For Letter or Worse

by Vivian Conroy

  “Yes, the company is well known. When I was still in the police force, we worked with them, or rather we tried to work with them in a case of stolen plates.”

  “Plates?”

  “As in china. Rare, valuable, and mysteriously vanished during transport to a museum that was going to put them on display. They were transferred from the villa of a private collector, who had agreed to lend them to the museum for six months. You can imagine it was a mess, with everybody accusing the other party of not having done what was necessary to ensure the safety of the plates. In the end, we discovered the whole thing was set up, as the owner was in financial trouble and wanted to cash in on the insurance money. He had the plates stolen by some thugs he hired via a cousin with contacts among criminals.” Jonas made a dismissive hand gesture. “But that’s not important now. What is Investo doing here in town?”

  “Right. Hazel and I wondered if it has to do with Sally. She was an art expert, especially on statues, Drake told me. She came here quite suddenly, so why did she leave LA? Had she gotten into trouble at the museum where she gave her advice on art objects? A discovery or…”

  Before Delta could go on to explain their entire ingenious theory, Jonas shook his head. “Unfortunately, the situation is completely different. I can’t tell you much about it, as Calvin Drake begged me to keep it quiet. If LeDuc, either Senior or Junior, get their hands on this, it would mean disaster for Drake and his family.”

  Delta eyed him, not understanding. “How come?”

  Jonas looked around him and lowered his voice. “The Investo company is looking into the disappearance of a valuable jade statue from the museum where Sally worked. They discovered only two days ago that it was missing, since it was kept in depot, meaning it was not on display, and nobody had actually seen it for a bit. The box it was in was found empty, and they established by keycard check-ins of the door leading into the depot that Sally had been in the depot on the afternoon before she took her leave.”

  “So, they think she took it?” Delta widened her eyes. “But…Sally was fired, right? Her job there ended abruptly and… Did they already suspect her of stealing?”

  “No, not at all. A colleague accused her of having made a mistake dating some objects, and Sally claimed the colleague had herself entered wrong dates into the computer. Neither of them wanted to back down, and in the end, it was decided Sally had to go. Probably because she had worked with them for only three years, while the other woman had been at the museum for her entire professional career.”

  “So, Sally was dumped, so to say? Can she have taken the statue out of anger? To get back at them?”

  “Maybe. We can’t know for sure Sally took it. If we accept that the colleague whom she had the argument with did enter wrong dates into the computer, that same woman might have stolen the statue to implicate Sally in theft. Sally shared a workspace with her, so the woman might have taken Sally’s keycard from her purse or the drawer of the desk she worked at. She only had an advisory function there, not a full job, so she didn’t have her own room or desk. Especially when a desk is shared, it’s easy enough to take items and return them later.”

  “Yes, but why? Wasn’t the dismissal enough? What had Sally done to this woman?”

  “I don’t know. This is all I know from Calvin Drake, who heard it from Sally. Whether we can trust what she said is of course doubtful. She won’t have told her brother something that could cast her in a bad light if she wanted to come and work for him, right?”

  “Right.” Delta bit her lip. “So, Drake is now confronted with an accusation of theft against his sister, who’s deceased and can’t defend herself anymore?”

  “Exactly. Investo wants West to search the villa for the statue. Maybe the insurance company hopes Drake will be eager to clear his sister’s name and will allow the search?”

  “Although maybe it’s not even likely it’s there. Sally traveled from LA to Tundish. If she took the statue, she could have left it somewhere. In a safe deposit box at a bank, for instance. She need not have brought it here and kept it among her things at the villa.”

  “Look, Delta…” Jonas leaned over. “Not a word about this to anyone. Not to those paper-crafting ladies either. I know they’re your friends, but they are a little talkative, and this can’t get out.”

  “I understand. In the hands of Marc LeDuc, it would be explosive. How about Hazel?”

  Jonas held her gaze. “If I ask you not to tell her, how would you feel?”

  Delta wasn’t sure. It felt awkward, hiding something from her best friend, but at the same time she wanted to do what Jonas asked her. He knew what was best, and he was also a friend.

  “Don’t tell her yet. Maybe there will be developments soon enough, and things will become public. Then you can tell her that I asked you not to reveal it yet. Just because of the people involved. I mean, Drake is so upset that his sister died, and then this suggestion that she stole something from her former employer.”

  “All right. I won’t tell a soul. But you keep me informed. This is getting more and more interesting with all the different angles. Does this mean anything for West’s charges against the husband?”

  “Nope, West will still think Jarvis was involved.”

  “You know West that well you can predict this?”

  Jonas shrugged. “Yes, because I think along the same lines. Look, Sally Drake was a woman who had never in her life gotten a ticket for speeding. A law-abiding citizen. Why would she suddenly steal a statue from the museum where she works? That makes no sense at all.”

  “Unless someone put her up to it,” Delta supplied.

  “Exactly. And who better to assume did this than the husband who was pressuring her for more money all along?” Jonas glanced over his shoulder at the door behind which Hazel was probably wondering what took them so long. “I’ve got to run along now; I have a group I’m taking out in the dark to listen to the sounds of the forest.” He rolled his eyes. “It’s a new idea from Rosalyn for busy city people who come here to relax.”

