Deadly Ever After

by Eva Gates

  “They would have met at some charity do or another. My mom’s big on charity dos. Gives her a chance to buy a new dress, wear her diamonds, and show off. Dad and I know we’re expected to invite clients to her things. They’re expected to put in an appearance, if they know what’s good for them. Mom wasn’t at all happy to see Frankland yesterday.”

  “To put it mildly,” I said.

  “Dad might have told her the man was causing trouble. My dad talked about business with Mom more than she let on. On the other hand, Dad had debts, gambling debts, and he made one bad investment decision after another. Probably a lot Mom and I didn’t know about.”

  “What do you want now, Ricky? Are you going to stay on at Richardson Lewiston?”

  “I don’t know, Lucy. I really don’t know. I do know, however, that you’re driving in circles. I’ve seen that house before.”

  “Get my phone out of my purse and call your mom. Ask her where she is and where the dog’s car harness is.”

  I told Ricky the password to my phone as I made another left turn and headed for the Ocean Side. He made the call, and his mother answered. They spoke briefly and he hung up. “She’s still at the hotel. Says she decided to go shopping after lunch. She coulda told me that before I dragged you all over town, Lucy. Sorry.”

  “Not a problem.”

  Fluffy jumped up and down in the back seat, eager to be let out of the car. The sun was high in the sky and the temperatures in the eighties. I couldn’t leave the dog locked in the car when we went in search of Evangeline.

  Ricky seemed to read my mind. “I’ll take the demon beast for a stroll around the property while you go in. I’d just as soon avoid Mom for a while longer. She’s in the restaurant, and she has the valet slip with her. They’ll get the harness for you.”

  “Thanks,” I said.

  I left Ricky and Fluffy glaring at each other and went inside in search of Evangeline. I found her in the restaurant, comfortably seated at a table for two with views over the garden, a glass of wine in front of her, but to my surprise she was not alone. A man leapt to his feet as I approached.

  “I was telling Leon that I’m in town to congratulate you on your engagement, Lucy, and here you are in person.” Evangeline laughed lightly. She’d reapplied her makeup, and all trace of tears and sorrow had been covered up.

  Her companion thrust out his hand. “Leon Lions. Pleasure to meet you.”

  “Dear Lucy is the daughter of my oldest and dearest friend in all the world,” Evangeline cooed. For a moment I thought she’d mistaken me for someone else. “Leon and I go a long way back, don’t we, Leon?”

  “So far back,” he said, chuckling, “I don’t dare try to remember how many years.” He was a pleasant-looking man around the age of Evangeline and my parents, with a deep—probably permanent—tan, a round, completely bald head, cheerful gray eyes, and a big belly and equally big smile. He was casually dressed in pressed slacks and a golf shirt. A heavy gold signet ring marked with an ornate letter L graced the index finger of his right hand. “Won’t you join us?” he said politely. “We haven’t ordered our lunches yet.”

  Evangeline’s narrow eyes and tight smile said, Don’t you dare.

  I almost accepted, just to see her reaction, but I shook my head. “Thank you, but no. I have to get back to work.”

  “Did Ricky find his blazer?” she asked me.

  “The night staff wasn’t there, so he has to go back later.” I was pretty sure the police wouldn’t be quite so patient. They’d be wanting to have a look at this missing white jacket. I didn’t tell Evangeline so. “Uh, the valet ticket?”

  Evangeline turned to Leon. “I love my son dearly, but he is such a scatterbrain sometimes. He certainly doesn’t get that from me.”

  Leon smiled fondly at her. “I’m looking forward to getting to know him.”

  Okay.

  “Do you live locally, Mr. Lions?” I asked.

  “Please, call me Leon. Yes, yes I do. In Kill Devil Hills. Lived there all my life except for a few years spent in Boston in my youth, which is where I met this charming lady.”

  Evangeline actually tittered.

  Okay.

  “And you’ve kept in touch all these years,” I said. “Isn’t that nice?”

  “Not as much in touch as I would have liked,” Leon said. “Life gets ahead of us, doesn’t it, as the years pass before we realize. We still have mutual acquaintances, and I was informed this morning about Rich’s death. Naturally, I immediately contacted my old friend to offer any assistance she might require.” He smiled at Evangeline.

