Deadly Ever After

by Eva Gates

“Yes, Lucy. That’s sort of the point. It’s all happened so dreadfully fast, but I know this is the right thing for me to do.” Her eyes glowed with sheer happiness. “James and I want to be together, and neither of us wants a long-distance relationship. Those things never work out. I have job opportunities in England, and he doesn’t have any here. Thus I’m going to England. I’m so excited!”

  I took a deep breath. “But, but … Charlene, what does Daisy have to say about this?”

  “Daisy? What about Daisy? She’s happy for us. I like her a lot, and I’m glad we’re going to be close.”

  “Uh. Okay. If that’s what you want. I guess. What about your mom?”

  “Mom’s well enough to travel these days, and she’ll live with us.”

  “She’s okay with that?”

  “Lucy, are you feeling all right? Of course my mom’s okay with it. She’s looking forward to the change of scenery, although she’ll miss all her friends in Nags Head. She wants me to be happy. I want me to be happy. Don’t you? I know it means changes here, at the library, but that’s no reason for you to look so glum.”

  “I want you to be happy, Charlene, I do. Forgive me, please, but I don’t see that this is the right way to go about it. I mean, James and Daisy … I mean, Charlene, he’s married already! This can’t end well, and you’re giving up your job and moving halfway across the world.”

  Charlene fell back against her chair and started to cry. I took a step forward, ready to wrap her in my arms and comfort her. Then I realized she wasn’t weeping. She was crying with laughter. “Oh, Lucy. Dear, sweet Lucy. You didn’t think—James isn’t Daisy’s husband. He’s her brother.”

  “But … but … he can’t be her brother. They don’t look at all alike.”

  “Half brother. They have the same mother but different fathers. They both completely take after their fathers. They sometimes joke about how neither of them bears the slightest resemblance to their mother. Except that their mother’s a professor emerita at Cambridge and because of her they grew up immersed in history books.”

  “James told me his American father died when he was a baby and his mother brought him back to England. But … he and Daisy have the same last name. Daisy wears a wedding ring.” Although James did not.

  “James grew up close to his stepfather, so as a way of honoring him when James was old enough, he took his stepfather’s name.” Charlene wiped tears away. “Daisy’s husband’s back home in Oxford, caring for their baby daughter. She kept her own name when she married for professional reasons. Some women do these days, you know, Lucy.”

  “Uh. Yeah. I guess.” Don’t I feel the fool?

  “You weren’t here when they first arrived. I introduced them to everyone and mentioned the relationship. I think it’s sweet that a brother and sister work so closely together. I never thought to … to mention it again.” She fell back with another round of laughter.

  “But … but … why did you run out of the Dockside Lounge Bar the other night when you saw me?”

  “You were at Dockside? I didn’t see you, Lucy. If I had, I would have suggested James and I join you. The place was too crowded and we didn’t want to wait for a table.”

  “That’s good, then,” I said. “Not good that you’re leaving, but good that you and James are going to be together. Congratulations.”

  “Thank you, Lucy.”

  I leaned over and gave her a hug. She reached up and hugged me tightly in return, and I could feel her body shuddering with more laughter.

  “Can you, uh, not mention this to anyone?” I asked, when we’d separated and Charlene was drying her eyes. “It’s kind of embarrassing. What I thought, I mean.”

  “Your secret is safe with me, Lucy.”

  “Has Bertie any thoughts about who’s going to replace you? Not that you can be replaced, Charlene. You’re irreplaceable.”

  “It’s nice of you to say so. I have a candidate in mind and I made the suggestion, and she seems to approve of it. I’ll leave it up to Bertie to tell you and Ronald on Monday, okay?”

  “That’ll have to be okay. I’m happy for you, Charlene, very happy. Now that I know James isn’t a dastardly cad out to do you and Daisy both wrong, I’d like to get to know him better.”

  “He’d like that too, Lucy. He told me he found you very cold, and I was surprised to hear that. I guess I now know why.” And she burst into another round of laughter.

  Chapter Twenty

  Once again I escaped with my tail between my legs. My mother might have bragged that I have investigative skills, but these days I was turning out to be wrong every single time.

