by Anne Canadeo
“Helen proposed the idea, but it was rebuffed. Not a good sign. The police obviously want the home-field advantage, the oppressive, frightening atmosphere of an interview room.”
Maggie understood that, and it deeply concerned her. “Hate to say it, but I was cornered like that once myself. Even with a sharp attorney present, one is liable to make a totally innocent statement that gets twisted in more directions than a balloon butterfly at a children’s birthday party.”
Dana met her glance, her expression wary. “I can just imagine what Rose might say, especially once she’s stressed. She’s so forthcoming and guileless. She’s just not equipped with the usual filters.”
“Maybe if you tell Detective Reyes that Holly is improving and might be able to speak to her soon, that will buy more time for Rose.” Maggie wasn’t sure it would fend her off, but it was worth a try.
Dana seemed to think so, too. “Good idea. Helen doesn’t know yet that we hold that card. I’d better call Helen first and see how we should play it.”
“Has Detective Reyes talked to Toby yet?” Lucy brought a pile of her home-baked cookies to the table, along with the teapot and some cups. “And what about Thornton? Have they found him or any sign of the man?”
“I don’t know. And I don’t think the detective will tell me, either. Helen might have squeezed it out of her. I’m going to ask.”
“I have a feeling Mr. Thornton has disappeared into thin air. Or maybe a puff of smoke,” Maggie said. She recalled the stormy night he’d appeared at the Pipers’ front door, as if he’d materialized in a sizzling crack of lightning.
“He didn’t show up in an internet search, either,” Lucy reported. “Of course, I found people with the same name, but none fit his age and description. The search on Toby, however, was well worth the twenty-nine dollars. He’s been arrested for passing bad checks and has a ton of legal problems from an online business that was closed by court order. Looked like a scam to me. He’s also declared bankruptcy. I’m sure the police have found all that out, too. I’ve printed the information, if you want to read it.” Lucy had brought her knitting bag into the kitchen and now searched around inside it for the pages.
“I’m not surprised,” Maggie said. “But poor character and bad judgment still don’t mean he tried to kill Holly. The police need substantial evidence to make a case against him.”
“I assume Detective Reyes called him back for more questions. But I agree, just being in proximity isn’t nearly enough. There needs to be physical evidence tying him to the scene. The type of evidence they think they have on Rose.” Dana stood in the doorway, about to head to a more private spot for her phone calls. “Which reminds me. I didn’t check out that photo of the envelope yet. Let’s take a look when I come back.”
Dana left the kitchen and headed for Holly’s office, and Maggie explained to Lucy about the envelope she’d spotted.
“It could be nothing. A piece of junk mail. But it does seem official. I just have a feeling about it.”
“If you have a feeling, I think we should check it out.”
“What a nice compliment.” The tea had steeped, and Maggie poured herself a cup. Peppermint, her favorite.
When Dana returned to the kitchen a few minutes later, Maggie could tell she had news. She sat at the table and spoke in a low tone. “Rose is coming back in a minute. I’ll make this quick. Helen heard that Toby was questioned again. His whereabouts Tuesday night don’t rule out the possibility that he came here and set the fire. He checked into a motel in Peabody around six. He claims he stayed in his room all night and has some charges on the pay-per-view.”
Maggie could just imagine Toby’s taste in films while alone in a motel room. She didn’t want to dwell on it. “That doesn’t prove anything. He could have easily left the TV on, driven out to the nursery and set the fire, then returned to the motel without anyone noticing.”
“That’s exactly what I said,” Dana replied. “Helen agreed. She said Detective Reyes isn’t stupid. She knows how long it takes to get from A to B.”
Lucy leaned closer to whisper a reply. “There are probably security cameras in the motel parking lot. The video would show if his car had been driven in and out during the night.”
“Helen doesn’t know if the police checked that yet, but they have looked at video from that gas station at the crossroads near this house. The one we stopped at for gas today. Toby’s car was spotted on Tuesday night’s recording, around eight. About two hours before the fire started.”
