by Cindy Kline
He smiled for the first time, and it was at Gran. “We already started a list.” He pulled a notebook from the other side of him and set it down in front of her. It had the following items written down:
1) Check with the Garda to see if I can get into the house and get clothes
2) Forward the mail, bring over plants (check with Molly first)
3) Find out who ma’s solicitor was
4) Funeral arrangements?
“That’s a pretty good start. Your ma mentioned you were having issues with your car. Did that get fixed?”
He took the pen he was using and added number five—check on car repairs. He looked up and asked, “Do you think it would be okay if I used Ma’s car while mine’s at the shop?”
Gran and I looked at each other, “That’s a good question, Noah. I’m assuming you can, unless for some reason the police impounded it as evidence, but they shouldn’t have,” Molly answered.
Molly forked a piece of cinnamon roll and almost moaned. “Gran, these taste just like the ones from Reanna’s bakery.”
Gran laughed, “Who do you think she got the recipe from?”
Noah finished his cinnamon roll and asked to be excused to go take a shower. “Don’t you want another cinnamon roll?” Molly asked him.
He shook his head. “I’ve already had three. I’m good.” A few seconds later, they heard him clomping up the stairs.
Once he left, Gran leaned in. “I thought maybe I’d take him to get a Christmas tree today. Would that be all right with you?”
Molly swallowed her disappointment, thinking about Noah. “Sure. I have to work until five, and it will be dark by then, so go ahead.”
She took another bite of roll and a sip of tea. “I put all the Christmas decorations from Mrs. Riley in the attic. I’m not sure if there’s a tree stand or not.” She looked at her watch. “It’s only a little after eight, and I don’t need to be at the shop until ten, so I can take a look before I go.” She took another bite. “Didn’t you say you had decorations stored at the manor?”
Gran nodded as she took a bite of cinnamon roll, “Aye, I’ll stop by either today or tomorrow and pick those up.”
“Great. I have to call Reanna too.” She told Gran the story of Reanna seeing her birth certificate and finding out who her biological father was.
“How could she be this old and not have seen her birth certificate?”
Molly explained how Mrs. West had some on hand, but why Reanna didn’t go to her for one.
“Do you think Mrs. West got the father’s name changed to Owen’s on the copies she has?”
“Maybe. I don’t know, but it would make sense if she didn’t want Reanna to know.”
Molly nodded. “I know we spoke about this last night, but you don’t think Mrs. West tried to kill Henry, do you?”
“I know her fairly well, she was one of your mother’s best friends growing up, and they’re still close, and no, I can’t see her doing it. However, it is amazing the length’s a mother will go to protect their child.”
“True. I think I’m going to go visit Imogen today, but I need to call and see if she’s back home or if she’s still at the hospital.”
“When I spoke to Shannon yesterday, she was going to try to talk her into coming home, but I would guess she’s still at the hospital. It sounds like she’s afraid Henry’s going to die alone.”
“You really should update her on the case, though.”
“Update? The only thing I have is I think either she or her mother tried to kill him.”
“Well, you can always tell her the other suspect is the mother to Henry’s illegitimate child,” Gran said as she cleaned up her cards. Then she stopped. “Well, maybe not. I wonder if Samantha West contacted him since he’s been back. If it were you, wouldn’t you be curious to see how the man who fathered your child was doing? Or to just see what he looks like all these years.”
“She did, actually. She told me she went and hung out in the parking lot of Moore Plastics one day, waiting for him to come out.” She went over and kissed Gran on the cheek. “Thank you.”
“Whatever for? Oh, by the way, I opened the garage door for you so you can use that phone-thingy to start your car. It’s cold out there this morning.”
“Thanks, Gran.”
Chapter Twenty
Molly called Callum to see if Noah could get back into his house and whether they impounded the car. He said he would check and call her back, so she made herself another cup of tea, pulled a notebook out of the cabinet drawer and sat down to think. How do you ask someone if they killed their husband? She made a list of questions to ask Imogen.
1) She and Mrs. Moore drove separately to the hospital but were supposedly together all weekend. Why was that?
2) Where exactly was she when she got the news of Henry’s accident?