  My mother might have bragged …

  When I got back downstairs, it was almost five o’clock. Closing time on Saturday. “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls,” I announced. “The library’s about to close. Please take your books to the desk. We’ll be open again on Monday morning.”

  Ronald went upstairs to lock up the children’s library. Only one patron was still in the building, and she brought me one book and left without trying to engage me in conversation. Once I was alone, I placed a call. “I need you to try to remember something, Mom. It’s important.”

  “If I can,” she said.

  “A couple of people said something to me lately about you telling them I’m a detective. I’m nothing of the sort, but that doesn’t matter now. Can you remember what you said to whom and when?”

  “I didn’t say you were a detective, Lucy. Why would I do that?”

  “I don’t know, Mom. Maybe you were making conversation. Perhaps you didn’t use those exact words, but can you remember saying something like that? It’s important.”

  Silence came down the line, and I let her think.

  “Didn’t we talk about this on Wednesday,” she said at last, “when we were at the hotel when the police spoke to Evangeline?”

  “That’s right,” I said. “You said I had people to interview.”

  “I was providing you with an excuse to get out of spending the day with Evangeline and her crowd of hangers-on. I didn’t mean it.”

  “Doesn’t matter if you meant it or not. Not if people thought you did.”

  “Then again, I believe I also said something to that effect yesterday evening. We were in the hotel bar, and you called me and mentioned that the police were going to release Rich’s body. Evangeline asked what we’d been talking about, and I told her you were investigating again. I might have said that once you get an idea in your head, you never give up.”

  “Do you remember who was there? Evangeline. Anyone else?”

  Silence again. “Ricky, Evangeline’s friend Leon, and the lawyer your father sent to keep an eye on things down here—Stephen.”

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  “What’s this about, dear?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Obviously not nothing. Go ahead and keep your secrets. Are you coming for dinner tomorrow? Ellen’s going to invite you and Connor. I’m planning to go home on Monday with Evangeline.”

  “Dinner tomorrow. We’ll be there.”

  I thought back to my list. I’d eliminated most of the suspects. Who remained?

  I made two phone calls. Neither was answered. I left messages to call me back.

  Ronald clattered down the stairs, briefcase in hand. “Any plans for tomorrow, Lucy?”

  “I’ll probably see my mom before she leaves. Connor and I were hoping to have a beach day, but now we have a house to look at, so we’ll see how it goes.”

  “Good luck with that.” He waved good-night and left.

  Daisy and James and Charlene came next. Charlene and James were holding hands.

  “We’re going to Rodanthe tomorrow for the day, Lucy,” Charlene said. “Would you and Connor like to come?”

  “Thanks, but I doubt I’ll have time. My mom’s leaving Monday, and I have a line on a house for Connor and me to see.”

  “Good luck with the house.” She smiled at James, and he gave her a look of
such adoration I felt awful all over again at distrusting him. Daisy punched her brother in the arm. “Let’s go. I missed lunch, and I’m absolutely starving.”

  They left, and I remembered I was supposed to have called Connor about Louise Jane’s supposed house find. I doubted very much it would be worth looking at, but it couldn’t hurt.

  “Louise Jane wants to show us a house?” he said.

  “That’s what she said.”

  “It’s not my birthday. It’s not your birthday. We’ve had our engagement party. Is she planning a surprise shower and using this as a pretext?”

  “I might have suspected something like that too, except she didn’t specify a time. She asked me to let her know when we were free. Not at night.”

  “Might as well do it tomorrow. Get it over with.”

  “Okay. I’ll tell her ten?”

  “That’ll work. About what happened last night … I assume there were no more strange happenings today?”

  “A perfectly normal day at the Lighthouse Library. I haven’t forgotten about it, and I kept myself on alert all day.”

  “Good. I wish I could see you tonight, but—”

  “But this mayoral meeting’s been arranged for a long time and you have to go. It’s okay, Connor. I have no plans for tonight except to stay in. I’ll be safe as lighthouses. Once the front door’s locked, no one can get to me without a battering ram. I have a can of soup in the cupboard and half a sandwich from Josie’s for dinner. Charles and Fluffy are here to protect me from any intruders.”

