letter or Worse

by Vivian Conroy

  “Hello, Hazel,” Ray said, stepping into the tent. He glanced around. “I see it’s not exactly packed with crafters.”

  “Do you want to make a 3-D card?” Mrs. Cassidy asked sweetly. “Lena never said it was just for women.”

  “I could never cut anything straight,” Ray said, raising both hands in a dismissive gesture. “Ask my kindergarten teacher.” And he fled.

  Mrs. Cassidy chuckled. When she saw Hazel’s expression, she sobered and said, “Don’t take it so hard. It’s not your workshop. People have other matters on their minds. Especially after the strange gift.” She perked up. “Is that a siren I hear?”

  Delta listened. “I think so.”

  Moments later, the blare became overwhelming, and brakes squealed. Delta peeked out of the tent and saw two deputies rushing across the lawn to the gift table. One of them was holding a roll of crime-scene tape and started to string it from one tree to another, fencing off a wide area around the table. The other told people to step away.

  Delta frowned. Jonas had told her the deputy he had talked to didn’t see the need to come out for a mere perfume bottle with a skull on it. Now they were suddenly acting like there was a serious threat?

  “What’s happening?” Mrs. Cassidy asked over her shoulder. “Look, the sheriff himself.”

  Delta saw Sheriff West striding across the lawn, pausing at a group to ask a question. The congregated partygoers pointed to the villa with serious expressions and started to talk among themselves as soon as he walked away. “Maybe Jonas suspects the contents of the bottle are poisonous or combustible and called them in to remove it with special care,” Mrs. Cassidy mused. “He can hardly throw it in the trash without them having had a look at it. Nobody knows what it might be.”

  The potential threat had to be serious if the sheriff was coming out like this. Sheriff West didn’t like Jonas and would sooner ignore him than act on something he said.

  Nerves tingled in Delta’s stomach. Was something violent about to happen at this party? With so many people around, it could turn into a disaster.

  The two deputies had cordoned off the gift table, and one of them pulled out his phone and was taking pics of the items on the table. There was a strange and unsettling contrast between his stern uniform and the cheerful parcels with ribbons and bows he was snapping.

  The other deputy joined a group of people at a safe distance from the table and was taking down information in a notebook.

  “What on earth is happening here?” A tall woman with black hair worked into an ingenious bun and an ankle-length purple dress marched up to the gift table and gestured at the deputy taking pictures. “What are you doing disturbing the party like this?”

  The deputy quietly explained something to her. “Outrageous,” she called out. “There’s nothing wrong here. Who placed that call?”

  “Who’s she?” Delta asked Mrs. Cassidy.

  “Una Edel. Drake’s right-hand woman. She’s one of his top designers and built the Drake Design company with him. I heard that before Lena Laroy came on the scene, she had hoped to become the third Mrs. Drake. But that could have been an idle rumor. She strikes me as far too independent to tie herself to a man.”

  As Mrs. Cassidy said it, Una Edel was ushering the deputy away from the gift table and toward the house. She gestured with her left hand, which held a bunch of keys on a sparkling key chain with a pendant in the shape of a flying bird. The blue gemstones in its wings caught the light of the afternoon sun.

  “A force to be reckoned with,” Mrs. Cassidy said.

  Sheriff West exited the house and met Una Edel and his deputy halfway. He sent the deputy back to the gift table with a mere nod of his head. The poor man seemed totally confused by the contradictory orders as he jogged back and resumed taking photos.

  Una Edel argued with the sheriff, but he brushed past her and gave instructions to the other deputy, who was interviewing guests. Una clutched her key ring and disappeared into the house with short, angry steps.

  Mrs. Cassidy wormed past Delta and said, “I’ll go and listen in on what West is saying.” She took care to stay out of his line of vision and approached the group via a wide circle. Delta shook her head at her surreptitious tactics but had to admit she also wanted to know what was up.