  Delta grinned. “Have fun. I’m going to the community center with the Paper Posse to rehearse our part in the upcoming town festival. We’re doing an outlaw song, composed by Rattlesnake Rita’s husband. I really don’t know how I got talked into it, but it’s for a good cause. There will be an old money coffer there for people to put their anonymous donations into. They hope to raise enough to expand the mining museum’s collection and draw even more tourists into town. While we’re at the community center, I might sneak a peek at that boardroom Lydia and Clara changed to such mixed responses.”

  “The boardroom will probably be locked up. But let me know if you hear anything significant. Like odd places where Sally was seen before she died? If there is a missing statue around here somewhere, I want to be the first in line to find it.”

  “Is there reward money involved?” Delta winked at him.

  “Just a sense of pride.” Jonas’s tone was as light as hers, but Delta supposed he did mean it. Sleuthing came natural to him, and he’d love to outwit West.

  Jonas went into the shop and snapped his fingers at Spud, who immediately came running to him and looked up as if he expected to be put to work. The duo left the shop.

  “He had a lot to tell you,” Hazel said with a probing look.

  “Oh, only some personal stuff.” Delta straightened a pile of notebooks. “Let’s lock up and head for the community center. Mrs. Cassidy is bringing her pumpkin soup and Jane her corn bread for some dinner before we start rehearsal.”

  “Sounds great.”

  Delta glanced at Hazel, who went into the back to get her things. She wasn’t asking anything more about what Jonas had said?

  “Of course not,” a small voice pestered her, “Hazel trusts you. She thinks you told her the truth. But you haven’t. What’ll she think when she finds out? That you chose Jonas’s side
against her?”

  Nonsense, she told herself. There are no sides, and Hazel will understand that something as painful and explosive as the possibility that Sally Drake was an art thief has to stay under wraps as long as possible. Maybe, if the museum wrongly assumed she took something from the depot, we need never even discuss it.

  Still, she felt uncomfortable as they left and locked up the store. Like something had come between her and Hazel.

  For diversion, she looked to the other side of the street, where the man who was working on Mine Forever’s roof equipment stood at his van. The light of Mine Forever’s flashy sign illuminated his features clearly.

  Delta narrowed her eyes. She knew that face. Not from having seen him around the street working for the diner, but…

  The party at Drake’s villa. One of the caterers. Dressed in white, but that same face. Why on earth would a handyman attend a party dressed up as caterer?

  She blinked as she stared at him. He lit a cigarette and got into his van. With a roar of the engine, he drove off.

  “How odd.” Delta stared after the disappearing van.

  “What?” Hazel asked, slipping her keys into her pocket.

  “That guy. I could have sworn he was at Lena Laroy’s birthday party, dressed up as one of the caterers.”

  “That can’t be. The catering company has their own people, they don’t suddenly hire a handyman to help out.”

  “I’m pretty sure it was the same guy. I overheard this conversation between a woman in a turquoise dress—either Lena or Sally—and a man who put pressure on her to give him something. ‘Tonight or else,’ he said.”

  “Yes, so what?” Hazel looked her over. “You mean that the handyman working in Mine Forever may have crashed the party dressed up as a caterer to be able to speak to Lena or Sally? What for?”

  Delta’s mind was racing. She couldn’t tell Hazel, but having learned Sally might have been in possession of a valuable jade statue, the man imploring the woman to hand something over suddenly took on new meaning. She pulled out her phone to message Jonas, and then recalled he was out with his group and had probably turned off his phone to ensure total quiet during the trip. He had talked to her a few minutes ago, so he wouldn’t expect she had anything relevant to report. Did she even have to tell him or go straight to the police? It was strange and could mean something.

  And had it been Sally behind the bushes? Or Lena? She needed to know, without a doubt, if it had been the murdered woman.

  “Pumpkin soup can wait.” Delta pointed at Hazel. “We’re going to the Drake villa to see Lena Laroy.”

  “What for?” Hazel spluttered. “And what about rehearsal?”

  “We’ll come back as soon as we can. And they can start without us.” Delta made a beeline for the Mini Cooper. She had a feeling they could really discover something worthwhile here. Another angle on the case.

  Chapter Ten

  At the villa, they found the entry gate open and could drive right through. The lights on either side of the driveway were not on. They parked the car at the garage. When the headlights died, it was rather dark. Delta assumed the lights came on as daylight faded and wondered why they hadn’t today. She pulled out her phone to use as a flashlight. They made their way to the front door. Delta pushed the bell but didn’t hear it ring inside. She glanced at Hazel. “That’s weird. The whole place seems abandoned. Maybe we’d better go around back and see if we can find someone there?”

  “Okay.” Hazel looked a bit reluctant, wrapping her arms around her shoulders and glancing around like a deer ready to run at the first sight of a threat.

  They rounded the house and walked past the dark windows of the study and then the large kitchen. A single lamp was on. Delta caught sight of Drake and Zara Kingsley, standing at the fridge. Zara was pointing inside it. Drake said something to her and looked around him. He went to the far wall and pressed buttons. Nothing seemed to happen. His face reddened. He reached into his pocket for his phone. Zara was pale. She backed up and stood leaning against the sink.

