by J A Whiting
“We’ve been speculating.” Jenna got up and reached for the bow tie in Tom’s hand. She looked it over. “You know we told you that someone was upstairs the night Angie came here to feed Euclid after the professor died?”
“Yeah,” Tom said, “but you never mentioned you thought it might be the lawyer. I know he is an odd duck, but to break into a house?”
Angie told Tom what she overheard when she was at Jack Ford’s law office. “He said something like ‘I couldn’t get it with her in the house.’”
“What was he talking about?” Tom bristled with anger and shot off more questions. “What was he after? What was missing from the house?”
“I don’t know what he was talking about,” Angie said. “I have no idea what he was looking for.”
“We don’t know if anything is missing because we don’t know what the professor had in the house,” Jenna explained. “But if what Angie heard is an indication, then he didn’t find what he was looking for.”
“Tell the police.” Tom scowled.
“We have no proof of anything. We can’t even prove the bow tie belongs to Jack Ford,” Angie said. “So there’s no use telling the police anything.”
Euclid was sitting on top of the porch railing watching Angie. He let out an angry meow and Angie startled. “Euclid, jeez.”
Jenna, Tom, and Angie rocked in their chairs for a few minutes and thought about what had been going on.
Angie said, “I have an idea.” She took the bow tie from Jenna. “I have an appointment next week with Attorney Ford to sign the will he drew up for me.” Angie made eye contact with Euclid and gripped the bow tie tight in her hand. “I’m sure Mr. Ford will be very happy when I return his bow tie to him.”
Chapter 16
Angie, Jenna, Ellie, and Courtney stepped out of the car and headed for the front entrance of the resort. The hotel-restaurant had lush landscaping and there were pots of pansies and tulips placed along the walkways. Hidden lighting under the bushes and trees illuminated the leaves and bark and there was a water feature in front of the portico area with a circular driveway leading to the front door.
“Why haven’t we come here before?” Courtney wore her long, honey blonde hair loose and cascading down her back. Her legs looked even longer because of the heels she was wearing. “This place is swanky.”
“We haven’t been here before because we can’t afford it,” Jenna said. She had on a coral spring dress and gold sandals.
Angie smoothed her hair. Her black skirt hugged her curves, and her necklace of black and silver stones accented her crisp white blouse. The necklace was one of Jenna’s designs and had been a birthday gift to Angie.
Ellie walked behind them looking out over the darkening ocean and glancing across the lawns to where their grandmother’s cottage used to be. Angie looked back to her sister and when Ellie approached, she slipped her arm around her sister’s waist.
“I haven’t been down here on the point for a long time.” Ellie ran her hand over her long, pale blonde hair and pulled it forward over her shoulder. “It’s funny, isn’t it? How things change?”
Since parking the car, Angie had felt a subtle humming sensation running through her veins. It wasn’t unpleasant or bothersome. It was more like a heightened awareness of everything around her. It happened every time she was on the point. “Do you feel different when you’re here?”
“What do you mean?” Ellie asked.
“I don’t know, sort of aware of things.”
“No different than usual. Just sad, remembering Nana.”
Angie nodded. It wasn’t just sadness, it was something else, but she couldn’t figure out the words to describe how she felt.
They entered the lobby. Many of the people milling about paused for a second in their conversations as the young women walked in together.
Angie expected the lobby to be decorated in shades of green and blue to evoke the seaside location, and she was surprised to see the muted shades of plum, mocha, and cream on the furniture, rugs, and wall colors. The area was softly lit and candles were placed in large glass containers scattered about the space projecting a sense of calm and luxury.
“This is beautiful,” Courtney said.
Angie could see that Ellie was taking it all in, probably imagining what she could do to the Victorian’s bed and breakfast areas that would evoke similar feelings of relaxation and comfort in her guests.