  “What do you want, Lucy?” Evangeline snapped.

  “Fluffy’s harness.”

  “Oh, right. The reason you’re here.” She dug in her Kate Spade bag. “Here you go, dear; mustn’t keep you.”

  “Nice meeting you,” Leon said.

  “And you,” I replied.

  Back outside, I handed the ticket to the valet and told him what I wanted. When I had it in hand, I found Ricky watching Fluffy sniff around under a perfectly manicured bush. He handed me the leash. Fluffy sniffed my shoes.

  “What are you going to do for the rest of the day?” I asked.

  “I have to start making phone calls. I have some clients I need to reassure. Firm hand on the tiller and all that. I’ll find out what I have scheduled for the rest of the week and then decide if I’m going to stay with Mom until … until we can take Dad home.”

  “If you need anything …”

  He reached out and touched my cheek, ever so lightly. His eyes were very wet. “Lucy. My Lucy. What a fool I’ve been.”

  I turned and fled, dragging Fluffy behind me.

  Chapter Eleven

  Charles and Fluffy did not attempt to make friends. The moment I stepped into the library, the little dog trotting happily ahead of me, Charles flew across the room, hissing and spitting. Fluffy screeched, darted for the safety of the back of my legs, and began barking so loudly she probably had the ducks lifting off the pond in fright. The leash wrapped around my ankles and was jerked tight. Startled, laden with a bag of dog supplies, and yanked off my feet, I began to topple. I would have fallen flat on my face had not James Dalrymple been passing and grabbed my arm.

  “What on earth!” Mrs. Peterson, library patron, said. “Lucy, do you think it’s a good idea to bring that dog in here?”

  “No,” I said through gritted teeth. “I do not.”

  “Then why have you?”

  Good question.

  Charles feinted as though to go around to my right. Fluffy edged closer to me. Charles changed course and came by the left. Fluffy showed him all of her impressive teeth. “Stop that!” I yelled at Charles.

  He paid me his usual amount of attention when I try to be firm, which is none. He arched his back and all the fur stood on end, appearing to add about twenty pounds to his already hefty frame. His whiskers bristled, his amber eyes narrowed, and he displayed his equally impressive teeth.

  Fluffy turned and fled. James had let go of me, and before either of us could react, I was jerked completely off my feet. Fluffy dodged the returns cart, but I wasn’t so lucky and crashed into it. The cart fell. The bag fell, split open, and cans of dog food rolled across the floor. Desperately flailing about, trying to keep myself upright, I stepped on a can, and my foot shot out from beneath me as the leash was pulled out of my hand. Books tumbled around me as I hit the floor and cans rolled under the shelves. A substantial hardcover volume of the history of Eastern North Carolina landed on the back of my head. I feared I heard bones crack.

  People screamed, the dog barked, the cat screeched, cans clattered, books tumbled, hands reached for me, and other hands chased after the animals. Footsteps pounded down the stairs.

  “Lucy, are you all right?”

  “I’ve got him.”

  “Don’t let him go!”

  “Someone call an ambulance.”

  “Careful, he might bite.”

  “Geez, Mom.
Don’t be such a wimp. It’s just a little dog,” Dallas Peterson said.

  “What on earth is happening out here?” Bertie cried.

  “I … I …” I rolled over. James and Charlene peered into my face. “Are you hurt?” Charlene asked.

  I performed a quick mental inventory on myself. Everything seemed to be in place, and nothing felt broken. “Only my pride.” I held out a hand, and James grabbed it. He pulled me to my feet.

  I glanced around the library. A circle of faces watched me. Dallas had picked Fluffy up and was murmuring soft words and stroking her. The dog’s small body trembled. Charles, content with having established his place in the hierarchy of the library, perched on top of the shelf marked MORRISON–PROULX, washing his paws.

  “You need to introduce them properly, Lucy,” Dallas said. “Dogs and cats don’t have to be natural enemies.” She carried Fluffy over to the bookshelf and said, “See? What’s your dog’s name?”

