Advertisement for Murder

by Nadine Doolittle

  “I haven’t either,” Avery said, “but there’s nothing he can do to me. It’s a different story for you and Solomon and Pearl. He’s already forced Pearl out of the Herald.”

  “And we haven’t proved a thing,” Hector said sourly.

  “The experiment is over,” Helen cried. “We have to call the police. She has to be arrested! She works in a school for heaven’s sake!”

  Josie lifted her dark, stricken eyes. “Are we really going to condemn a member of the community without any proof? This had gotten out of hand.”

  Elliot muttered to himself. “Out of hand ... yes. She was expecting something in exchange for that alibi, some form of quid pro quo and when it wasn’t forthcoming, she turned the screws.”

  He seemed to snap out of his reverie. Elliot looked at Josie, his eyes sharp and extraordinarily blue. “Human beings are the same the world over, Mrs Gaskell. Karen Haggerty is as decisive and ruthless as a member of the Russian mafia. Carmichael owed her and she came to collect. If we pursue this, a person we like will be hurt. And if we don’t, a person we don’t like will suffer. I’m not convinced we should pursue it.”

  Avery hunched forward. “What did you just say?”

  Elliot shoved his hands in his jacket pockets. “The murder club was never about apprehending the killer. It was about solving the puzzle of who killed Jenny Blake. Incarcerating Karen won’t bring Jenny back. It’ll only rob Imogene of her mother and her children of their grandmother.”

  Dennis half rose to his feet. “What about Jesse Sutcliffe?”

  “Jesse would’ve made the choices he made with or without the accusation. He knew he wasn’t guilty. If that wasn’t enough for him to make a go of his life it stands to reason nothing would’ve been. Some people—I’m speaking from experience—some people need to see themselves as outcasts. I believe Jesse is one of these people. I could be wrong. I hope I am.”

  Josie rose to clear the plates from the coffee table. “You have to be a moral person to go after someone you like and admire, but who is immoral. I’m not sure I have that courage. If we’re going to continue in this way with this club, we’ll be exposing the skeletons of friends and neighbours, people we like and who trust us. Are we willing to investigate people we like?”

  A good question and nobody was prepared to answer it. Avery thought of Missy Hilroy and some of the other people in St. Ives that she was beginning to know. How keen would she be if it was one of them she was exposing?

  The silence that fell over the group was broken by Pearl. “When did you know she was guilty?” she asked Elliot.

  “When I realized the killer wasn’t Jesse Sutcliffe.”

  “And that was because of the bicycle?”

  “Yes.”

  “It’s such an inconsequential detail. Detective Denton wouldn’t understand its significance. Adults don’t remember what it’s like having to ride your bike everywhere because you don’t know how to drive or you can’t get the family car.”

  “But you do,” said Elliot.

  Pearl’s hands made fists in her lap. “I guess they’ll get a divorce and Mrs Haggerty will marry Mr Carmichael.”

  “Would that be such a bad thing?” Elliot asked. “Maybe they deserve each other.”

  “Maybe they do.” Pearl’s voice was small but it reached the corners of the room. “I’m sorry, but that’s not why I offered to help out the murder club. I had a job and now I don’t, and Karen Haggerty is getting what she wanted.”

  “They have no proof, Pearl,” Solomon said loudly. “And without proof, Denton can’t make an arrest and without an arrest, we don’t have a story. Accept it. There’s nothing anyone can do.”

  Pearl’s fist unclenched and she placed them flat on her knees. “I know, Solomon. I’m doing my best to accept it. Okay? It’s not your life going up in flames.”

  Helen looked at Elliot. “Is it true that there’s nothing we can do? I agree with Josie on almost every point. We have to realize what we’re getting ourselves into with our friends and neighbours and decide how far we’re willing to go.” She turned to Josephine. “But in this case, the genie is out of the bottle. I won’t be able to look Karen in the eye. What she did to Penelope Carmichael is reprehensible.”

  “I think she’s dangerous,” Hector said bluntly.

  “Jesse can be rehabilitated if he knows he’s been cleared,” Dennis insisted as though he expected disagreement. “I don’t see him as being a lost cause.”