  Two little girls with red fondant on their faces and sprinkles all over their hands ran up and asked, “Can we make cards here?” Without waiting for Delta’s reply, they ducked under her arm into the tent. Chairs rattled against the table, and Hazel said, “Hey, look out. You’re tipping over the whole thing.”

  Delta quickly turned inside to help ensure some great cards were made.

  * * *

  “Now I know,” Hazel said, when the two girls had run off with their cards clutched in their hands, “why I won’t be doing kids’ parties. They are fun but so exhausting.”

  Delta crawled across the floor to gather discarded stickers, tubes of glitter, and candy wrappers. Popping up with two hands full, she said, “I wonder how far the sheriff is with his investigation, or what exactly he’s investigating among those party gifts. When put like that, it sounds a bit laughable, but I assume he doesn’t come out with sirens blazing for nothing.”

  She put the items in the cardboard box Hazel had used to transport the materials. “I’m going to have a look. Can I bring you some juice?”

  “Yes, please. I feel drained.” Hazel sank on a chair and rubbed her face, leaving glitter on her cheek. Delta motioned at her to scratch it off, and Hazel dived into her purse to look for her mini mirror.

  Delta stepped out and looked around. Most people had gone inside, and at the gift table, the police tape moved in the growing wind. It looked like an abandoned crime scene, and Delta shivered involuntarily.

  In the distance, a man in—what she assumed to be—the white catering uniform walked about with an empty tray. Delta went over to ask for two glasses of juice. But as she neared, certain he had seen her waving at him, he suddenly made a U-turn and disappeared around the house. It seemed everyone was flustered by the sudden party disruption. Let’s see if there’s a drink to be had indoors.

  Delta entered the house through the same door she had used before and peeked into the room where Jonas had been with the sinister perfume bottle. He was gone, and the table was clean. Where is everyone?

  She followed the corridor, peeking into another empty room with beautiful paintings on the wall lit by special, overhead lights. A spotlight shone on a bronze statue of a woman picking flowers, which dominated the far end of the room. The metal had been worked by an expert hand, creating an illusion of movement as the woman leaned down. It seemed her dress moved in the breeze, and her head was just about to come up again as she rose to continue walking. This must be Drake’s rumored art collection… Delta heard voices and turned away from the art, to follow the sound to a large living room where all the missing party guests stood and sat in groups, talking. She figured they must have been rounded up by the police for questioning, but their conversation seemed casual, and she scanned the room for the police officers she had seen earlier. No uniforms in sight.

  She did spot Jonas, standing beside a huge potted plant, and went over. “Have the police already left?”

  “I never meant for them to come out like that, with blaring sirens and all. Lena is upset her party is ruined. I bet her husband will be mad at me too. I had better leave before he turns up.”

  “But he asked you to help out. You only reported the bottle to have them take it in for analysis. With your knowledge of Calvin Drake’s worries about his wife’s safety, you could hardly have ignored it.”

  “Yes, but you know how bad my relationship with West is. I bet he figured that I was hired to do security here, and he didn’t like it. To ruin my relationship with the Drakes, he came rushing in and disturbed the party.”

  “I can’t imagine—” Del
ta said, but Jonas cut her off.

  “He’s interviewing people now upstairs in the study. I was first on his list. I don’t know what has gotten into him. Except for a need to fight it out with me.”

  “I’m sure he has a good reason to do this,” Delta said, although she clearly remembered that in the murder case at the Lodge Hotel, West had arrested and charged Hazel’s brother, Finn, without having much hard evidence to do so.

  As she searched for something encouraging to say to Jonas, her gaze wandered and fell on Una Edel, who came in through another door and scanned the room. She walked about, muttering to herself, her eyes searching, and then disappeared again. On the clock beside the door it was ten past six. Delta’s stomach growled, and she wondered how long they’d have to stay here. She could do with a hot meal.

  Jonas straightened up. “Well, all I can do is tell Drake what happened, and he has to draw his own conclusions. I should never have let myself be talked into this in the first place.”

