Murder by Arrangement

by Suzanne Young

  Murder by Arrangement

  by

  Suzanne Young

  Sybown Press

  Cover Designer: Karen Phillips

  All rights reserved

  Names, characters and incidents depicted in this book are purely fictitious and the products of the author’s imagination. The author has also taken the liberty of placing fabricated homes in the middle of actual neighborhoods. Any resemblance to actual persons or places is coincidental and unintentional. Places of interest and historic references are real.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording or electronic transference without written permission from the author.

  Copyright © 2015 by Suzanne Young

  Sybown Press

  9028 West 50th Lane, #1

  Arvada, CO 80002-4441

  This book is dedicated

  to Diony and to Bill

  with my love.

  Other books in the Edna Davies series

  Murder by Yew, 2009

  Murder by Proxy, 2011

  Murder by Mishap, 2012

  Murder by Christmas, 2013

  Chapter 1

  “What do you suppose has upset Irene?” Edna Davies stroked Benjamin’s ginger fur as she spoke the thought aloud. One thing about having a cat, he made an excellent confidante and knew how to keep a secret.

  This early February morning, she had finally finished addressing valentines to everyone on her Christmas list. Tending to Albert, recovering from an injury, had prevented her from sending yuletide greetings to friends and family at year’s end. “I hope hearts are as welcome as holly for those who hear from us only once a year,” she had said to Benjamin as she applied the last self-stick postage stamp. She had then invited the cat onto her lap just as the telephone rang.

  “I’m glad to catch you at home,” Irene said. “If you’ll be in today, would you mind if I drive down to talk to you? It’s about a family matter.”

  She sounded untypically serious, so Edna answered immediately, “I’m off to the post office this morning, but I’ll be here for the rest of the day. Why don’t you come for lunch? The forecast is for snow again, but not until later this afternoon.”

  After hanging up, she sat stroking Benjamin’s back for a few minutes as she tried to imagine what might be so worrisome that her daughter-in-law would make the forty-minute drive from Warwick to South County on such a cold and dismal day. Giving up the mental exercise as fruitless, she turned her thoughts to planning a lunch menu.

  Since she and Irene were both perpetually trying to lose an extra ten pounds, Edna decided to make carrot soup and serve it with homemade soda crackers. She’d warm some applesauce and put out one cinnamon sugar cookie each for dessert. Diet or no, they needed a little sugar to balance the meal.

  Irene arrived shortly before noon. At five and a half feet, she was an inch taller than Edna with a pleasant round face and ready smile. This daughter-in-law was married to Edna and Albert’s eldest child Matthew. Edna found it hard to believe that Matthew and Irene’s first born, Joseph, would graduate from high school in another few months. David, their second child, was two years younger, followed by twelve-year-old Allison and nine-year-old Amanda. Edna always smiled with pleasure whenever she thought of the energetic and enthusiastic brood, feeling with some pride that it spoke well of the parents.

  “Brrr,” said Irene, stepping into the front hall. “I’m ready for spring.”

  “Are you regretting that you didn’t go to Florida with Matthew and Albert?” Edna asked.

  “Maybe only because of the sunshine, but I’m no fisherman. No sea legs, I’m afraid.” Irene grimaced as she removed her coat, hat and gloves and set them on a nearby chair.

  “Me either,” Edna said as she thought with dread that she would also have had to board an airplane, had she accepted the half-hearted invitation to join “the boys” on their fishing trip to Miami--“the boys” being her husband Albert, son Matthew, son-in-law Roger and Roger’s father Ken Marlstone. They had flown south for a week of fishing with Roger’s brother, Patrick, who captained his own trawler. Patrick had recently acquired a second boat for his local business and invited the family on its maiden voyage.

  The trip had the added advantage of Florida’s sunny weather where Albert could exercise his leg without fear of slipping on ice or being housebound by yet another snowstorm. He still hadn’t fully recovered from having fractured his kneecap shortly before Thanksgiving. This accident was why Edna was sending valentines in place of the Christmas cards she’d had no time to write in December.