3) Does she know when Henry got his last prescription of ulcer medicine refilled and who picked it up?
4) Had she heard that Megan was killed?
5) Where was she during the time frame of Megan’s murder? Note: check with Callum on when that was.
Notes for Craig Wilson:
1) Where was he when Henry was attacked?
2) Did he know of anyone who would want to kill Henry or Megan?
3) What happened between him and Ronan? Everyone thought you’d be president of Moore Plastics when Ronan died.
Molly closed the notebook and got herself another cup of tea. While she’d been making notes, Callum called back with the all-clear on the house and car, so Gran and Noah left to work on his to-do list. She was glad Gran had taken Noah under her wing. They seemed to be kindred spirits.
Molly pulled out her phone and pulled up the app for her car, then started the engine remotely, and was just about to put her used teacup in the sink when the doorbell rang. She went to answer it and found Keith at the door.
“What are you doing here?” Molly asked as he walked into the house without an invitation.
“I’ve been thinking about Megan’s murder. There was no forced entry, right?”
“Right,” Molly closed the door and followed him into the living room where he sat down on the couch.
“So, she had to know her killer!” He was smiling like he’d just realized Colonel Mustard was killed in the library with the candlestick.
“That’s usually the case, yes.” She watched as the light went out of his eyes, but then he smiled.
“Oh, you already figured that out, did you?”
Molly sat down next to him on the couch. “Yes, but that’s okay. It was a good clue for you to come up with.”
“I’m thinking maybe I should have gone into criminal law instead of tax law.”
“Well, I wouldn’t change career paths quite yet, Sherlock. We have a lot more to figure out.”
“Do you really think the mother-in-law is the one who poisoned Henry Pierce?”
“I do, but I need to get into her bedroom to make sure there is an aconite plant there.” Molly got up off the couch and went to retrieve her laptop from the dining room where she’d left it the night before. She pulled up the internet, searched images of aconite plants and printed some off. She kept the wireless printer in the dining room on the cabinet, so she went in and pulled off the page and showed it to Keith. “These photos show the plants in bloom, but hopefully, we can identify it by its leaves.”
Keith took it and nodded. “It’s beautiful. Hard to believe it’s poisonous.”
“Very poisonous, so don’t touch it. Whichever one of us gets the chance to go upstairs, turn to the right, and it’s the first room on the left. If all else fails, just take pictures of all the plants, and we’ll compare them later.”
Molly called Ciara and let her know she would arrive late, and she and Keith began their drive to the other side of the bay. The day was sunny. She pulled out her sunglasses from the cubby hole above her head and slipped them on her nose. Molly had given the notebook of her questions to Keith, and he w
as perusing them as she drove.
Keith closed the notebook and looked around. “Wow, cool lighthouse!”
Molly smiled at his enthusiasm, so she told him what she knew about it. “It dates to 1740, and at the time, it was very hard to find someone to come live out here and take care of it, which is why they built the adjoining house. They thought if the guardians could bring their families, they might be more willing.”
“And were they?”
“Some were. Keep in mind, though, it was very hard to reach this area back then, so even those with families felt stranded out here for months on end, especially in the winter. There is a story about a lighthouse keeper named John O’Conner who brought his wife and two sons out here to live. The wife had been a school teacher, so she continued to teach her children their academics. As the boys got older, although they loved their parents, they wanted to move inland. The parents let them go, reluctantly, of course, afraid they would never see them again. Then, one winter, there was a fierce storm, and a ship had hit the cliff. Supposedly, the two could hear people yelling for help, so they took the trail down to the water, which was treacherous at the best of times, to see if they could help any of the survivors, but were swept away themselves. Once they heard what happened, the boys came back to the lighthouse to pack up their parents’ things. However, the first night they were there, they saw a light shining on the cliff and went out to investigate. The youngest brother swore he saw the ghosts of their parents walking on the cliffs, calling their names.”
“Then what happened?”
“The older brother, who didn’t believe in such things, thought he was crazy, but the younger one, who was very close to his mother, refused to leave the lighthouse and became the guardian until his death thirty years later.”