  Hearing his name, Charles leapt onto the desk and lay down for a belly rub. I obliged.

  “Why does that not make me feel better?” Connor said.

  “It should. Charles has protected me before.”

  Connor chuckled.

  Charles nodded.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Ricky was the first person to return my call. As I’d told Connor I planned to do, I’d made myself an impromptu dinner of a bowl of soup and a leftover sandwich before curling up on the bed with Charles on one side of me, Fluffy on the other, and my iPad on my lap, watching a movie on Netflix.

  “Mom and I will be leaving on Monday,” Ricky said. “The police are going to release Dad’s body, and the arrangements have been made to take him home. I’d like to see you before I go.”

  I hesitated. “I don’t think I’ll have the time.”

  “What about now? Tonight. I know you’re home. You’re the only person I know who still has a landline, so I know you’re in the lighthouse.”

  I hadn’t thought Ricky had lured me out of the lighthouse the other night. I couldn’t believe he’d want to frighten me. Maybe I was naïve, but he still seemed to have feelings for me. His comment confirmed my instinct: if it had been him, he would have called me on the landline.

  Rather than answering his question about coming over, I explained. “The cell reception’s poor to nonexistent here, so we still need a physical connection.”

  “That’s what I thought. It’s not late, and you’re off work tomorrow. How about I come and get you and we can go into town? Find a nice lounge somewhere, have a couple of drinks, listen to some music, talk about the good old days. About us in the good old days. I can be there in fifteen minutes. Please say yes, Lucy. We did have some good days, didn’t we?”

  Despite my assurances to myself about Ricky, my danger antenna pricked up. “Why would you come all this way to get me?”

  “So I can ply you with liquor, of course. For old times’ sake, Lucy?” His voice was playful, trying to make light of the issues—no big deal—but I could hear the seriousness beneath.

  I felt guilty about even thinking that Ricky, a man I’d known for so long and been close to once, could possibly have meant me harm. “I’m comfortably settled for a night in.”

  “Then I’ll join you. I haven’t seen your apartment yet.”

  “Ricky. No. That’s not why I called you. This is important. I have a question, and I need you to answer without asking why I’m asking.”

  He chuckled. “Detecting again, Lucy?”

  “No. I’m just curious. Your mom said you and Stephen went out for a couple of drinks after dinner last night. Is that right?”

  “You don’t want me to ask why you’re asking?”

  “Please.”

  “Only for you, Lucy, only for you. Yeah, that’s right. To be honest, I’m getting mighty tired of my mother’s company. Her and that Leon. Geez, he’s in for a mighty big disappointment.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “He’s hanging all over her, all the time. They dated a long time ago, before she met my dad, and he seems to want to pick up where they left off. He’s trying to impress her by being buddies with me. As if.”

  “Back to what I asked you. You were with Stephen for how long?”

  “Not long. We had one drink, and he moved in on a table of women. I wasn’t interested, so I left him to it. I walked back to the hotel; it wasn’t far. I probably shouldn’t have left him with the rental car, not if he was going to keep on drinking, but he gave me a wink—just between us guys, you know.”

  “Yeah,” I said dryly. “I know. What time was this?”

  “Ten, ten thirty or so? Not much later than that. I can’t persuade you to let me in?”

  “No, you cannot. And … good night, Ricky.”

  As I hung up the phone, I might have heard him say, “Good night, my love.”

  I leaned back with a sigh. I tried my dad again, and he answered this time.

  “Sorry I didn’t return your call, honey. It’s a Saturday night, but I’ve been in meetings all day trying to sort out Rich’s affairs, and I can tell you, it’s not going to be easy. The guy’s practice was a mess, giant gaps in his records, unexplained expenditures, dodgy income. Not to mention that the police are showing a lot of interest. I should never have allowed things to get this far. Have you spoken to Ricky today?”

  “Ricky? Yes. I was just on the phone with him. He and Evangeline are bringing Rich home on Monday.”