  “Besides, I really couldn’t leave with Amanda being off this coming week.” Irene’s voice broke into Edna’s wandering thoughts and recaptured her attention. “I don’t know why the schools can’t all plan spring break for the same time. Joseph, David and Allison’s is the week after Amanda’s. With a nine-year-old hanging around the house all day, I couldn’t ask my mother to come and stay while I went off to play on the beach.” Irene’s smile slipped when she added, “I’m afraid Mother’s showing her age lately. I think she no longer has the energy--or the patience--to put up with four children for a week, even if they are self-sufficient.”

  Detecting a catch in Irene’s throat, Edna reached over to gently squeeze her forearm. “I know it has to be hard for you, dear. I’m here to help whenever you need me.” As the younger woman’s eyes misted, Edna thought a change of subject would be wise. She didn’t want to dwell on a topic that neither one of them could control and which was bound to reduce Irene to tears. “Albert phoned last night to say they had an uneventful flight and were settling into the condo. He and Matthew have a couple of side bets going as to who will catch the first fish and the biggest fish.”

  That made Irene laugh as she used her fingertips to swipe beneath her eyes. “Yes, Matt called us, too. Joseph and David wanted so badly to go along, but I put my foot down about them missing school. It’s a shame Patrick couldn’t have rescheduled for week after next, but he’d already booked a sizeable group for those dates.” After hanging her coat in the closet, she turned to follow Edna into the kitchen, saying as she did so, “All that aside, I might have caved in and gone if Diane had been able to. It’s probably a good thing she’s working next week.”

  Edna chuckled at the thought of her second oldest child, a registered nurse who worked part time for a home health care provider. “She phoned Tuesday evening while Roger was packing. She confessed to being sorely tempted to accept her brother-in-law’s invitation and probably would have quit her job, if you had agreed to the trip. It’s hard to pass up a vacation south when we’ve had such a cold and snowy winter.”

  The two women continued to chat amiably while Edna arranged crackers on a plate and Irene ladled soup into bowls and placed them on the kitchen table. As they ate, Irene brought Edna up to date on the activities of her children. When they were nearly finished with the soup, she came to her youngest, but hesitated as if she didn’t know what to say.

  “What is it, dear,” Edna prompted. “You said on the phone this morning that you wanted to discuss something. Does it have to do with Amanda?”

  Irene pushed the remains of her soup around the bottom of the bowl with her spoon. She was quiet for so long that Edna was about to speak again when Irene looked up with worried eyes and nodded. “She has a new best friend. A girl who moved into the neighborhood last month and is in Amanda’s third-grade class.”

  “You don’t approve of this new friendship?” Edna guessed.

  “It’s not that. Not exactly. Violet--or Lettie, as she’s called--is a nice girl, extremely well-mannered. If anything, she might be almost too quiet for a nine-year-old.” Irene p
aused, then took a deep breath. “It’s her family situation that has me spooked.”

  “Spooked?” Edna wondered at Irene’s choice of word. “How so?”

  Irene sat forward, suddenly animated. “Do you remember that scandal a couple years ago? It was all over the news … that financial advisor who was found dead in his townhouse. It happened right here in South County.” She kept adding details as if to jog Edna’s memory. “Heart failure, but questionable circumstances. You don’t remember?”

  Edna frowned, trying to recall, but finally shook her head. “It’s not sounding familiar.”

  “It was about two or two and a half years ago.”

  “No, dear, I don’t remember. That was around the time Albert retired and we were exploring the east coast to see where we might want to live, before we found this place.”

  Irene’s face fell, apparently disappointed that Edna hadn’t known about the story. “That’s right. You were gone for a good part of the year.” She sighed, seeming resigned to filling Edna in on some background. “The man’s name was Gregory Haverstrum. He was found dead in his townhouse. They said it was cardiac arrest, but rumor was that he had been poisoned.”