  “But you must admit it is fascinating.” Delta touched his arm. “Who sent her that bottle? Can it be someone present right now? People arrived and put their gifts on the table.” Imagine someone sitting here, acting innocent, while they knew… Suddenly, she thought of Sally Drake and the look in her eyes as people sang Happy Birthday for Lena.

  “The garden is open in the back, leading into the forest.” Jonas glanced at her. “Someone could have come in, added a present, and vanished again. It need not have been a party guest.”

  “You said something about a disturbed fan. Are you thinking of anyone in particular?”

  “There were several people sending her frequent messages and presents while she was still modeling. That was even in the papers.” Jonas leaned back on his heels, studying the people in the room. “But why would they continue after she quit?”

  “The skull was taped to a perfume bottle. Do you think that’s because perfume is an acceptable birthday gift, or because Lena is now in the perfume business? To show her that although she’s no longer a model, she’s still…”

  “A target?” Jonas nodded. “I have considered that. I took it seriously, which is why I phoned the station. I wish now I never had.”

  One of the deputies entered and beckoned forward a new guest to be questioned.

  Jonas hid his face in his hands and rubbed it. “What a mess,” he muttered.

  A handsome man in his sixties, clean-shaven, with an energetic air, came into the room and asked someone close to the door a question. He was pointed up.

  Jonas peeked through his fingers, whispering, “That’s Drake himself. He must be back from his business meeting.”

  “Yes, Ray mentioned something about Drake coming to the Lodge this afternoon to discuss furnishings with Rosalyn.” Delta thought it might be better not to mention Ray’s suggestion that Drake and Rosalyn had gotten along very well. Ray had a bit of a difficult relationship with his eldest sister after they had been estranged for a while, and maybe he had been pulling Delta’s leg by suggesting something. In any case, she wasn’t about to spread a rumor like that.

  Drake went around, shaking hands with a few people, and then disappeared upstairs. Halfway up, he ran into Una Edel, who stopped him. Her emphatic voice carried across the buzz of people talking. “It has gone too far.”

  Did she mean the threat to Lena? Or Lena’s response to it and the arrival of the police, ruining the party?

  Drake shook his head emphatically and although Una looked ready for an argument, she let him pass and came all the way down, continuing to look about her as if still searching for something or someone.

  “Well,” Delta said, “I guess I should really go and help Hazel clean up.” She did want to know more about this, but she could hardly let her friend wonder where she had disappeared to.

  Just as she wanted to step away, Zara Kingsley, the dog walker, came running into the room. Her face was pale, her eyes wide, and she screamed, “Help, help! Police!”

  Una Edel went over and grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her. “Calm down.”

  Zara screamed even louder. “Police! She’s dead.”

  Everyone had gone silent and stared at the two women.

  “Who’s dead?” Una asked.

  Zara gasped for breath. “Pearl had run off. I went after her. She was at the dead rose bushes in the back of the garden. She tried to dig there. When I went up to her to catch her collar, I saw the”—she swallowed hard—“dead body.”

  “Don’t be silly, girl. From a distance, you may have seen a branch or something. A mossed-over tree trunk. Get yourself together.”

  “It was a dead body.”

  West came banging down the stairs. “Did someone call for the police?”

  Una turned to him. “The silly girl thinks she saw a dead body. Merely stress, Sheriff, I assure you.”

  “I’ll be the judge of that. What did you see?”

  “At the rose bushes, in the back,” Zara said shakily. “A dead body. It’s Sally.”

  “Sally?” Una repeated.

  “Sally,” Delta mouthed to Jonas, who widened his eyes. The woman who had dressed similarly to their hostess, Lena Laroy. A mistaken killing?

  “You take me to the dead body,” West decided. “Everybody else stays here. You too.” He growled the latter at Una Edel, who seemed eager to fall in step with him.

  “This is outrageous, Sheriff,” she snarled.

  “I said you stay here.” West marched off.

