by Cindy Kline
Molly sat down on the couch, rested her head on the back cushion and closed her eyes. She ignored DI Elliott as he gave directions to Callum and Constable Mills, rubbing her temples once again, trying to stop the headache from turning into a migraine.
“Do you want me to get your headache medicine?” Liam asked her.
Without opening her eyes, she said, “Yes, please. It’s on the bottom shelf in the bathroom cabinet in the master bath.”
A few minutes later, Liam was handing her two pills and a glass of water. She gladly accepted them, setting the glass down on the coffee table. Liam sat down next to her, and she snuggled up to him, laying her head on his shoulder.
“What was it you wanted to tell me?” Molly asked.
She could feel the vibration of his chest as he laughed. “I wanted to warn you that DI Elliott was on his way over with a search warrant.”
Molly laughed too. “Thanks.”
Liam handing her the pills made her think of something. “I just realized something.”
“What’s that?”
“You took the pills out of the bottle and handed them to me. Had I done that with Henry and touched the pills, I’d be sick too.” I shook them out into his hand versus doing what you did, which was hand them to me. I wonder who all had access to his pills?”
DI Elliott pointed upstairs. “What’s up there?”
“Two bedrooms. One is a guest room, and one I use as an office.”
“And the back of the house?”
“Two bedrooms, mine and Grans.”
He disappeared into the back of the house, and he sent Constable Mills upstairs to check out the two bedrooms. Callum stayed downstairs, searching the kitchen.
A few minutes later, DI Elliott came out with a book, putting it in an evidence bag. Molly recognized it as the book of poisons she’d pulled out the night before with Liam. Elliott turned to look at her, a smug look on his face.
“I hear you have quite the garden out back, Ms. McGuire.”
She pulled herself out of Liam’s arms and sat up. “I do. However, I’m not sure what all is growing in there. I haven’t had time to look at Mrs. Riley’s gardening file.”
“And who is Mrs. Riley?” he asked as he used his two fingers to tighten the lock on the bag.
“She’s the person who left me this cottage. She died six months ago.”
“We have an expert arriving tomorrow who will look at the garden and determine if there is any monkshood growing there. I’m sure they will, and that evidence, along with this,” he held up the bag, “will be enough to get a warrant for your arrest.”
Callum came from the kitchen then and looked at DI Elliott. “Nothing in the kitchen, sir.”
“Fine. Check the closet then.”
Molly immediately panicked. “Wait!” She ran toward him, but DI Elliott stopped her. “What’s the matter? Is there something in there you don’t want him to find?”
Callum made his way over to the closet and opened the door, and she cringed when she heard an enormous crash.
She looked at DI Elliott. “No. I was going to warn him,” she tore herself out of his grip and went over to the closet to help Callum.
“Callum, I’m so sorry. I meant to clean that out, but I’ve been so busy, I have had little time to do it.” She picked up a couple of umbrellas and a plastic tote she kept her spare lightbulbs in. There were other miscellaneous objects she’d stuck up on the shelf that she didn’t know what to do with, now all lying on the floor.
“That’s okay. I should have expected it,” he said as he started going through the pockets of her coats.
Molly had been picking up the items that fell when her eyes went wide, and she bit her lip. What had she done with Henry’s keys? Callum was about to put his hand in the pocket of her winter coat when she reached out to stop him. She shook her head and mouthed, “Please.” He removed his hand from the coat and moved onto the next one. Molly let out a sigh of relief and went and sat next to Liam.
Thirty minutes later, the Dooley Police Force had left her house, and she and Liam were alone.
“Is DI Elliott as inept as he appears?” she asked Liam as she snuggled into his side again.
“There are a few people who occasionally call him DI Eejit.” He chuckled. “However, he and I are not exactly the best of friends since I received the honor of best shot at the firing range, and so I’m sure part of his animosity toward you is because of me.”