  Edna’s interest was piqued, but she thought Irene might be straying from the subject. “And this has something to do with Amanda?”

  Irene pushed her plate aside and rested her forearms on the table, leaning forward and lowering her voice as if imparting a secret. “Amanda’s new friend is Gregory Haverstrum’s daughter. His wife was Rose Haverstrum, but she took back her maiden name. Beck. She goes by Rose Beck now, or actually, she prefers to be called Rosie.”

  A memory that had been nagging at Edna’s subconscious suddenly came into focus. “I think I remember my friend Tuck mentioning this. There was quite a sensation because Rose … ah, Rosie … is from a prominent family. Her mother, Lily Beck, is a member of Greenthumbs, our local garden club.” Edna paused, then frowned. “I don’t recall Tuck saying anything about poison, though.”

  Irene looked down briefly at her folded hands before lifting her eyes to Edna’s again. “I guess nothing was ever proven, and nobody was arrested, but Rosie was questioned repeatedly over a period of several months. She and her husband had separated about a month before it happened. That’s why he was living in a townhouse and was alone when he died. It was a couple of days before he was found.”

  “She was questioned but never charged with anything?”

  Irene shrugged. “Suspicion surrounded his death, but nothing was really clear from the news reports. There was some mention of burns around his mouth, but nobody ever determined if they were relevant to the cause of death or just some sort of medical condition associated with his illness. At the time, Rosie was working in one of the local greenhouses and had access to any number of toxic substances. Not just plants, but pesticides, too. That might’ve been why they thought she could have put something in his food, but investigators couldn’t prove anything. She was called in and questioned over and over, but she was never charged with murdering her husband. Unfortunately for her, nothing was found to build a case for suicide either.”

  “And Rosie Beck is your new neighbor?”

  Irene nodded. “She moved into our neighborhood right after Christmas, one street over.”

  Edna tried to remember what she’d heard of Lily Beck’s family. “Rosie wasn’t living in South County before that, was she?”

  Irene shook her head. “She sold their house down here and his condo and moved to East Providence after his funeral. Now, she’s moved again and in the middle of the school year. That’s hard on a child.”

  Edna said, “How do you know all this? Have you talked with her?”

  Irene waggled a hand. “Sort of. Lettie came to Amanda’s birthday party last month. Rosie brought her over so she could meet us. Very properly. I would have done the same. You know, we being strangers and all. Since then, I spoke to her once at the grocery store, and again at the school’s parents’ night last week. You know, just sort of brief ‘how-do’s.’” Irene’s eyes widened. “I kept thinking she looked familiar but the name threw me. It kept bugging me, so I searched for her on the Internet. I would have remembered about the scandal right away if she was still going by Haverstrum.”

  Irene sat silently for a moment, frowning at the table top as if organizing her thoughts. Eventually, she began to speak again, slowly at first, as she lifted her head to look at Edna. “Last night, she phoned to invite Amanda to spend some time with Lettie at her grandmother’s. I knew from rereading the online reports that Rosie’s mother lived near here, so I told Rosie I’d let her know tonight. I wanted to talk to you first, since I thought you might know the mother. I can’t wait until Matt comes home to give Rosie an answer, and, besides, it would be hard to explain my feelings to him over the phone, long distance.” She sighed. “I thought, if you knew Lily Beck, you could give me your opinion of the family and this whole scandal. Am I being unreasonable if I discourage Amanda’s friendship with Lettie?”

  Edna brought an image of the older Mrs. Beck to mind. “As I said, Rosie’s mother and I belong to the same garden club, so I have met her, but I haven’t spent a lot of time in her company. She’s pretty reclusive. Doesn’t have much to do with anyone except an occasional meeting with members of Greenthumbs. She has one of the best gardens in the area and can’t help showing it off. I was among the lucky ones to be selected last month to view some of her winter blooms. I took pictures and thought I’d sketch either her Christmas Rose or the Lily of the Valley bush as a ‘thank you’ present.” When Edna noticed that she was losing Irene’s attention, she hesitated. “But you don’t want to know about my garden club, I’m sure. What exactly do you wish to know?”

