“Believe me, we’re trying. Once the breakfast is over, I’m back on the case.”
• • •
By ten o’clock, the Pumpkin Pancake Breakfast was in full swing, with every table full and people lining up to buy staples. It couldn’t have been a worse time for Detective Koren and Detective Coyle to walk into Nature’s Way. So, of course, that’s when they did.
But Lily was back in the storeroom and Wallace saw them first. “What are they doing here?”
Quickly I pulled him to the side. “Wallace, I think they are here to arrest Lily for Amy’s murder. But it doesn’t mean that Jackson, Simon, and I are going to stop looking for the real killer. We’ve pulled it out before. So I know it’s difficult, but please, please, try to remain calm.” I was especially concerned about his reaction since he’d told me a few weeks ago that he’d seen his doctor and he had high blood pressure and a blockage in one of his arteries that would need to be addressed soon.
While Detective Koren and Detective Coyle scanned the room, I headed to the back room to alert Lily, to give her a moment to deal with it on her own. But when I opened the door to the storeroom, she was sitting on a box, crying. Quickly I went into the downstairs bathroom and grabbed a few tissues and gave them to her. “Here, sweetie—what is it?”
“Everything is a mess. David called me last night and told me he loved me but said we needed to spend time apart. I’m so confused, I don’t know what to do, or think.”
“I hate to do this to you, Lily, but the police are here, and I think they are going to arrest you.”
Her eyes opened wide, and her face went white. “No! No!” She started crying again. “But I didn’t do it. I wouldn’t hurt David! Never!”
I looked out the door and the detectives were heading toward us. “Lily, listen, we don’t have much time. They’re coming right now. All of us believe that you are innocent, and like I just told your uncle, Jackson, Simon, and I will continue to work on this and find the real killer. We’ve done it before and we can do it again. Your lawyer, Shawn, is one of the best. I’m asking you to trust us—you just have to keep the faith for a little while longer.” I hugged her tightly as the detectives pushed their way in like storm troopers.
“Ms. Bryan?” Detective Koren said. She stepped away from me and blew her nose. “You are under arrest.” Detective Coyle snapped the cuffs on. She sniffled, but didn’t cry. He read her the Miranda warning, the one we all knew from TV shows but not in real life. When it was real, it was so ominous and otherworldly and, really, so terrifying.
“Do you understand these rights as I have explained them to you?”
“Yes,” she said, her voice trembling.
“Stay strong, Lily, stay strong,” I said.
She lifted her head and looked directly at me. In that moment, it was just the two of us. She said, “I will,” and I felt the weight of my responsibility to her and her future. Then I watched as the two detectives marched her out of the storeroom, down the aisle, and out of Nature’s Way. I sat down on the same box she’d been sitting on and started to cry.
• • •
Ten minutes later, Merrily came to find me because, of course, the crowds kept coming. It was one of the most difficult things I’d ever had to do—stay and take care of the business, my business, rather than run out the door and try to find answers to free Lily.
After I alerted Simon, who called Shawn Thompson, her lawyer, and left a message for Jackson, I put my body and brain on autopilot and went through the motions. Although the inquiring glances from customers who had been there for the arrest or heard about it afterward were difficult to ignore. Wallace, too, was on autopilot and walked around like one of those zombies in the Halloween maze. I became worried again about his health, especially his heart.
Finally, at around eleven thirty, things slowed down. But there still was plenty to do. Eventually, the tables emptied and the customers left with their purchases, and we had Nature’s Way back to ourselves. I suggested that Merrily brew a pot of chamomile tea and that we all take a break and sit down together to discuss what had happened.
I kept watching the door, but no one came in. Wallace, meanwhile, was busy putting new place settings on the last two tables. But when Merrily brought the tea and shortbread cookies out on a tray, I said, “Wallace, that can wait. Please come and sit down.”
He blew out a breath, put down the rest of a setting, came over, and flopped, exhausted, in a chair. Merrily put the tray down, sat, and began to pour tea for all of us.