  There was a mutter among the guests. Una raised her hands and spoke loudly. “Nothing has happened. We’ll soon hear it was a simple mistake. Please stay calm.”

  Jonas leaned over to Delta and whispered, “I don’t think you can mistake a branch or even a mossed-over tree trunk for a dead body. Sally Drake wore a conspicuous turquoise dress.”

  “Yes, looking a lot like Lena’s.” Delta held his gaze. “Do you think…”

  “I’m not thinking anything until I have some facts.” Jonas shifted his weight.

  “Admit it, you’d just love to go out there now and see it all for yourself.”

  “I quit that kind of thing.”

  “Yeah, which is why you agreed right away when Drake hired you for some security.”

  Jonas nodded past her, and Delta turned to see Drake rush down the stairs. “Where’s my wife? I heard something about a dead body. Where is she?”

  Una said, “I was with her a few minutes ago. She’s fine.”

  Drake didn’t seem to hear her. “Where is she?” he cried.

  Lena Laroy entered the room through the other door off the corridor. She looked about her as if she was suddenly conscious of people in her home. “Is everything all right?” she asked.

  Drake ran for her and locked her in his arms. “Darling…”

  She leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

  Delta looked from the embracing couple to Una Edel, who studied them with a strange expression. What exactly flashed in her eyes? Jealousy? Or suspicion? Or was it exasperation, as if Una didn’t buy into their little act of affection? Because she herself was in love with Drake and had wanted to be with him? Because she saw the other woman as a rival?

  Stop it, Delta admonished herself, you know nothing about them. Just rumors and assumptions.

  One of the deputies prowled by the door, and his phone beeped. Everybody looked at him. It was like the entire room held its breath. He read the message on screen and then turned to the assembled people. “There has been a dead body discovered on the grounds,” he said. “I have to ask all of you to remain where you are.”

  Drake looked at him over the head of his wife, who pressed herself closely against him. “A dead body, who?”

  “They think it’s Sally,” Una said.

  Drake’s face drained of color. “Sally? No.” He let go of his wi
fe and attempted to rush to the door. But the deputy blocked his path.

  “No one is leaving. This is a murder investigation now.”

  “Murder?” Drake gasped. “You mean, it isn’t a heart attack or…”

  Delta thought it was odd he would assume death by natural causes, especially since he had been worried enough about his wife’s safety to have hired Jonas, but maybe in a moment of crisis, people didn’t think straight.

  “Everybody stays here,” the deputy said. He gestured at Jonas. “You help us contain them.”

  Jonas hitched a brow. “Am I suddenly one of you?”

  “I’d like to think you are.”

  Jonas held the deputy’s gaze and then said, “Okay. I’ll help where I can.” He glanced at Delta. “Looks like we have another murder on our hands.”

  Chapter Four

  Delta sat opposite Sheriff West in the study upstairs. The shelves along the walls were filled with books, and the atmosphere was stuffy. A door onto a balcony let in a welcome breeze, moving the wine-red velvet curtains that were half-drawn.

  Sheriff West stared with a frown at his notebook. “So, you saw the deceased at the party, moving into the brush?”

  “It could have been her. It could also have been Lena Laroy. They both wore similar turquoise dresses and have blond hair. I overheard a bit of conversation between this woman and a man. The man threatened her to give him something or else. I couldn’t make out who the man was…maybe he’s the one who killed Sally.”

  Sheriff West sighed. “This is all very vague. You’re not even sure it was the victim you overheard.”

  “I know, but at least now you know she may have been under threat.”

  West frowned and muttered, “I wonder if the perfume bottle was also meant for her.”

  “But it was a birthday gift for Mrs. Drake, I mean, Lena Laroy, right? It was on the gift table among the other presents.” Delta didn’t know what Jonas might already have told the sheriff, so she added, “I heard a rumor at the party that Lena Laroy was threatened before. By a disturbed fan. When she was still modeling.”