  “To be frank, Edna, I wonder if Rosie did kill her husband. You know what they say about no smoke without fire.”

  “Oh, my.” The bluntness of Irene’s statement startled Edna. She thought back to when they’d just moved to southern Rhode Island and she’d been suspected of poisoning her handyman. She remembered how upset and humiliated she’d been to realize her new neighbors and friends dared not eat anything she prepared. Many even refused to come to her house. Silent rejection is hard to fight. “Do you think you’re being unfair? After all, she was never charged with anything, and you said yourself that poison was only a rumor.”

  “I’d rather be accused of unfairness than have anything happen to one of my children. How could I live with myself if I exposed Amanda to a murderer?”

  Edna considered her daughter-in-law’s concern. “But what if Rosie is innocent? Gossip and innuendos can be very destructive.”

  Irene shrugged and lowered her head, not meeting Edna’s eyes. “I suppose so.”

  Edna persisted. “Why would she want to kill her husband?”

  “The talk was that he’d had more than one affair. As a matter of fact, one of his latest was a woman who worked with Rosie and, supposedly, was her best friend.” Irene made a weak attempt to lighten the mood. “Husbands have been killed for less, if you watch the soap operas.”

  Edna appreciated the humor, but shook her head in dismay. “Sounds like Gregory Haverstrum wasn’t a nice man, but surely infidelity isn’t a sufficient enough reason for murder.”

  “Perhaps not,” agreed Irene. “If it were, I think the girlfriend might have been killed, too.” She scowled. “I don’t understand how someone can work alongside her best friend, day in and day out, while carrying on with that friend’s husband. I can easily imagine Rosie being angry enough to murder that backstabber.”

  Listening to her daughter-in-law’s rant with only half an ear, Edna’s mind jumped back to her early days in the community, and she felt again the despair of her own situation when she’d been confronted with the murder of her handyman. Then, she thought of her granddaughter for a moment. Would she be subjecting Amanda to possible harm if she were to side with Rosie, or should she agree with Irene who, Edna now suspected, had come looking for support,
not argument?

  I should meet Rosie before I decide how to answer Irene, Edna thought, as an idea began to form in her mind. “You said you would let Rosie know your answer by this evening?”

  “That’s right. Tomorrow’s Friday, so the girls will be in school until mid-afternoon. Rosie wants to bring them down here as soon after that as possible. She works for an event planner now. This is one of their busiest times of the year with all the Valentine’s Day weddings. She’ll be working long hours next week, which is why Lettie will stay with her Grandmother Lily for the school break. I think Rosie feels that Lettie will be happier if she has a friend with her, even if it’s only for part of the time.”

  Edna stood to clear the soup bowls from the table and get their dessert. After a couple of minutes of silence while she worked through the plan in her head, she said. “How would it be if Amanda spent a few days with me?”

  Irene looked a bit startled at the suggestion, then thoughtful. “I suppose …” she began.

  Edna rushed on, explaining her idea. “I’d like to meet Rosie, get a feel for the sort of person she is. Why don’t you invite her to lunch at your house tomorrow? Tell her I’ve asked Amanda to stay with me for a few nights, so I’ll be there for lunch, as well.” Edna paused, thinking, then added, “It will be a good chance for her to meet me, too. The girls will be able to see each other, and the question of an overnight needn’t arise. Besides, it would be a treat for me to visit with my granddaughter. It’s rare that I see her without the rest of the family around.”

  Irene narrowed her eyes, but couldn’t help grinning. She’d been married to Matthew long enough to have gotten to know her mother-in-law fairly well. “What are you up to, Edna? I detect a glimmer in your eye.”