  “She’s not my dog, and she’s called Fluffy.”

  “Charles,” Dallas said. “This is Fluffy, and she’s Lucy’s friend. Be nice.”

  Charles yawned. Dallas put Fluffy on the floor, gave her a reassuring pat, and handed me the end of the leash.

  “You have a good way with animals,” James said to the girl.

  “Thank you. I’m going to be a vet when I grow up. I’d love to have a dog, but Mom says they’re too much work.” She threw a poisonous look at her mother.

  “Well, they are,” Mrs. Peterson said to no one.

  James and Charlene began gathering up the fallen books, and Ronald went in pursuit of the bag of dry dog food, which fortunately hadn’t broken open, and the escaped cans. Patrons dropped to their knees to reach under the shelves.

  “Sorry,” I said to Bertie. “I was hoping to slip in unnoticed and take Fluffy upstairs.”

  “Didn’t work.” Ronald handed me the bag of kibble.

  “Apparently not.”

  “No harm done,” Bertie said. “As long as you’re okay, Lucy?”

  “I’m fine. Thanks.” I didn’t dare touch the back of my head with all these people watching. Drama over, they began to disperse.

  “Cute dog,” Charlene said. “Where’d you get her?”

  “She belongs to a friend of my mother’s, and she can’t keep her in the hotel any longer.”

  “I wonder why?” Ronald muttered.

  “Let me take her upstairs and get her settled, and then I’ll come back down and take over the desk. I thought you were off today?” I said to Charlene.

  “I am. James and I are going to lunch. I came in to get him.” She peeked at the Englishman from under her lashes.

  “I’m still feeling a bit uh … wobbly,” I said to James. “Would you mind carrying the dog upstairs for me?”

  “Maybe you should go to the hospital,” Mrs. Peterson said. “You had a nasty crack on the head.”

  “Perfectly fine,” I said.

  “I wouldn’t mind at all.” James scooped Fluffy into his arms as I accepted a bag containing the gathered-up food. “I like dogs. Come on, girl.”

  I glared at Charles as we passed his shelf, and he smirked.

  “Charlene told me you live over the library,” James said as we climbed the stairs. “Nice.”

  “It is. I like it a lot, but it’ll soon be time to move on.” We reached the fourth level, and I put the bag on the floor and dug out my key. I unlocked the door and went into the Lighthouse Aerie. James followed me and put Fluffy down. “Here you go, little lady. No trying to escape.” Fluffy immediately began exploring her surroundings, the pink leash trailing behind her.

  “Is this your first visit to America?” I asked.

  “I was born here,” James said.

  “You were? Really?”

  “Yup. In Nags Head, as it happens.”

  “Your accent’s completely English.”

  “I didn’t live here for long. My father was American, and he died when I was a baby. My mum was a PhD student studying American constitutional history; after my father died, she moved back to the UK to be close to her own parents.”

  “Do you visit often?”

  “Not for many years. Mum brought me here a few times to visit with my grandparents when I was a kid, but I haven’t been back since they died. My father was almost fifty when I was born, and he was an only child. Mum remarried not long after she moved back to the UK, so once my natural father’s parents were gone, she had no reason to come here again. She enjoyed her time when she lived here, and she still talks a lot about it. Natural enough, I guess, that I wanted to learn more. Thus my interest in the history and legends of the Outer Banks. In a way, it’s my history and my legends.”

  “That’s interesting. It makes a field of research so much more special, doesn’t it, when you have a personal connection?”

  “It does.”

  I wasn’t just being polite. I was, to be completely honest, being nosy. I’d seen Evangeline’s powerful reaction on meeting this man, and I was wondering what had caused that. James said that before this research trip, he hadn’t been to America since he was a child. Was that true? “Did you hear about what happened in town last night?”

  “You mean that guy being killed? I did. I heard it was the husband of the woman who was in here yesterday morning. Your friend?”

  “Friend of my family.”

  “Tough. Do the police know who did it?”

  “Not as far as I know.”

  “Charlene said you’ve worked with the police before?”