“I know that we’re all upset, so I want to fill you in on what I’ve done so far. I let Simon know what happened and he has alerted Shawn Thompson, Lily’s lawyer, in New York. I’m sure he will be out here today. Simon already told me that he will post the bail for Lily, so, Wallace, that is something that you and your family don’t need to worry about.”
Wallace nodded. “Thank you, Willow. I’ll let her parents know what you’ve done. They’re coming from Boston on the three o’clock ferry. They’ll be staying with all of us in Peconic.”
“I’ve left a message for Jackson, too,” I said. “And now that things have calmed down a bit, I think the best thing for me to do is to continue my investigation. Is that okay with you two? Or would you like me to call in some of our high school and college help? Maybe Tad?”
Tad Williams had worked in Nature’s Way this summer and was efficient, fun, and positive. He attended Juilliard in the city, where he studied voice and opera, so he might be around. I could check.
“Tad would be a big help,” Merrily said. “Especially tonight with the Halloween party and the trick-or-treaters. You might not get back here to help us.”
“I plan to. But you’re right. At this point, I don’t know where the day will take me.” I pulled out my phone and called Tad. He answered on the first ring.
“Hey, Willow, what’s up?”
“Hi, Tad, I know it’s late notice and you may have plans, but we could really use your help. Are you home in Greenport?”
“I am, and I’m super-bored. My plans fell through for the day so just tell me when you need me and I’ll be there.”
“That’s really great, Tad, thank you. Can you hold on for a moment?”
“Sure thing.”
I turned to Merrily and Wallace. “What time do you need Tad?”
“The sooner, the better,” Merrily said.
Wallace didn’t respond, just sipped his tea.
“When can you get here, Tad? We could use you today and tomorrow.”
“I’m on my way. Thanks for thinking of me.”
“Thank you, Tad. I’m going out, but I’ll see you later. You’ll be a big help to Merrily and Wallace.” We said good-bye and ended the call.
“Thanks for the extra help, Willow,” Wallace said. “It will make things easier here.” But when he took another sip of tea, suddenly he dropped the cup. It landed on the saucer and cracked it in half. Gasping for air, he put his hand to his chest and managed to say, “I think I need to go to the hospital.”
I put my hand on his. “Breathe, Wallace, and try to stay calm.” On my phone I punched 911 for the second time in twenty-four hours.
chapter eighteen
On the drive over to Eastern Long Island Hospital following the ambulance, I had to remind myself to stay calm. Only with a clear head would I be able to help Wallace, and his niece, Lily. I’d just turned left on the corner from Front Street to Main Street next to the Coronet restaurant when Jackson called me back. Quickly I put the phone in the holder on the dash and pushed the speaker button.
“Hi, honey, are you okay? I’m sorry I didn’t pick up. I had an animal come into the rescue, and now I’m on my way to David’s, but I can come to you.”
“They arrested Lily. We were in the storeroom talking and she was upset over David because she said he called her last night and said he thought they should take a break, and then they came in and arrested her. It was awful. But then it got so much worse because Wallace had a
heart attack, at least the paramedics think so.”
“Oh, jeez. Is he okay?”
“I don’t know. I’m following the ambulance now to ELIH. Can you meet me there?”
“Of course. Turning around right now, and I’ll call David and Simon. Maybe you and I can go see David and Ivy afterward. He broke his arm in two places and had another mild concussion and they sent him home. Maybe in a different environment we can finally get some answers to help Lily.”
“Wait a minute. Why are you going to David and Ivy’s house?”
“Because he just hired me to be his new bodyguard.”
“What?”
“He needed someone and he called me, and I couldn’t say no. It’s just until the competition is over, and then I’ll find him someone else if necessary. But I feel like this thing is coming to a head, and hopefully we can nail the real killer by then.” Jackson paused for a moment. “It’s a good thing we watched those Murder, She Wrote episodes last night.”
“Ha, ha, Jackson. Very funny.”
“Just trying to lighten the mood, hon.”