The girls followed the crowd through the lobby and into the restaurant. The space was huge, but the arrangement of the furniture and the way it was lit made the room feel elegant and comfortable. The far side of the room had a curved wall with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the ocean. Candles and cut glass chandeliers cast a soft glow over the guests. Buffet tables decorated with flowers and fresh fruit arrangements held hot and cold appetizers, and several kinds of pastries and desserts. Tucked to one side there was an open bar with several bartenders serving drinks to the guests. A jazz band played in the corner close to the windows.
“Wow.” Courtney’s blue eyes widened taking in the beauty of the room. She looked at Angie. “I’m so glad you agreed to come to this thing tonight.”
“Angie.” A voice called out to her. She turned to see Josh Williams crossing the room towards her. He looked handsome in a fitted dark blue suit. “I’m so glad you came. You all look beautiful.”
Angie introduced Josh to Ellie and Courtney. Josh said hello to Jenna. The five of them talked for a few minutes and then Jenna, pretending she was hungry but really wanting to give Angie time with Josh, herded her sisters over to the food tables.
“Everything is lovely,” Angie said. “I don’t know what it was like before, but it’s gorgeous now.”
Josh smiled. He looked pleased and proud. “It makes me happy that you like it.”
“It’s a great turnout.” Angie looked around at all the people standing or sitting in groups enjoying themselves.
Josh nodded. “Would you like something to eat? The desserts are good but not nearly up to your standards.” He grinned. “I tried to get the best baker in town to make the desserts for tonight, but she was too busy.”
“That’s really too bad.” Angie’s eyes twinkled. “Maybe she can help you out another time.”
“I certainly hope so.” The way Josh looked at her made Angie’s heart skip a beat.
“Josh.” Davis Williams came up behind them. He nodded at Angie. “Hello.” Davis turned to his brother. “I’ve been looking for you. Adam Prescott wants to speak with us. He has some land up in Newburyport that he wants developed.”
“Can’t you take a rest from business and just enjoy the evening?” Josh gave his brother a serious look.
“Prescott’s waiting for us.” Davis started to steer his brother away.
Josh gave Angie a look like he was being dragged to the gallows. “I’ll be back.”
Angie gave him a little wave goodbye. She looked around the room for her sisters and saw Lisa Barrows standing by the entryway holding a clipboard.
“Lisa.” Angie came up beside her.
“Angie. Hi. How are you?” Lisa’s face looked pale and there were slight dark circles under her eyes like she hadn’t been sleeping. “I didn’t expect you to be here.”
Angie thought that when she ran into Lisa again, she would appear her old self, but her former employee looked worn out and harried. Angie could feel a negative energy from Lisa, an anxiousness that seemed to ooze from her pores. She wondered if Lisa was seeing a doctor.
“Why, not? The whole town was invited. We had to take advantage of free food.” Angie joked, but it fell flat with Lisa. “How are you doing? How is your new job going?”
“It’s okay. It’s always busy here. I work all the time. It’s sort of demanding.” She glanced at her clipboard.
Angie said, “Sounds a lot like the bake shop. You always handled that well so you must be doing great here.”
Lisa shrugged. “Is everything going okay for you?
” she managed to ask.
“Yeah, everything’s good. The girls are all here. I’ll tell them to come by and say hello.”
Lisa nodded. “Okay. I have to go check on the kitchen. I’ll see you later.” She forced a tiny smile and exited the room in a hurry.
When Angie found her sisters, they were sitting at a table near the windows eating. She told them she’d run into Lisa and how she seemed exhausted and nervous.
“She must be working hard trying to do a really good job since she’s new here,” Ellie said.
Jenna said to Angie, “I bet she feels uncomfortable around you for quitting like she did.”
“She probably does.” Angie looked over at the food spread over the buffet tables. “I’m starving.” She got up, headed to the buffet, loaded a plate with food, and returned to sit. She lifted her fork to her mouth.
“Do you think the professor’s killer is here?” Ellie asked.
A chill rippled down Angie’s back and she stared across the room. Her internal humming sensation seemed to have ratcheted up a notch.
“Angie?”
“Huh? What?” She blinked at Ellie.