  “And what is your opinion, Mrs Holmes.” Elliot turned to Avery with an unreadable expression on his face. “You’re the only one who hasn’t registered a vote either for or against.

  “You started this, Elliot. This is your show. If there was something that could’ve been done and we didn’t do it, could you live with that?”

  “Can fire be carried in the bosom without burning one’s clothes?”

  “Proverbs 6:27,” Josephine supplied in a whisper.

  Elliot’s brows knit together as though he was pondering the quotation. Avery sighed. He’d drifted off into his own world again. She poured out the rest of the wine and waited with remarkable patience for Elliot Marks who had landed them in this moral dilemma to devise a plan to get them out.

  Hector’s phone pinged. He glanced at the screen and relayed the message aloud. “Joyce is rehearsing late. She wants to know if I got anything to eat.”

  Josephine’s phone was next. She dug it out of her bag and set her reading glasses on her nose. “It’s a text from my daughter. She says she hasn’t heard from me in awhile.” She gazed at them with a puzzled frown. “What should I tell her?”

  “That you’ve got pizza and murder at six o’clock and you’ll have to get back to her,” Solomon quipped. “I wish Veronica would get a cell phone. I have to talk her if I’m going to be late.”

  “What’s wrong with that?” Pearl asked.

  “Maybe you didn’t hear me. I have to talk to her.”

  Avery noticed Pearl’s lips quirk and Solomon’s steady stare in her direction.

  Elliot abruptly came to life. Snapping his fingers, he whirled on Pearl. “Three questions, Miss Hansen. Can you act?”

  “I took four years of drama class in high school.”

  “That’ll do. Can you lie without getting caught?”

  “I can.”

  Solomon’s brows lifted.

  “Are you courageous?”

  Pearl wavered slightly and then said, “I can be if I need to be.”

  Elliot squatted before the fire to lay out his plan. Everyone, including Josie, agreed that it risky but it could work. Only Solomon was against it, but his argument was incoherent and easily overridden by the others.

  As Avery carried the dishes to the sink after bidding everyone good night, she thought about Solomon’s objections. He could be right. After all this time, Karen Haggerty would not give up that easily. We are going to take away the one thing she wants, Elliot had said.

  That could be dangerous.

  However, the die was cast. Tomorrow, Pearl would make her move.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  MRS HAGGERTY had been the school secretary for as long as Pearl could remember. St. Ives didn’t boast a large student population. Elementary students were in a low wooden building that was attached to the junior and high school, a three-storey red brick building. Mrs Haggerty was famous with the student body from kindergarten to graduation.

  “Well, hello, Pearl!” She came around the desk to the counter. “What brings you here?”

  It was decided last night that Pearl was the logical choice but there was a high probability that Karen was aware through Duncan Carmichael that Pearl had been asking questions. They were taking a chance. Elliot theorized that as a recent graduate, Mrs Haggerty would see Pearl as a kid and not take her seriously.

  She decided to play it dumb. “Hi Mrs Haggerty! Wow, I never thought I’d be back here. I’m working on a story for the Herald—my last. Mr. Briggs wants me to do a write up on
the reunion we heard is in the works. Do you know anything about that?”

  “Helen Potter is working on that with Josephine Gaskell. Here, I’ll give you their phone numbers. What do you mean it’s your last story?”

  Pearl leaned on the counter. “My father is making me quit. He wants me to go to business school. I more or less have no choice. Councillor Carmichael complained to Dad about some story Solomon Brice was working on and he makes me quit! I had nothing to do with it. It’s so unfair. Solomon’s mother thinks the councillor is up to something. He and his wife are telling everyone they’re splitting up. You know, like they’re getting a divorce?”

  “Yes, I heard that too. It’s very sad.”

  “Only it’s not true,” she said. Pearl pulled out her phone and added the numbers to her directory, avoiding Mrs Haggerty’s sharp stare. “Veronica Wakefield-Brice is an old friend of Penelope’s and she said they’re faking it to get rid of a blackmailer. Carmichael’s nerves are on edge trying to pull off the scam. Makes him short-tempered.”

  “Blackmail? Who would try to blackmail Duncan?”