“Have they asked him about that?” Maggie asked.
“Helen doesn’t think so. She suggested the police might be gathering more information before they pull him in again. Which is good news for us. It does take attention off of Rose.” Dana looked relieved to add that, and Maggie felt the same. “But I don’t want Rose to hear about this. I don’t want her to feel frightened with Toby in such close proximity.”
“What about your proximity?” Maggie asked. “Doesn’t that count?”
“I can take care of myself. And I have Lucy to protect me,” Dana replied with a grin. Her expression grew suddenly serious. “I am glad you’re staying, Lucy. Sometimes at night I feel as if someone is out there watching the house. It’s the strangest thing,” she added quietly. She rubbed her arms, as if feeling a sudden chill. “Probably just nerves and paranoia.”
“Toby, you mean?” Maggie asked.
Dana shook her head. “No, not Toby. He’s definitely snoring away over the garage, dreaming up his nasty plans. I feel like someone’s just beyond view, watching us. I get up at night and peer out the windows, but I don’t see a thing.”
“Do the dogs bark?” Lucy asked.
“Not really. But the other night, Rose’s big dog, Wolf, followed me from window to window. At one point, he did growl a bit, and the hair went up on the back of his neck.” Dana sighed. “He could have heard an animal. Maybe a raccoon or a skunk? Jack thinks I’m crazy, but I can’t help it. Totally irrational, right?” she asked with a light laugh.
“Irrational” was Dana’s idea of hurling a stinging insult at herself.
Lucy touched her hand. “You’ve been through so much the past few days, Dana. You’re allowed to be a little loopy once in a while. Maybe that’s a good thing.”
Maggie met Dana’s gaze with a fond smile. “We won’t tell anybody. Promise.” She thought a moment. “Speaking of paranoia, let’s check the photo and find out if I’m acting paranoid and irrational, too.”
“Right. I nearly forgot.” Dana took out her phone and found the photo of the envelope. She stretched the image with her fingertips as far as it would go and moved it around the screen so that the return address was in the middle of the frame. She peered at it through her reading glasses. “I can read it now. At least the first two words on the top line and part of the address. But that’s plenty.”
“What does it say?”
“McClennan, Hoyt and . . . Can’t see the last name, but I know that it’s Dooley. It’s a law office in Newburyport. Rivals with Jack’s firm. They specialize in trusts. And breaking them.”
“That blows the junk-mail theory.” Lucy glanced at Maggie.
“It does,” Maggie agreed. “And it raises more questions than it answers, unfortunately. He’s up to something.”
“As if there was any doubt about that,” Dana noted. “If only we could see what’s in there, we’d know his plan. I’d bet anything he keeps his car locked.”
“We should check, just to make sure,” Lucy said. “But I don’t know how we’d break in if it is locked. All kinds of alarms will probably go off. I bet it’s not half as easy as they make it look in the movies.”
“In the old days, you could open a locked car with a coat hanger. Car locks are impossible to open that way anymore,” Maggie mused.
“We need the keys, no question. I can’t see how that could ever happen.” Dana sounded discouraged.
“We could sneak into the apartment while he’s asleep
and borrow them for a while,” Lucy suggested. “If we could find an extra key to the apartment somewhere. Maybe Rose knows where it is.”
“Too risky. He’s liable to wake up,” Dana said. “He’d probably have us all arrested for breaking and entering.”
“That would be his style.” Maggie sipped her tea, considering the problem. “We have to talk him into giving us the car keys.”
“Why would he do that?” Lucy looked doubtful.
Maggie shrugged. “There must be some reason we can think of.”
“Maybe it’s enough that we saw the name of the law firm he’s dealing with,” Dana said. “He’s obviously trying to worm his way into the estate Holly and Rose have inherited from their father.”
“Obviously. But how? Did his attorneys find some loophole in the will finally? Does it have to do with Holly being in the hospital? To be forewarned is to be forearmed,” Maggie reminded Dana. “And I do have an idea.”