“Best shot, eh? Good to know.” She snuggled back into his side. “Should I be worried about all of this?”
“I wouldn’t think so, but if Jack Webster is still the family solicitor, you might want to call him and let him know what’s going on.”
Molly’s phone rang just then, and she looked at who was calling, then showed it to Liam.
“Hey, Callum.”
“I don’t want to get you any trouble, but thank you.”
“Any word on Henry’s condition?”
“No change. Okay, thanks.”
“I’ll explain tomorrow.”
“Good night to you too.”
She disconnected the call and laid her phone on the end table.
“What was that all about?” Liam asked, looking down at her.
She got up, went to the hall closet, pulled out the set of keys from her coat and handed them to Liam. “I caught Callum just before he found these in my coat pocket.”
His brows furrowed when he saw them, then went wide when he spotted the keyring with the initials “HBP.” “HBP? Are those initials for Henry Pierce by chance?”
She nodded.
“What are you doing with Henry’s keys?”
Molly explained how she found Henry and how he asked her to take the keys and destroy a file.
“Molly, please tell me you didn’t destroy evidence.”
“Of course not.” She sat back down next to him.
He sat back, putting his arm around her again, “Thank goodness.”
“Only because it wasn’t there.”
He sighed. “Okay, tell me exactly what happened.”
Liam listened while Molly explained her actions after she left his house that morning.
“And this Megan had no idea what it contained?”
“No. She said he asked her to leave when he opened it.”
“And no one else has a key to the desk?”
“According to Megan, no,” she nodded at the keychain Liam was still holding. “The only key is that one.” She snuggled further into his arm. “However, it’s a file cabinet drawer. It can’t be that hard to open. I could probably have done it easily with my lock picking set.”
Liam chuckled. “Yes, but most people don’t have lock picking sets unless they’re up to something illegal. At least you did this with his assistant’s permission. However, if Elliott finds out you have these keys, he will not stop coming after you.”
“I know,” she sighed. “I wanted to tell you last night but wanted to get my facts straight first. Plus, I didn’t want to put you in an awkward position.”
“Well, you have. Who knew getting involved with you would make me this crazy?”
“I’m sorry. I will give Megan a call tomorrow and turn them over to her as soon as I can.”
“You really need to stay out of this, you know.”
“I know, but Imogen Pierce came into the store today and asked for my help.”
“Just be careful, Nancy Drew.” Liam smiled as he referred to her childhood nickname given to her by her father. She loved the old Nancy Drew books when she was young and was always going around trying to solve crimes that didn’t exist anywhere other than in her mind.
Liam left shortly after that since he had an early meeting in the morning. He’d laid Henry’s keys down on the coffee table, so Molly put them in her purse so she wouldn’t forget to take them with her in the morning. On Thursdays, the Book Nook didn’t open until noon and closed at five, so she was looking forward to sleeping in. She poured herse
lf a glass of wine, then opened her laptop to catch up on her email. She also emailed her solicitor to let her know Keith had shown up and what he’d said about delaying the divorce. Hopefully, she could get things moving again.
While she had her laptop out, she started a new file with Henry’s name on it and started her list of suspects.
Imogen Pierce—Victim’s wife. She was aware of Henry’s past discretions and his current affair with Megan.
Craig Wilson—Everyone thought he would get the promotion instead of Henry. If Henry dies, who will become president? Could he have been angry enough, or wanted it enough, to kill?
Shannon Moore—Didn’t like Henry, wanted Imogen and Craig together. Would she attempt to kill him to get him out of Imogen’s life? Did she know about the affair(s)?
Megan Hill—The mistress. Why would she attempt to kill him? She didn’t know Henry was going to break things off with her, and the poisoning had to have begun prior to Molly’s conversation with Henry. Just how old were those pills? Did Megan pick up the prescription, or did his wife?
Samantha West—Didn’t want Henry to tell Reanna he was her biological father. Would this be enough for her to attempt to kill Henry? She couldn’t have poisoned him, but was she strong enough to hit him over the head with something?