  “I know, right?” She rolled her eyes. “It sounds fishy, but he’s a politician so who knows? Solly Brice says Carmichael is going to run for mayor and he can’t afford scandal. I doubt the blackmail threat is serious but Mrs Wakefield-Brice said Duncan isn’t taking any chances.” Pearl hitched her satchel up on her shoulder. “Are you going to the play tonight?”

  “I am. Will I see you there?”

  “My father said I’ve been out too much this week. My mom wants to go next weekend, so I’ll go with her. Hey, you want to hear something romantic? You know how the councillor has to go to the play, right? Well, since they can’t be seen together, Penelope is going to the Spa. I heard from Solomon that at intermission Councillor Carmichael is going to sneak out to meet his wife in the ruins behind the Abbey. Isn’t that just about the most romantic thing you’ve ever heard? I hope I find love like that one day.”

  Karen blinked rapidly. “It’s a very sweet gesture. I’m glad to hear they’re not breaking up.”

  Pearl turned to leave and then halted. She pressed her hand to her mouth. “Oh! Solomon told me that in confidence. They’re going whole hog to trick this blackmailer and I just blabbed their whole secret! You won’t tell anyone will you?”

  “No, no, of course not. It was good to see you again, Pearl. I’m sorry your father is being difficult. A young woman should do as she likes. Make your own luck, that’s what I say.”

  Other than a slight tightening around her mouth, Karen Haggerty gave no indication she was bothered by what she had learned.

  ✽✽✽

  ST. IVES THEATRE was, amazingly, a real theatre. A very old theatre, but at least it wasn’t a community centre pressed into doing double duty. A red awning covered the ticket booth and the glittering lobby had seen few upgrades in its one hundred years. The seats were ancient and uncomfortable—wood, upholstered in worn red velour. Avery was seated next to Elliot, program in hand. Dennis and Helen were in the balcony and Solomon was slouched near one of the exits, anxious to get away. Josie was sitting with her knitting circle. They’d bought tickets together ages ago. Hector wasn’t thrilled that his wife’s directorial debut would be interrupted to catch a murderer, but Elliot said the play made an excellent distraction.

  The house lights came up to loud applause, signalling the end of the first act. “Is she here?” Avery whispered. “Do you see her?”

  Elliot scanned the crowd merging at the exits to the lobby. “I haven’t seen her all night. I expected her to be here.”

  “Me too. She said she was coming. Pearl will already be in position at the Abbey.”

  “Mr Brice is nearest to the door. Send him a message not to wait for the rest of us but to head over to the Abbey as fast as he can.”

  Avery was alerted to the tension in his voice. “What’s wrong?” she asked as she messaged Solomon. “You don’t think Karen is there already, do you? We must have missed seeing her coming into the theatre. She’s probably in the Ladies Room.”

  While Avery speculated on the whereabouts of their quarry, Elliot was seamlessly weaving his way through the crowd in the lobby and heading for the doors. Dennis and Helen caught up with them on the sidewalk.

  “Hector left with Solomon,” Dennis said. “Josephine is trying to get away. She says don’t wait up for her.”

  They climbed into Dennis’s SUV that was parked behind the theatre on Oddly Way. The Abbey was at the corner of St. Ives and Marigold, on the other side of the hamlet. Avery fumbled her seatbelt into its buckle. Late September fog shrouded the streets, lined by lamps that glowed softly. Outside of the theatre, away from the noise and pizzazz of Annie Get Your Gun, St. Ives felt like an alien land, hostile and cold.

  Very little was said on the journey as though they had all been infected with dread.

  ✽✽✽

  PEARL SAT on the cold stone bench with her back to the garden, as planned. The wig itched. She probed a fingernail under the cap to scratch. It had been styled to look like Penelope Carmichael’s cut and colour. She was also wearing a trench coat that closely resembled one Mrs Carmichael wore. In this fog, it would be hard to tell them apart. Pearl was the right height and size to pass for the real Penelope Carmichael who was at home, watching TV. Elliot Marks had confirmed that before giving Pearl the wig.

  “We had to make sure she wouldn’t cross paths with Karen at the theatre.” Elliot adjusted the wig on her head. “The best laid plan includes planning for something to go wrong.”