Rose walked into the kitchen and found them huddled at the table. Maggie could see from her expression it was an odd sight.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“We’re going to play a joke on Toby,” Maggie replied in a cheerful tone. “You and the dogs can help.”
Chapter 11
“It’s a simple plan,” Maggie explained. “I’ve parked on the border of grass along the drive, and I noticed that it slopes down into some tall grass and bushes. It’s very muddy down there, too, with all the rain lately. I’m going to let my car roll down the slope, until it looks as if it’s stuck. Then I’ll tell Toby I’m such a silly woman driver, I thought I had the car in reverse, and it was in drive, and my, my, it’s stuck in the mud.” Maggie fluttered her lashes and shook her head, her brown and gray curls bouncing. “I’ll tell him a tow truck is coming, and we need to move his car out of the way so that the tow truck can maneuver . . . How’s that sound?”
“Brilliant. But I hope your car doesn’t really get stuck,” Lucy replied.
“I hope not, too. It does well in the snow. I’m counting on that.” Maggie thought the odds of needing a tow for real after this stunt seemed about fifty-fifty, but it was worth the gamble.
“I think it’s a good plan. But what if he doesn’t trust us and wants to move it himself?” Dana said.
“I thought of that. Which is where Rose comes in.” Maggie turned to her. “You need to take a bunch of dogs outside, your best barkers, and let them make enough of a racket to scare Toby into staying inside. I’m sure he’ll look outside to check my story. When you see the blinds move, can you start them howling?”
“Very easily.” Rose smiled, looking eager to do her part.
“Good.”
Toby was afraid of the dogs, their ace in the hole. He felt vulnerable around them, Maggie had decided, though he tried to hide his fear with anger and aggression.
“What should Dana and I do?” Lucy asked. “Do you want me to ask him for the keys, while you stay in the driveway and keep things on track?”
Maggie zipped up her jacket and looked at Dana. “Grab some flashlights from the mudroom and act upset on my behalf about the car,” Maggie instructed. “I think Dana should speed-read whatever’s in that envelope. She’s the most fluent in legalese.”
Dana met her glance and nodded. “It’s a better scheme than I could cook up. We have nothing to lose by trying.”
“Nothing at all. Except for Maggie’s front axle,” Lucy said quietly.
Maggie gritted her teeth. “I hadn’t thought of that. I’ll drive very slowly and make sure the slope is clear of rocks.”
Just before they left the kitchen, Maggie slipped a dull-edged knife off the table and into her pocket.
“What’s that for? Self-defense?” Dana asked with a smile.
“Heavens no. This is for you, to use as a letter opener if the envelope is sealed shut. Maybe you should look for some glue in the mudroom. If you need to break the seal, you can glue it shut again.”
“Good point. He might notice anyway,” Dana said. “We’ll have to deal with the consequences when they come, I guess.”
“Let’s hope the envelope is open,” Lucy said. “Positive thinking, everyone.”
They found their jackets in the hall, while Rose gathered a group of her most vocal hounds from the dog parlor, then headed outside. Maggie carefully guided her car over the shoulder of the gravel drive and then bumped along down a short slope of grass and into a muddy patch of weeds and bushes.
She hit the accelerator to test if the car was really stuck, and the wheels spun. She turned to Lucy, who had jumped into the passenger seat at the last minute to offer moral support.
“No offense, but your perfectionist tendencies aren’t always a good thing,” Lucy reminded her.
“No offense taken. And we can’t worry about that now.”
Maggie climbed out of the car and stepped carefully on the soft earth as Lucy did the same.
“On to step two. Wish me luck,” she whispered.
“Maybe I should come with you?” Lucy said.
“Heaven’s no. You’re much too . . . cute. He’s liable to get all manly and try to rescue a damsel in distress. Older women like me are practically invisible. He’ll be annoyed to simply acknowledge my existence.”
Lucy looked hurt. “I hope that’s not a dumb blonde joke.”
“Hardly. No one would ever slight your IQ . . . And you’re not really that blond, either. More of a tawny shade?”