“I know. Actually, she is a good detective, or her writers were. Now we need to be just as good.” I turned down the street that led to the hospital.
“Greenport is a lot like Cabot Cove,” Jackson said. “The bodies are piling up. We’ve solved quite a few ourselves.”
“And we can do it again.” I took a right at the EMERGENCY sign and headed around back to the ER. “You, Simon, and me.” I pulled into a spot and parked. “Okay, I’m here. Can you meet me in the ER? How long will you be?”
“Ten minutes, hon, stay strong, I’m coming. Love you.”
“I love you, too, and thanks for coming to my rescue. I can take care of myself, but it’s also nice to have you there when things go really wrong.”
“Back atcha, hon. See you in a few.”
• • •
Jackson and I didn’t sit in the ER waiting room long. Within an hour, the nurse came out and told us that we could go back and see Wallace.
We found Wallace in a bed on the left, hooked up to all kinds of monitors, with oxygen tubes in his nose, and his eyes closed. The doctor who had been writing on Wallace’s chart looked up as we entered, motioned us to step outside, and pulled the curtain closed behind us.
“Is he okay? Did he have a heart attack?”
“We’re still trying to determine what happened,” she said. “But he’ll need to stay here for evaluation. I gather from what he told us that he just had a very stressful event at work.”
“Yes, that’s right,” I said. “His niece, Lily, who also works at Nature’s Way, my store, has been arrested.”
The doctor gave me a curious look. “Arrested?”
“It’s all a big misunderstanding, but that’s why she isn’t here,” I said. “I called his wife, Suzy, who was in the city with their daughter, Ella. But they’re on the Hampton Jitney right now, and it’s due in at two thirty. Suzy’s car is at the railroad station where the bus arrives, so she’ll come right here. Lily’s parents are also on their way from Boston.” Although, I thought, their primary focus would be their daughter, who was in jail.
The doctor nodded. “Fine.”
“So what happens next?”
“As soon as we have a bed upstairs, Wallace will be transferred up to the ICU, monitored, and evaluated.”
“The ICU?” Jackson said. “That must mean that it is serious. Willow said that he’s been having some problems. Did the situation escalate because of the news about his niece?”
“We don’t know exactly what we’re dealing with yet, although he does have a confirmed blockage. And, yes, stress can definitely exacerbate a cardiac condition.”
“Is there anything we can do to help?” I said.
“For now, no. He needs to rest. We’ll continue to run tests, move him upstairs, and do more tomorrow. Perhaps you can call his wife for an update this evening.”
• • •
When we stepped out of the ER into the cool autumn air, I took a deep breath and tried to center myself. “This has been a bad day so far. Suddenly, I feel tired and drained. I hope we can turn it around. For Lily’s and Wallace’s sake.”
Jackson took my hand and we walked to our cars. “Of course we can, McQuade. Especially since now that I’ll be super-close to David for the next day or so. As for the energy, we can stop for coffee.”
“True, and maybe seeing them in their home environment will loosen them up. Or if that doesn’t work, with this much at stake, I have no compunction about snooping around. We need answers, and fast.”
“I don’t blame you, and I can keep them occupied while you snoop from top to bottom.”
“Amy lived in a guesthouse there, so I need to check that out, too.”
“Absolutely.”
“And then I think we need to take a ride to see the Crockers and find out what Camille’s planning, beyond Gerald. Did they really try to kill David to get ahead? And are they still trying? Did they put him in that vat?”
“It does seem like a two-person job,” Jackson said, taking out his truck keys. “Speaking of which, we really need to talk to David’s father and brother, too.”
“We can see them on the way back from the Crockers’. We can also check all the vineyard signs to see if one of them matches that sign in those photos that were sent to David.”
“Good idea.”
“Plus, tonight is Halloween, and all the most prestigious wineries are having pairings with restaurants in town. It’s a good way to catch up with the rest of our suspects—Gerald, Derek Mortimer, Carla Olsen, and one Ramsey Black.
