by Debby Mayne
"I don't know about that, but I do know she's not far from here. If you want her to return something, it might help your case to help her out. After all, with all the threats your attorney made to kick a grieving widow out of—"
"Okay, I get the point. How much does she need? I'll pay just about anything to get that old bat off my back."
I'd forgotten to ask how much the move was costing her, so I quickly came up with a number that seemed a little high, but I thought I'd start there and leave some room for negotiation. "Fifty thousand?"
He blinked, made a strange face, and then sighed. "Fifty thousand? That's ridiculous."
"Forty-five might be acceptable," I said.
"Okay, I'll give her forty thousand and not a dime more." He wrote out a check, ripped it from his checkbook, and handed it to me. "Let her know I want my antiques back."
"Okay."
I'd barely gotten to my car when he called out. "Never mind the antiques. Just tell her I want her to stay away from me and my house."
I took the check. "Okay, I'll tell her."
"And if she so much as steps one foot on my property, I'll call the cops and have her arrested."
He obviously didn't know that I was a former cop and there was more to the process than that, but I figured I'd better take the money and run. It took me ten minutes to get back to the townhouse, where Esther was still chewing out the driver. When she spotted me, she turned around, a look of dejection on her face.
"What did he say?" she asked. "Did he threaten to have you arrested?"
"No." I picked up the check and waved it around. "I hope I got enough for your move. I forgot to ask how much."
She grabbed it from me, and as she saw the amount, her eyes popped wide open. "Now this is hard to believe." Her forehead crinkled as she looked back at me. "How on earth did you manage to get so much from that sorry tightwad of a brother-in-law?"
"I told him that was what you needed." I let out a sigh of relief that she wasn't disappointed.
Esther quickly recovered from her surprise and rolled her eyes. "It really isn't much, considering how much he has, but it'll have to do for now." She waved the check around in front of the truck driver. "I'll write you a check, but you have to promise not to cash it for a couple of days until this money clears."
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but if you don't put it on your credit card, I'll have to have cash."
She screeched and made a lot of other noises, but she eventually took off for the bank, while I stood guard over the massive moving truck. I wasn't sure what she expected me to do if they decided to leave, but I wanted to be there when she returned. The driver and his helper didn't pay much attention to me as they debated the skills of a couple of football teams.
As soon as she returned with the money, I left and headed straight to Vince's sister's house. Maria took one look at me and asked if I needed some rest before dinner.
"I'm not tired," I said. "I'd like to help you with dinner."
She offered a closed-mouth smile and sweetly shook her head. "No need. It's practically done. Now go freshen up. My brother will be here soon, and I'm sure you want to look your best for him."
Her direct approach reminded me of myself. I never believed in beating around the bush or being vague. And even though she'd gotten it all wrong, I couldn't blame her for trying. Vince was a good guy and would make someone a wonderful boyfriend and possibly husband someday … just not mine.
An hour and a half later, Vince arrived. Maria fussed over him for a few minutes as she led us into the formal living room that looked like it was never used.
"I'll let the two of you have privacy until dinner is ready."
"Thanks, Sis." Vince gave his sister a warm smile.
As soon as she left, Vince fell right into police mode. He started hammering me with question after question, and I think he was a bit surprised that was able to keep up with him.
"What?" I said. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"You amaze me, Summer," Vince said with a look that I now realized was filled with respect and admiration. "You're able to get everyone to talk. And we can't even find Blake Van Houghton, let alone talk to him."
"He really wasn't hard to find," I said as I picked up a handful of nuts from the bowl Maria had placed on the table between Vince and me. "In fact, I wasn't even looking for him."
"See? That's what I'm talking about." Vince picked up a cashew, popped it into his mouth, and after he chewed and swallowed it, he continued. "So he's in the house now, huh?"
"Looks that way."
"Since you've already made contact with him, would you like to go with me to talk to him tomorrow?"
I remembered how he'd given me the money and stated that Esther was never to step foot on his property again. I suspected he meant me as well, but I never appreciated anyone but my boss or parents telling me what to do. "Sure, that sounds good."
"We've decided to hold off bringing Darla in," Vince said softly. "I'm starting to think you might be right, that she is innocent. Asking for money she's owed isn't enough to go on. At first it might have seemed like she had a reason to want him dead, but now that I think about it …" His voice trailed off, and he and grinned at me. "And who doesn't get frustrated with his boss every once in a while? I know I do." I studied his expression that changed by the second. In fact, it was almost like he was trying to tell me something without coming right out and saying it.
I was able to read between the lines and see that he wished he could tell me more than he was currently able to, but I wasn't sure what that was. I smiled back. "Yes, I totally agree." I laughed. "And you'll need to give me more hints. I can't read your mind."
"Dinner's ready," Maria said from the doorway. "I don't want police shop talk at the dinner table. Y'all can resume your little conversation after you're finished."
*
The next morning, Vince stopped by and picked me up on the way to the Van Houghton mansion. When we arrived, there were two cars parked in the circular driveway, one of them the car I'd seen the day before and the other a light blue, older convertible. I remembered Darla's description of the car that had driven past the window of the daycare center the day before she'd discovered his body.