“I agree,” Dana said. “Too risky. And by the way, you’re still plenty cute, Maggie,” she quickly added.
Maggie smiled. “In my own market, I guess.”
Rose stood by Toby’s car, a large group of dogs circling around her. Quiet now, though Maggie didn’t doubt they’d do their part. “If you don’t come back quickly, we’ll go up and look for you.”
“I’ll be right down. No worries.” Maggie hoped there would be no need for an intervention, but it was comforting to know she had backup.
The beam from Dana’s flashlight guided her to the garage, but it was dark inside and she used her cell phone light to find a narrow staircase with rough, unfinished walls. She walked up the stairs and stood before the door at the top. She could hear the TV on inside. It sounded like another basketball game. She heard Toby talking on the phone, though she couldn’t make out his words.
She took a deep breath and knocked, making a rapid, sharp sound.
Moments later the door swung open. Toby stared down at her. He’d changed out of his suit and into jeans and a sweatshirt and was wearing only socks, no shoes. Maggie was happy to see that.
His phone was squeezed between his shoulder and his left ear. He held a dumbbell in his other hand and was pumping up his bicep.
“What do you want?” His tone was suspicious.
She felt a wave of anxiety and tried not to show it. She wasn’t a very good liar but tried not think of that.
“Sorry to bother you, Toby. I had some car trouble. It’s sort of embarrassing. I was just about to head home and thought I’d shifted into reverse, but the stupid car went forward instead, and I drove right down into a patch of mud. Now it’s stuck,” she said sadly.
“I’ll call you right back. Something came up,” Toby said into his phone. Then turned his back and spoke in a softer voice before he ended the conversation.
He put his phone in his back pocket and squinted down at Maggie. “What do you expect me to do about it? I can’t pull your car out. I’m not a mechanic.”
“Oh, I’ve already called for help. A tow truck is coming. But your car is in the way. If you give me the keys, we’ll move it to a safe spot.”
“I’ll move it. I need to find some shoes.” He sounded annoyed but also afraid of letting her anywhere near his car. Maggie decided she’d done too good a job pretending she was an addlepated female driver.
“Oh, I hate to bother you. Dana or Lucy can move it, if you don’t trust my driving . . . and I can well understand why,” she went
on as she peered into the apartment.
He’d been in the space only a few days, but it looked like a group of college boys had been living there for several semesters. Dirty clothes, pizza boxes, and beer bottles were scattered in all directions. There were piles of newspapers on the coffee table, along with a notebook computer that stood open, a stack of official-looking documents, and a yellow legal pad covered with scrawled notes. Maggie yearned to get a peek at what he was working on, but didn’t dare step too far into the dragon’s lair.
There was a row of coat hooks near the door, and she spotted the keys dangling there. She could grab them and run, but she doubted that would work out very well.
“We need to move your car only a few yards. Take a look for yourself,” she urged him, remembering Rose’s cue to set off the dogs.
With one jogging shoe in hand and the other on his foot, he lifted a shade and peered down at the driveway. Maggie didn’t hear anything and worried that her ploy to keep him inside wouldn’t work.
Suddenly, a chorus of barking and howling dogs easily drowned out the sound of the TV, even the loud cheers of a basketball stadium. The sound grew louder and louder, daring him to come down.
Toby turned to her, the worn-out jogging shoe now dangling from his hand. “What the heck are all those dogs doing out there?”
Maggie feigned an innocent stare. “Doesn’t Rose usually give them a little air at night?”
“You’d think that one was raised in a wolf pack,” he muttered. “Things are going to change around here . . . fast. Mark my words.” He waved the shoe at Maggie.
She tilted her head back, waiting to see what he’d do.
His phone rang, and he stared at the number, then fumbled to answer it. “Yeah, I’m here. Hold on . . .”
In a few quick steps he was at the door, where he grabbed the keys and handed them to her. “Be careful with that car, or you and your friends will have to buy me a new one. It’s a BMW, you know.”
That it was, at least fifteen years old, dented and dusty, with tears in the upholstery. But obviously a source of pride for him.