  “Monday’s too late. I need Ricky here. Now. He needs to start explaining this mess. Sorry, honey. I’m sure you didn’t call to hear about the firm’s problems. What’s up?”

  “Actually, I did call to talk to you about something to do with the firm. Stephen Livingstone. Can you—”

  Dad cut me off. “He’s another one who needs to be here explaining himself, not gallivanting around the beaches of the Outer Banks.”

  “Gallivanting? Didn’t you send him here to act as Evangeline’s attorney in case she needs one?”

  “Stephen? No. Can’t stand the little—uh, guy. He’s Rich’s lapdog, not mine.”

  “He told me you sent him here.”

  “I wouldn’t send him across the street for a bagel.” I heard Dad take a deep breath. Someone had been coaching him on calming techniques.

  “You told Mom you were sending someone down here to represent Evangeline if she needed it, and to keep an eye on the firm’s interests. Not Stephen?”

  “When I say I’m sending someone to do something, Lucy, I mean I tell someone to tell someone to send someone. I don’t pick a junior attorney out of the pack.”

  “Oh.”

  “Maybe I should. I would never have involved Stephen Livingstone. Never mind that, honey. My problems to deal with. Why did you call?”

  “Just to say hi.”

  “Hi,” he said, and I was pleased to hear the warmth creep into his voice.

  “When all this is over, Dad, you and Mom need to come down for a real visit. A vacation. You know, the beach, swimming, seeing the sights, nice dinners out.”

  “That,” he said, “sounds like a great idea. Good night, honey.”

  “ ’Night Dad.”

  I hung up. Charles was sitting up, watching me. “You know what I’m going to do now, Charles?” I said. “I’m going to do what everyone is always telling me to do and hand it over to the police.”

  I made an
other call, and it was answered immediately.

  “Sorry to bother you at home on a Saturday evening, Detective.” In the background I could hear the muted sounds of a TV. “I’ve learned two pieces of information about the Rich Lewiston case, and I thought you’d want to know.”

  “You’re not bothering me, Lucy. CeeCee’s waving hi. Hold on a sec.” A door slammed and the TV sound died. “What’s up?”

  “You met Stephen Livingstone.”

  “Yeah. Lawyer guy from Boston; your dad sent him down to act as Mrs. Lewiston’s attorney.”

  “I’ve just learned that my dad didn’t send him. My dad doesn’t like him—doesn’t think much of him anyway—but he worked for Rich. If anything, Dad’s angry that he’s here rather than back at the office helping sort out what he calls Rich’s mess.”

  “You think that significant because?”

  “I’d dismiss it as an eager young associate trying to curry favor with the late boss’s wife and son, but you’ve taught me that when people lie to the police, even about insignificant matters, it’s worth wondering why.”

  “Particularly about insignificant matters. I hate to think I’ve taught you anything about policing, Lucy.”

  “Nevertheless, you have. That’s one piece of the puzzle. For the second piece: did anyone ask Ricky and Stephen where they were last night when I was being lured out of the lighthouse?”

  “Officers questioned the lot of them. I can’t recall precisely what everyone said, which means I didn’t regard it as significant.”

  “I bet Ricky and Steven said they went to a bar after having dinner with Evangeline and Leon Lions and your officers left it at that. According to Ricky, they had one drink together and then Ricky went back to the hotel, leaving Stephen at the bar. With the car.”

  “What time was this?”

  “Around ten thirty, Ricky says. I’m guessing, and it is just a guess, that not long after Ricky left, Stephen abandoned the table of women he was trying to charm, got the car, and went in search of me.” Conveniently for him, I’d been at Jake’s—a place Rich’s killer would know I hang out at. “Maybe he wanted to talk to me, to find out what I know, or maybe his intention all along was to threaten me.” I remembered a car following us out of the parking lot of Jake’s and out of town, then continuing on up the highway when we turned into the lighthouse laneway. Easy enough to turn around, switch off the headlights, follow us and watch us. “He saw Josie drop me off and drive away and me go inside. So he had the bright idea of trying to scare me. Did you locate the owner of the phone that called me?”