I followed Vince up the brick walkway but hung back while he rang the doorbell. He glanced over his shoulder. "This place reminds me of some of those mansions in the old gothic movies my sister used to watch."
He was right. The place was a little too big to feel like a warm, cozy home, but it had a certain gothic charm about it with the pointed archways, steep spires, ornate window trimming, and gargoyle-like figurines jutting out from beneath some of the upstairs windows. However, they seemed out of place on the mostly brick exterior. I wondered what the designer was going for.
It took less than a minute for someone to get to the door. I'd expected Blake Van Houghton to open the door but was in for a huge surprise when it was Julie Rivers from the daycare center instead. She looked as surprised to see me as I was her, but she quickly recovered.
"Summer! How great to see you! What are you doing here?" Before I had a chance to say a word, she came toward me, arms open, and gave me a big hug. "I thought you moved back to Nashville."
Vince stepped back and gave me a questioning glance. I managed to free myself from Julie's clench. "Vince, I'd like for you to meet Julie who used to be one of the teachers at Tiddly Winks."
"Yes, I know. We've already met." He gave me a look of disbelief before turning back to Julie. "Is Mr. Van Houghton here?"
"Yes, but he's in the study trying to get it organized and figure out what to do. I can't believe that Aunt Esther took all of the antiques."
"Aunt Esther?" I said. Now I was even more confused. "Are you a Van Houghton?"
Chapter 7
She laughed. "No, not a Van Houghton. After my dad passed away a few years ago, my mom married Blake. I just thought it was fun to have aunts and uncles, something I didn't have before because both of my paren
ts were only children … like me." She tilted her head and smiled. Her perkiness never seemed to stop.
"I didn't realize—" I began before she interrupted me.
"That's because I was very careful at work not to bring it up. Uncle Claude hired me after the company I used to work for went out of business. He told me to keep a low profile so the other workers wouldn't get upset or think he was playing favorites."
"Well, I'm sorry to hear about what happened," I said.
Julie's smile quickly faded. "I know. It's awful."
"Did anyone at the daycare center know you were related to the Van Houghtons?" Vince asked.
She started to shake her head no, but stopped. "Well, Darla did, but she doesn't count since she was pretty close to the Van Houghtons too."
"She was?" I asked. That was one little tidbit she'd failed to mention during our conversation.
"Oh yeah, she and Uncle Claude went way back. She worked for him when he owned a dry-cleaning business."
Vince and I exchanged a glance, letting me know that Darla had just popped back to the top of the suspect list. Before either of us had a chance to say another word, Blake arrived.
"What can I do for—?" He stopped when he noticed me. "What are you doing here? I thought I said—"
Vince stepped forward and identified himself. Immediately afterward, Blake turned back to me. "Why didn't you tell me you were a cop?"
"Because she's not," Vince said. "She's just … um, riding along."
"I've heard of ride-alongs," Blake said, "but not in situations like this."
Julie's lilting voice piped up. "Oh but she used to be a cop." She grinned at me. "Didn't you, Summer?"
Blake's confusion and Julie's naiveté put Vince and me back in control. Vince seized the moment.
"I'd like to ask a few questions," he said directly to Blake. "We won't take long."
Blake appeared annoyed at first, but he forced a smile and gestured toward one of the rooms at the front of the house. "We don't have everything in place yet, and some of the furnishings that were supposed to stay in the house are missing, but there's enough seating in here for all of us."
Once we sat down, I opened my mouth to comment on the décor, but I quickly caught myself and clamped it shut. This wasn't the time to take over the interview since I was just on a ride-along with Vince.
"What kind of relationship did you and your brother have?" Vince asked.
Blake shrugged. "It was pretty normal. We got along most of the time, but we had spats."
"Were you having a spat any time before the murder?"
I caught the glance exchanged by Julie and Blake before he turned back to Vince. "Just one. He and his wife had been separated, so he told me I could have the house we inherited after he got her out of it."
"Did he take any steps to have her move out?" Vince asked.
"He said he talked to her, but she just laughed in his face, saying that she earned the right to live there after being married to a loser for so long."
Ouch. No wonder Claude Van Houghton was such a cranky man.
"Do you think that Esther might have murdered her husband?" Vince asked.
"I don't know, but I wouldn't put it past her." As he spoke, he didn't look at either of us.
"You wanted her out of the house," I reminded him. "And you didn't waste any time after your brother was killed. What's the reason for that?"
"According to how our parents drew up their wills, if anything ever happened to him she'd be forced to move out since I owned half of this place. After either of our death, the house and all of its furnishings were supposed to go to the surviving brother."
Julie lifted a finger, letting us know she had something to say. "I'm not so sure she knew about that." She paused and looked around at all of us. "She might have thought that Uncle Claude's share would go to her."
Blake winced. "Now that you mentioned it, I'm not sure Claude ever explained the estate to her. Our parents had everything drawn out and covered every loophole imaginable." He shrugged. "That's one area where Claude and I were alike … you know, the silent type."