“Are you spacing out?”
“I guess I did.” She took a sip from her glass of water.
“There’s Police Chief Martin over there.” Jenna turned to Angie. “Did he ever tell you what kind of poison was used to kill Professor Linden?”
“No.” Angie put her fork down. She seemed to have lost her appetite. “He said he wasn’t able to say since it’s an ongoing investigation.”
Courtney said, “It could have been anything. There are lots of poisonous things that anyone could get their hands on.”
“Like what?” Ellie’s forehead creased with worry.
“Well…” Courtney said. “Look at the centerpiece. There’s oleander and lily of the valley in it. Those plants are poisonous. Grind them up and put them in tea or coffee, and….”
“Really?” Ellie leaned back, horrified.
Angie looked at the seemingly innocent flowers in the center of the table, and then the color drained out of her face. She inhaled a quick breath.
Jenna turned to her. “What’s wrong with you?”
Angie swallowed. “The flowers in the centerpieces, they came from Betty Hayes’ greenhouse.”
“So?” Jenna’s face was puzzled.
“Betty Hayes pressed Professor Linden to sell the Victorian. The agent’s commission would be huge on a sale like that. The professor considered selling her house not long ago, but she changed her mind.”
Jenna lowered her voice. “Did Betty…?”
Ellie’s fingers trembled as she touched her temple. “Did Betty kill the professor?”
“So she could get the commission.” Courtney leaned close. “Betty knew the professor had no relatives. Betty’s the only Realtor in town. The lawyer would have given her the listing.”
“There she is over there.” The three sisters followed Jenna’s gaze across the room where Betty was talking animatedly to Josh and Davis and Adam Prescott. “They better watch out for her.”
“How much of a plant would you need to kill someone?” Angie asked Courtney.
“Not much. Just grind some up. Steep it in boiling water. Then add some of the water to whatever someone is drinking.”
“How do you know this stuff?” Angie’s face was pale.
Courtney made a face. “I watch crime shows.”
Jenna said, “The professor had a heart condition.”
Courtney glanced around to make sure no one was standing nearby. “With a heart condition, it wouldn’t take much to kill her. Her heart would go into A-Fib. She might even have a seizure.”
“That’s exactly what happened.” Angie’s eyes filled with tears remembering the professor on the ground next to her front porch stairs. “This is awful. I was just at Betty’s house the other day.”
“We need to tell the chief what we think about Betty,” Courtney said.
“Not here, though. Not tonight.” Angie brushed at her eyes. “We could be wrong about her. It could be someone else that did it.”
“It’s possible. But we should tell the chief anyway. He comes into the shop in the afternoons sometimes,” Jenna said. “There aren’t as many people in the shop at that time. We can tell him then.”
Chapter 17
Angie arrived for her appointment at Attorney Jack Ford’s office a few minutes early. She introduced herself to the receptionist and took a seat pretending to look through a magazine, but in reality she was too on edge to focus on any of the articles. Angie tried to distract herself by thinking about the Victorian’s renovations, but her thoughts kept jumping to Jack Ford, his bow tie, and why he had been in her house.
Angie had to admit that it wasn’t her house when Ford broke into the mansion, and technically it wasn’t her house now either since she had to wait for the probate proceedings to be completed before the deed was in her possession. The professor owned the house and was dead. The professor had no relatives and the recipients of the inheritance didn’t own anything yet, so who was in charge of the house? Jack Ford. He was the professor’s administrator and he had a key to the Victorian. It couldn’t be said that he broke in then, since he had a key as well as the authority to check on the house. Why didn’t I think of this before? But why did he run when he heard me in the house? And why was the house dark? What was he up to that he needed to run away from the premises?
“Ms. Roseland.” The receptionist stood a few feet from Angie.
Angie looked up. It was clear that the receptionist had called her name more than once. Flustered, Angie picked up her purse and jacket and followed the woman into Ford’s office.