  Delta knocked on the window. Zara jumped, and Drake dropped his phone. Hazel said, “Looks like a bad time to be calling. Maybe we had better go away again.”

  “Too late for that.”

  Zara came to the back door and opened it a crack. “What are you doing here? How did you get in? The buzzer for the intercom didn’t—”

  “The gate was open.”

  “Open?” Zara’s jaw slackened. Then she glanced over her shoulder. “The fridge isn’t working either. I think we have no power. It could be a simple malfunction, but Drake thinks…” She lifted her hands to her face. “If someone cut the electricity, the security system isn’t working either. The killer could be here on the grounds. To slaughter all of us.” She shrieked in terror.

  Drake appeared behind Zara at the door. “What’s up? Did you see something? Is he out there?”

  “Who is he?” Delta asked.

  Drake shot her a fiery glare. “What are you doing here? How did you get in?”

  “The gate is open. Security is off.” Zara yelped. “He’s back to kill us all.”

  Drake looked startled. He said to Delta and Hazel, “You’d better come in.” He closed the door behind them, peering through the glass panel into the darkness as if he was trying to detect motion there.

  Zara breathed fast. “I should never have stayed here. I’m leaving. Right now.” She turned away, but Drake grabbed her arm. “Zara, no. There’s nothing wrong.”

  “Then why were you calling the police?”

  “I wasn’t calling the police; I was calling the electric company to ask if there is a problem in the area or if it’s just us. I want them to send someone over right away and fix this.”

  Drake looked Zara over. “But if you think I should call the police…”

  “What’s happening here?” Lena Laroy descended on them, dressed in a flowing white dress with several long, beaded necklaces. Delta wondered in passing if they had been bought at Bessie’s Boutique.

  “Well?” Lena shot her husband and Zara an angry look.

  Zara squeaked, “I noticed the light in the fridge didn’t go on when I opened the door. Mr. Drake came to see and then tried the switches for the lights, and nothing is working. There doesn’t seem to be any electricity in the entire house.”

  “Then how come that lamp is still on?” Hazel asked, pointing at the single lamp against the wall.

  “It’s solar powered, takes up sunlight during the day and then shines during the night,” Drake said in a distracted tone. He put an arm around his wife. “I think we had better stay together until the electric company gets here to fix things.”

  Lena looked at him. “Do you think…”

  “The killer is here,” Zara whimpered. “He cut the power so we would be helpless and he could stab us all.”

  Delta had to admit that the idea of the power being cut was unsettling. After all, what for?

  Lena stood motionless in her husband’s hold. “Did you see anyone when you came up to the house?” she asked Delta.

  “No, but it was rather dark. The lights along the driveway weren’t working either. We merely had the headlights, and they don’t shine far.”

  “Meaning someone could have been lurking on the grounds,” Drake said in a grim tone. “Maybe I had better call the police.” He kept his arm around his wife while he placed the call with his free hand.

  Zara stared at the couple with narrowed eyes. Delta wondered if she was in love with Drake and jealous of Lena.

  “Where are the dogs?” Lena asked Zara.

  “Upstairs in their own playroom. I was getting myself a snack.”

  “Go to them. I don’t want them to be alone while it’s dark.”

  “But if the murderer is around, I could get killed.”

  “We’re paying you to wat
ch the dogs. Go watch the dogs!” Lena’s voice became higher as if hysteria was near.

  Zara edged to the kitchen exit. “Can’t I wait here until the police…”

  “Maybe that is safer,” Drake said.

  “Of course.” Lena’s eyes flashed. “Why don’t you put your other arm around her?”

  Delta kept her eyes on Drake to see how he took this.

  “My sister was murdered,” he said through gritted teeth. “I don’t want to take chances, with anyone.”

  “Oh, darling.” Lena wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him.

  Zara rolled her eyes as if she couldn’t believe this was sincere. Delta had to admit she had her doubts as well. The Drakes made a rather strange couple.

  Outside, police sirens resounded.

  “That’s fast,” Hazel said.

  Flashlights streaked across the lawn, and the back door was thrown open. West entered with a deputy in tow. Another seemed to be outside, shining his flashlight around.

  “We came right away,” West said. He glanced past the faces and spotted Delta. His brows went up. “What are you doing here?”

  “We didn’t get a chance to ask, Sheriff,” Lena said sweetly. “Just as Delta and Hazel arrived, we discovered the power had been cut.”

  “The power was off,” her husband corrected. “We don’t know if it was cut.”

  West said, “We’ll have a look around,” and barged out of the kitchen with his deputy hot on his heels.

  Lena looked at Delta. “What did you come to see us about?”

  “I wanted to talk to you in private. But it seems like a bad time.”

  “No, not at all. It will be a nice distraction.” Lena raised a hand to her face and rubbed her forehead. “Tension is so bad for me. Come into the living room, please. We can wait there for what the police discover.” She shot a look at her husband. “You take Zara up to look after the dogs.”