Vince leaned forward and looked Blake in the eye. "So there's the possibility that she might have offed her husband so she'd inherit his half of the house."
"There is that possibility, yes," Blake said as he glanced up at the ceiling. "She would have had to be mighty angry to be capable of such a physical murder. She's not very athletic, and he would have been able to overpower her."
Julie's lips twitched as she dropped her shoulders to a low sag. "I've seen her throw stuff at Uncle Claude, and she's pretty strong when she gets mad."
"How about you?" Vince asked. "Have you ever had any skirmishes with Esther?"
"Early in their marriage, she accused me of trying to control my brother. I finally told Claude it was probably best if I didn't have to be around her, so when he and I got together, it was generally just the two of us."
As Vince hammered Blake with one question after another about where he was in the days surrounding his brother's death, I saw Julie's gaze Ping-Pong back and forth between the men. Every once in a while, a concerned expression crossed her face, but she always quickly recovered.
I sensed that there was quite a bit more to this girl than most people realized. Outwardly, she appeared to be the effervescent cheerleader type who wore a perpetual smile, but very few people could sustain that façade without eventually cracking.
Vince finally wrapped up his chat with Blake. On our way to the door, I stopped and turned to face Blake and Julie. "I almost forgot something. Whose cars are those parked in the driveway?"
Blake laughed. "The Beemer is mine, and the really cool car is my step-daughter's." He turned to Julie and winked.
"The convertible?" I asked.
He nodded. "Yes, her mother and I gave that to her when she graduated from college. She was there on a tennis scholarship." He grinned at Julie. "In case you can't tell, I'm very proud of her. That girl has a mean backhand. In fact, she was the only girl on the team who didn't use a two-handed backhand."
Julie was uncharacteristically quiet as she stood beside her stepfather. I could tell she was nervous, so I decided to try to put her at ease.
"I was an athlete too, but I don't have the finesse required on a tennis court," I said.
She smiled, but I could tell it was fake because it didn't make her eyes crinkle like they normally did. I waited for her to say something, but she didn't.
"The only problem this girl had was going to class," Blake continued. "It got to the point where her mother had to call her every morning to make sure she got out of bed."
Julie still didn't say anything. I was glad when Vince finally said it was time for us to leave.
Once we were a block away from the house, he slowed down for a stop sign and turned to me. "So what do you think?"
"I'm not sure what to think now. A few unexpected details that came to light put a different spin on things."
"Yes, I know," he said. "Like the fact that Darla actually knew Claude Van Houghton before she worked for him at the daycare center."
"And the car," I said. "Darla mentioned seeing a light blue vintage convertible going by the afternoon before she discovered Mr. Van Houghton's body."
"I have a feeling one of them isn't telling the truth."
"Or both of them are lying," I said. "I wonder why Julie shrank back when her stepdad started bragging about her athletic prowess. I never saw her do that before."
"Maybe she's humble."
I grinned. "I don't think so."
"Yeah, me neither." He pulled into the police station parking lot, but neither of us made a move to get out.
"What's next?"
He tapped the steering wheel as he thought. "I'd like to meet Claude's widow and hear what she has to say."
"She's an odd bird, but I agree that you should speak to her as soon as possible." The image of the movers hoisting the heavy furniture came to mind. "We should probab
ly let her know that she doesn't own those antiques she took from the mansion."
"Do you think she doesn't realize they're not hers?"
I shrugged. "Who knows what she knows?"
"Yeah." He shook his head. "Who knows what anyone knows. We have Darla and Julie, and we're pretty sure that one or both of them are lying. Then there's Claude's widow who comes across as clueless, but we're not sure about that either."
"How about the brother? Blake seems like a smart man. He might be giving us what he thinks we need to steer us away from his trail."
Vince frowned. "I don't know about Blake. He seems to have had a good relationship with his brother."
"At least that's what he told us," I said. "But that doesn't make it so."
"What's next?" I asked. "Do you want me to talk to anyone else?"
"Have you spoken to any of the other teachers from the daycare center?"
"The only other teachers I know are Beth and Angela, and no, I haven't spoken with them yet." I looked at Vince. "Do you want me to?"
"Yes, I think that would be a good idea, if you don't mind. I think they're more likely to speak with you than me. We got very little out of them that first day."
"Okay, I'll have to find out where they are."
Vince grinned. "That won't be hard for you."
"Do you mind if I use your Internet? I could do it from your sister's house, but they don't have the fastest speed."
"I know," Vince said as he opened his car door. "I keep telling her she needs to upgrade, but she doesn't feel that it's all that important. I'll set you up at one of the vacant desks in the back. You'll have a computer with a fast connection."
"Thanks."
"You can try it on for size, and if you like it, maybe it can be yours." I caught the playful glimmer in his eyes, so I just shook my head and smiled.
It didn't take long to figure out where Beth was. She'd never stopped working to help battered women, and the organization had a phone number listed on their site. I called and left a message for her to call me on my cell phone. I decided it would be better than having her call the police station.