Ford was behind his desk when Angie entered, and he stood to greet her. He wore a brown, tweed jacket, crisp white shirt, and a yellow bow tie. He was about Angie’s height and he had a lean build. Angie thought that if he wasn’t so twitchy and severe that he could be considered quite good-looking.
Ford’s movements were quick and efficient as he extended his arm over the desk to give Angie’s hand a hurried shake. “Please, sit. I hope you’re doing well.”
Angie took a seat in one of the chairs in front of the dark, wooden desk. “Yes, thank you.”
“Everything is in order with the will and is ready for your signature.” Ford removed the paperwork from a leather folder and placed it on the desk in front of Angie so that she could examine it. “Please read it over to be sure it is satisfactory.”
Angie took a few minutes to review the will. “It all looks fine to me.”
“Very good.” Ford buzzed his receptionist to come in. “Mrs. Adams will act as signatory witness.”
Ford placed a silver pen in front of Angie and gave one to Mrs. Adams. He opened the documents to the correct pages and indicated where each should sign. Ford signed both copies and nodded to Mrs. Adams that she was dismissed. “I will keep one copy here on file in the office.” He folded the second copy, inserted it into an envelope, and handed it to Angie. “This is an original of the will as you requested.”
“Thank you.” Angie placed the envelope in her purse.
“How are things at the Victorian?” Ford asked. “Any issues that I should be aware of?”
“Nothing. No problems have come up. I had a contractor take a look at the house and he’ll be sending me an estimate for the renovations I’d like to have done.” Angie gave Ford a pointed look. “I understand that nothing can be started until I have the deed to the home.”
Ford nodded. He had remained straight-faced and without expression throughout the interaction with Angie. She wondered if he was always so formal and humorless. She had yet to see even a glimmer of a smile on his face. Everything was businesslike and direct, no chit chat at all, only the most minor polite questions.
“Is there anything else I can do for you?” Ford was ready to send Angie on her way.
Angie’s heart started to pound. “Oh, I nearly forgot,” she li
ed. She reached into her purse and removed the bow tie. She placed it on Ford’s desk.
“I think you left this behind when you were in the Victorian.” Angie watched the lawyer’s face closely.
Ford regarded the tie. Something flickered over his face and was gone, his usual blank expression remaining intact. “I don’t believe I’m missing a tie.”
Angie narrowed her eyes at Ford. “I don’t know anyone else in Sweet Cove who wears a bow tie.”
“Well.” He shook his head. “I don’t recognize it.”
“You must have a large collection, then.” Angie leaned against the chair back and folded her hands in her lap to indicate that she wasn’t quite ready to leave the office. She waited to see if Ford would say anything more.
Ford shifted in his seat about to stand up when Angie said, “Attorney Ford, I think we need to have a talk.” She glanced at the open office door. “A private talk.”
Angie thought she noticed a pink tinge on Ford’s cheeks as he rose, walked over to the door, closed it, and returned to his desk chair.
“What would you like to discuss, Ms. Roseland?”
Angie used a courteous tone when she said, “Why were you in the Victorian on the night that Professor Linden died?”
Ford cleared his throat. “The night the professor died?”
Angie exhaled loudly. “I know you have a key to the house. I know you’re the administrator of the estate and you have the right to inspect the property.” Angie paused. “So I wonder why you ran from the house when I showed up to take care of the cat.”
“I didn’t run from the house.” Ford seemed to think that anyone who ran anywhere would be considered most undignified. “You were in the house that night? I didn’t know that. If I recall correctly, I believe I stopped by the Victorian to look for some paperwork, to be sure I was in possession of Professor Linden’s most recent will.”
“You left the back door unlocked,” Angie told him.
“Did I?”
Angie had to keep from rolling her eyes. He’s good, coming up with a story on the fly like this. “When I was here previously to discuss the preparation of my will, I arrived early. I overheard you speaking on the phone. You said something like, ‘I couldn’t spend time looking for it with her downstairs in the house’ and ‘I’ll take care of it.’ Is there something you want from the Victorian?”