• • •
Ten minutes later, Jackson took a right on Village Lane in Orient and headed past the post office, the ice cream shop, and the Orient Country Store, past the Oysterponds Historical Society, and took a left onto West Bay Avenue.
David and Ivy’s three-story Victorian home was like Nature’s Way, but much more elaborate and in the Queen Anne style. Not only was it twice the size, it had an impressive yellow and burnt-sienna exterior and extensive period details, including pink and green gingerbread trim, scalloped shingles, complicated asymmetrical wings and bays, steep, multifaceted roofs with stained-glass windows, round and octagonal towers, and a large wraparound porch with ornamental spindles and brackets. The expansive lawn led down to a large stone wall, and beyond that the road, a rocky beach, and a dock with rowboats and fishing boats tied up.
Ivy met us at the door, dressed in an expensive-looking black wool wrap over pressed jeans and flats. “Come in, please, David told me you were coming.”
“Your house is so beautiful, and what a view,” I said, truly impressed.
“Yes, it’s inspired by the Boston architect H. H. Richardson, who built the first American Queen Anne house—the Watts Sherman House—in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1874,” Ivy said matter-of-factly. “Amy and I spent summers here with our grandparents when we were growing up. Off-season, we were in New York, of course.”
“Of course,” I said.
“When Grandfather Walter died a few years ago, he left it to me. David and I recently had the exterior repainted and updated the interior as well. I wanted it to be more reflective of David and me and the way we live now.” Ivy touched the mahogany banister at the side of the staircase that led to the upper floors. “I think it came out well.”
“I’d say so,” Jackson said, looking around.
She led us into the front room, which had been completely refurbished and updated from a cramped, dark traditional Victorian interior to a bright white space with navy-blue couches and chairs around a large glass coffee table, floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, a sixty-five-inch HDTV mounted on the wall, an elaborate stereo system, and an enormous picture window that overlooked Orient Harbor, which was choppy on this windy day in late October. A fire blazed in the enormous fireplace, keeping the room toasty and warm.
“What a beautiful room,” I said. “It’s large, but at
the same time very cozy.”
“Very nice,” Jackson said.
“We like it.”
David had made himself comfortable on a couch, his injured arm in an extensive cast on top of a big pillow. Prescription-medicine bottles were on the coffee table, along with a cup of coffee, the remnants of a breakfast bagel, and copies of Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast, and Decanter magazines. The TV was on, tuned to HGTV, but David had his eyes closed, with a copy of Wine & Spirits magazine tented on his chest.
“Is he sleeping?” Jackson said. “Or just resting?”
“Just resting, I think,” Ivy said. “David? Jackson and Willow are here.”
David’s eyes fluttered open, and he smiled at us. “My rescuers! If it hadn’t been for you two and Simon, I’d still be in that vat!”
“How’s the arm?” Jackson said as we took seats on the couch opposite his. Ivy left the room.
“Hurts like hell.” David reached for a bottle of pills, but tipped it over.
I reached for it and handed it to him. The label said it was oxycodone and acetaminophen, strong stuff. But sometimes, prescription medicines were absolutely necessary, especially for acute pain.
“Thanks, Willow.” He opened the bottle and popped a pill in his mouth and followed it with a sip of coffee. “I’m trying to stay awake, but these pills are kicking my ass.”
“Just go with it,” I said. “You need to respect the injury, and you’ve got quite a bad one. Did the doctor give you a prognosis?”
“It’ll take six to eight weeks to heal, and about the same time in physical therapy to make sure I regain movement in the arm and my hand.” He wiggled his fingers at the end of the cast. “At least it’s my left hand, and I’m a righty. And now I also have Jackson to protect me. Thanks, buddy, I appreciate it, really. After what happened, I just couldn’t trust Scottie anymore.”
“No problem,” Jackson said. “Scott screwed up. He should have stayed with you. But hopefully we can get this all resolved pretty quickly, and things can get back to normal.”
“That would be good.” David took another sip of coffee. “Hey, what happened to Lily’s uncle? Is he going to be okay?”
Dandelion Dead Page 18