  “I wouldn’t say ‘worked with.’ I’ve been of help to them in the past. I—” I looked directly at him. “I have a way of finding things out. Things about people.”

  He shifted his feet, clearly losing interest in this conversation. “If you’re okay, I’ll be off.”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Is Daisy going to lunch with you?” I tried to keep my voice casual, as if I didn’t really care.

  “No. She’s in Manteo today, having a look at some family’s letters they found in a forgotten old box when they wrapped up Granny’s estate.” He chuckled. “All I can say is, thank heavens for pack rats. A researcher’s dream. Cheers.” James shut the door on his way out.

  I let out a breath. I was worried for my friend Charlene. She’d recently told me about a bad relationship she’d had a few years ago with a married man. I didn’t want to see her making the same mistake again. She’d told me, that other time, that her heart was fully capable of overriding the Beware! warnings coming from her brain. It can be awfully hard not to follow your heart where it leads.

  Fluffy sniffed around the kitchen. “Try to stay out of trouble,” I told her before going downstairs and back to work.

  * * *

  Louise Jane came in as I was shutting down the computer. “Closing time!” I called.

  “I know when it’s closing time, Lucy. I’m meeting James and Daisy. We’re going out for a drink. They’re coming across some interesting things, and Daisy’s anxious to tell me about it.”

  “I’m sure she is.”

  “Sarcasm does not become you, Lucy. Unlike some people, James and Daisy are experienced enough academics to know the value of local stories. As a professor of American history, Daisy has a deep interest in—hi, Teddy.”

  “Oh, good. I’m not late,” the new arrival said. “We’re going for a drink, Lucy. Would you like to join us? Charlene’s meeting us in town, so we’re going to be a jolly old group.”

  “No thanks. Connor and I have an appointment to look at a house.”

  Louise Jane’s eyes flashed. “Is that so?” she said, ever so casually. “I wonder what Bertie’s going to do with your apartment.”

  “It’s been empty before,” Theodore said. “Not many people want to live this far out of town, and the space is very small. Never mind the lack of an elevator.”

  “I’m well aware of that, thank you, Teddy. Before Lucy arrived, I suggested to Bertie she rent it out. For the extra income.”


  “She can’t do that,” I said. “The place doesn’t have its own entrance; only a library employee can be in here after hours.”

  The desk phone rang, and I reached for it as Louise Jane explained to Theodore that some people could be trusted around library property.

  “I’m sorry, Lucy,” Connor said. “I got a call from the realtor. A firm and final offer’s been made on that house, so there’s no point in us seeing it.”

  “Oh no. I liked the look of that one so much.”

  “And the price was right. She said she’ll keep looking.”

  “I’ve been invited to go out for drinks with Charlene’s researchers, Theodore, and Louise Jane,” I said. “Do you want to do that?”

  “If you do, sure. I’ve some stuff to finish up here, so I’ll meet you in town. Send me a text when you know where you’re going.”

  “Will do.” I’d turned to face the wall to make the call, and I started when I turned. Louise Jane was standing very close behind me. “Can I help you with something, Louise Jane?”

  “I couldn’t help overhearing. Having trouble finding a house to buy, are you?”

  I sighed. “Yeah. Finding what we like at a price we want to pay isn’t easy.”

  “Aren’t your parents helping you?”

  “Louise Jane, that’s none of your business.”

  “I’m simply making polite conversation.”

  “I need to take the dog for a short walk. Wait for me here. One of you can give me a ride into town, and I’ll come back with Connor.”

  “What dog?” Louise Jane and Theodore chorused.

  “Don’t ask,” I said.

  The desk phone rang again. It was after closing, so I was about to let voice mail answer when I saw the number of the caller. “Hi, Mom.”

  “Lucy,” my mother said. “I need a ride. Ellen isn’t here, and I was in the shower when she called, so Amos has gone on ahead.”

  “When who called, and Amos has gone where ahead?”

  “Evangeline called, and Amos has gone to the police station. They’ve arrested Ricky for the murder of his father.”

  Chapter Twelve

  As it turned out, Evangeline had overreacted. Ricky had not been arrested but rather taken down to the station to answer more questions.