Owen West—Did he know Henry is Reanna’s biological father?
Questions – Where was the file? Was he meeting someone? If so, who? And why? And where is his phone?
Molly tried to recall where she put the newsletter Megan gave her. After a minute or two, she realized she’d left them in the Land Rover. After retrieving them, she dashed back into the house to warm up, turning on the fireplace. One thing she’d upgraded when she’d inherited Rose Cottage was to have the stone fireplace converted from wood to electric. She sat down to read the Moore company newsletter.
The first page was an article on the move from Dublin to Dooley. There was a picture of all the employees standing in front of the building with large smiles on their faces. Molly looked closer at the picture of the man standing in the middle of the crowd. She read the names listed under the picture to see who everyone was. The older gentleman, with gray hair, a mustache and beard, and dressed in a pinstriped suit, was Ronan Moore. Standing next to him on one side was Henry, and on the other side, a man of medium height and light hair was frowning. She looked at the names again. “Why aren’t you smiling, Mr. Wilson?”
She finished the article and moved on to the next page, which was how their sales were on the rise, and pictures of their summer picnic. She looked at the date on the newsletter, and it was first quarter, so Molly surmised their fiscal year began June 1.
She looked at the clock. It was almost nine. She took the business card Megan gave her and texted her. “Megan, it’s Molly. Are you available for me to visit tomorrow? I have more questions. I’d also like to pick up any other newsletters you might have on hand. Is that okay?”
Megan answered just before Molly was ready to retire for the night. “How is ten o’clock?”
“Great. BTW—do you usually pick-up Henry’s ulcer medications for him?”
“Sometimes, but not for a while. The last one was right after we moved to Dooley. His Dublin doctor called it into the chemist shop.”
“How often did he use them?”
“Rarely, more lately, though. I think because of the stress of taking over the company, maybe?”
“Thanks. See you at 10am,” Molly texted back.
Chapter Fourteen
Molly woke up at seven on Thursday morning. Rain was coming down, which fit her mood. She’d had a hard time falling asleep the night before, her mind going over what little she knew about Henry’s life and trying to figure out who would have a motive to kill him. When she thought about it logically, it made sense it had to be someone in Henry’s household to have poisoned the pills. That meant Imogen, Shannon or his son, Rory. Molly didn’t want to believe it was Rory, but he would have had the opportunity to do so. But did he have the means and the motive? If the prescription had been almost six months old, when were they tampered with? She’d hoped it was Shannon Moore just because she was such a horrid person. But she had to know how much her daughter loved Henry. Would she willingly cause Imogen so much pain?
At the thought of husbands, her mind turned to Keith. What on earth was he doing here? He was a tax lawyer in a law firm in Michigan and barely took any time off. Why was he here now? She didn’t believe his declaration of undying love, nor his concern over her being shot six months ago. The one thing she knew for sure about Keith is he did nothing without an ulterior motive. She just couldn’t fathom what he thought he could gain by coming all the way to Ireland.
Molly pulled herself out of bed and went downstairs. Gran was sitting at the breakfast table with her electronic tablet, a plate of eggs and bacon sitting next to her. Molly dressed in her warm robe and fluffy slippers, and Luna greeted her by wagging her tail. Molly bent down and picked her up. “Good morning, my sweetheart.” They rubbed noses, then Molly put her down on the floor.
“Morning, Gran. Anything interesting?” She headed to the cupboard, brought down a mug and poured herself some tea. One good thing about her Gran living with her was there was fresh tea available at all hours.
“Mmm?” She looked up at Molly, her eyes going wide. “Oh, good morning, dear. I didn’t see you there. I was just reading this article about Henry Pierce. According to their police source, an arrest is imminent.” As she looked up at me, her reading glasses slid slightly down her nose, reminding her of Mum.