  “Do you think this is going to work? I did my best. What if she doesn’t care that much?”

  “She cares,” he said grimly. “Duncan is all Karen has cared about for forty-four years. Getting rid of Penelope is her next logical step. Killing becomes a habit to some people.”

  The cold got under her collar, recalling Elliot’s words, and she shivered. Pearl checked her phone. The first act was just ending. It would take Mrs Haggerty roughly five minutes by car to get to the Abbey from the theatre. The book club would follow her. When Karen made her move, they’d have her for attempted murder. That was the plan.

  Killing becomes a habit to some people.

  Pearl shivered again. This was it—this was real investigative journalism! She was nervous but Pearl had no regrets about agreeing to be the bait. Proving something to herself and to her father, to Gary Briggs and to Solomon Brice was the whole point. And she was doing it!

  Solomon’s objections were just plain bizarre. What it came down to was jealousy. He was jealous that she was the one getting the story. Rendezvous With a Murderer with her byline above the fold. Solomon Brice wanted all the glory to himself.

  He had stared at her quite a bit last night. It didn’t make her uncomfortable. Pearl just wished he’d say what was on his mind instead of staring at her and making her guess. He was probably thinking how glad he was that she was leaving. Counting down the days. He wasn’t staring at her because he liked her. Oh no. She wouldn’t get tricked like that again.

  She gazed into the lightly swirling fog. Fog meant summer was truly over. Fine by her. She wasn’t much of a summer person. In the summer of 1975, a girl my age was brutally strangled in the very spot I volunteered to catch her killer. That’s a good first line, Pearl thought. She should be recording her thoughts and impressions for the story. What was Jenny Blake thinking about when she met her killer in this abandoned location? Did she believe she was with a friend or did she have a bad feeling she was with a foe?

  Her thoughts drifted to Solomon again. She could do both, Pearl decided. She could think about Solomon Brice and Jenny Blake’s murder at the same time. His hair was the best thing about him. Next best was the self-conscious way he moved through space. Getting up from a chair, crossing the room, fiddling with his camera—Solomon moved like he wasn’t sure he should be moving. Which doesn’t sound like it should be attractive, but on him it was.

  That’s why she’d
felt so terrible about turning him down to skate. He was so awkward and unsure of himself, it was romantic that he’d found the courage to ask her. As it turned out, it wasn’t anything like that. Solomon Brice wasn’t adorably awkward. He was just self-involved.

  Behind her, in the fog-bound garden, Pearl heard a twig crack. Her back stiffened and she forced herself to breathe through her nose. This was it. The others were in place, ready to swoop in and make a citizen’s arrest. There was nothing to be afraid of ... nothing to panic over....

  She started to stand up, a smile on her face, acting the role of a loving wife about to greet her husband.

  The choker was around her throat in an instant. Her air supply was cut off. Shells with jagged teeth bit into her skin like razors. Pearl’s fingers scrabbled over the necklace, trying to dislodge it. Her legs thrashed, her heels digging into the soft earth. She writhed and fought and in the struggle her fist shot up to smash her captor’s chin. The hold didn’t slacken, not even a little, and Pearl panicked.

  Where was everybody? Was she going to die by mistake?

  She reached up with the last bit of her strength and wrenched the wig from her head. Cool air spiralled over her head and ears. Removing the disguise was a last ditch attempt to stop the killer by revealing her true identity. It didn’t work.

  There was a cry of disbelief and then rage. The shell necklace was tightened even further.

  Pearl stopped fighting. It was no use. The small part of her that was still attached to life thought of her mother and Solomon and she took courage. She twisted to stare into the face of her killer.

  And smiled.

  Whatever happens, it was worth it, she thought. Totally worth it. No escape this time.

  Her eyes closed and she was enveloped in white soothing light that erased all fear. Her legs stopped thrashing. Her arms dropped to her side. Pearl Hansen slipped away.

  ✽✽✽

  DENNIS PULLED into the lot and they made their way around the huge stone building. Avery’s level of anxiety began creeping up the closer they got to the rear gardens. Something felt off.