“Great. What does one wear to look their best when being arrested? I can’t believe DI Eeejit thinks I did this,” she said as she let the cupboard door slam.
“I would like to say you’re wrong, but my sixth sense tells me you’re right. So, what are we going to do about it?”
“We?” Molly asked as she poured herself a cup of tea and added extra sugar. “You’re willing to help me?”
“Of course. If I’m there to help you, you might not get shot this time.”
Molly chuckled, wondering just how she could have helped last time, but let it go.
“Well, the first thing I’m going to do is go visit Megan, Henry’s assistant. She’s digging out some company’s newsletters for me. I don’t know if it will help, but it might give me more insight into the employees. I also need to return Henry’s keys before DI Eeejit finds them on me.” Molly took a couple pieces of toast and popped them in the toaster.
“Okay, what can I do?” Gran asked, setting her tablet aside.
“How about making something scrumptious and taking it to the Pierce household and try to see what you can get out of Shannon Moore. From what I can tell, she’s the only one who could have poisoned Henry’s pills.”
“I can do that. This whole thing is sad, but it’s even worse it’s happening at Christmastime. Are we getting a tree today? Wait a minute, didn’t Beatrice have an artificial one. Do you know where it is?”
“Beatrice?” Molly had to think for a moment. “Oh, Mrs. Riley. I never called her that. I almost forgot Beatrice was her first name. Yes, she had one, but it was in terrible shape, so I threw it out. Besides, I’d like a real one. I love the smell of fresh pine needles, don’t you?”
“All I remember about having a fresh tree was pine needles all over the place. How do you think Luna will do with it?”
Molly looked at Luna, currently sitting in front of the fireplace, fast asleep. “I don’t know, but I think she’ll be fine with it. At least I hope so.”
“Any special kind you prefer?” Gran asked, pulling her tablet close to her again and typing.
“In Michigan, I was partial to Frasier Fir, but I don’t know if they have those here. I liked them because their needles were soft and didn’t fall off as easily as other types.” Molly added butter and jam to her toast and watched as Gran searched for a tree.
“I don’t see any such tree available here. It looks like our options
are Noble Fir, Lodgepole Pine and Norway Spruce.”
“Well, I will leave it up to you. You can research which is best, and we can go out this weekend and buy one.”
“And I’ll make a trip to the manor to see what I have for Christmas ornaments. All the things I wanted to keep from the old house I am storing in the barn there.”
“Oh, guess who showed up here last night?” Molly sat at the table and ate her toast.
“Liam?”
“Well, yes, but that’s not who I’m talking about.”
“Then I have no idea unless you want me to name every family member within a ten-kilometer range.”
Molly shook her head and smiled at her gran’s attempt at humor. “Keith is in Ireland.”
“Keith? As in your husband?”
Molly’s stomach turned at the word husband. “Yes. Turns out he asked his lawyers to stall the divorce because he’s sure he can convince me to move back to America with him.”
“Oh, for goodness’ sake, is the man daft? We just got you to stop calling a boot a trunk and a lorry a truck!”
Molly laughed, “Yes, my vocabulary is what I was concerned about too, Gran.”
Gran laughed too. “You know what I mean. Your home is here with your family. He gave up the right to call you family when he desecrated your marriage vows.”
Molly had finished her toast and put her dish in the sink, so she went over to her gran and gave her a big hug. “Also, you’d have to go live with my parents if I left.”
She laughed again. “That too.”
Molly left her in the kitchen while she took a shower and got dressed. Christmas was a week and a half away, and she’d done little to no Christmas shopping. Maybe she’d try to get Reanna, Fiona and Ciara together on Sunday, the only day the bookstore was closed, and go into Ballyquicken. We could make it a girl’s day out and go shopping.
Gran was in the kitchen, pulling ingredients out of the cupboard, getting ready to bake when Molly came back down dressed in a winter-white wool skirt, cream high-heeled boots and a mauve-colored turtleneck sweater.