“How sad. I’m sure many ghosts are walking these cliffs at night. So much history.” His gaze never left the coastline as Molly pulled onto Lighthouse Point Road.
“There is. Plus, with it being fully automated in 1997, it was the last staffed lighthouse in Ireland. It’s open to tourists in the summer, and the house is now a museum.”
Molly pulled into the neighborhood where the Pierce’s lived and slowed down. She pulled into the driveway and parked next to the car she’d seen Rory drive.
She and Keith got out of the car, walked onto the porch and rang the doorbell. Rory opened the door.
He smiled. “Mr. and Mrs. McGuire? Come in, please,” he opened the door wider and motioned them inside. They stood in the foyer and took off their coats. Rory took them and hung them up in the closet. “Ma’s upstairs. My grandma talked her into returning home for a few hours, but the only way she’d do it is if Grandma stayed with him at the hospital.” He led them into the living room. “May I get you anything?”
Molly shook her head, “We’re all set, thank you. Any change in your dad’s condition?”
“Not really. The doctor told Ma this morning they think the swelling is going down. They say that’s a good sign.” He smiled. “Why don’t you two have a seat, and I’ll go get Ma.”
“Thank you,” Keith said as they sat down.
As Rory went upstairs, Keith turned to her and whispered, “How is one of us going to get upstairs?”
“I’m not sure yet. I’ll think of something. Just follow my lead,” Molly whispered back.
They had just sat down when Imogen came down the stairs. Her face was pale, and there were dark circles under her eyes. Molly was sure spending nights at the hospital was taking its toll.
“Molly, what a nice surprise. You caught me at the perfect time.” Dressed the most casually Molly had ever seen her in jeans and a sweater, she looked much older than she had the last time Molly had seen her, which was just a day or so ago.
“I’m sorry I didn’t call, Imogen. We were just out and about and thought we’d stop by and see if you were home to give you an update.”
“May I get you or your guest a drink?” She looked from Molly to Keith.
“Oh, no, thank you.” Molly looked at Keith, “I’m so sorry. You two haven’t met yet, have you?” She then looked at Imogen. “Imogen Pierce, this is my soon-to-be ex-husband, Keith McGuire. Keith, this is Imogen.”
“I’m very glad to meet you, Mrs. Pierce. I hope you don’t mind, but I’m helping Molly figure out who hurt your husband.”
“You’re an American.”
“Yes, born and bred. Molly and I met while she was visiting family there. I’m afraid I swept her off her feet.” He smiled.
Imogen looked at Molly, “You said soon-to-be ex-husband?” then turned to look at Keith. “What’s are you doing here then?”
Before Molly could say anything, Keith answered. “I came in a last-ditch effort to win her back, but was too late, I’m afraid.”
“It’s a gracious gesture, though.” Imogen smiled.
“Rory mentioned Henry’s improving?” Molly asked.
“Yes. The doctors think the swelling on his brain is going down. Finally, some good news. It’s the only way Mother could get me to come home for a couple of hours to freshen up. If you don’t mind, I think I’d like some tea. Would you excuse me a moment?”
“Imogen, my gran mentioned your mother has quite the indoor garden. Keith is quite an enthusiast. Would you mind if he took a peek at it while you’re fixing the tea?”
Just then, Rory came bounding down the stairs. “I can show it to him, Ma. I’m sure Grandma wouldn’t mind.”
“Rory, that would be wonderful. Thank you. Molly, you can come to talk to me while I’m making the tea.”
Molly smiled at Keith, who got up and followed Rory up the stairs, and Molly followed Imogen into the kitchen.
“I love your kitchen, Imogen. It’s beautiful.” It was very modern, quite like the one she’d had in Michigan. They painted the walls mint green, and the cupboards were a light oak. The island in the middle of the room had a marble top, and all the appliances were black stainless steel.
“Thank you. When we had the house built, it was the one room that Henry let me have free rein. I love to cook, and I must admit, this room is my pride and joy.” She smiled. “After my son, of course.”
“Imogen, did you hear Megan Hill was murdered yesterday?” Molly watched her closely to see her response.
“Rory mentioned it to me when I got home this morning. He mentioned how nice you were to both him and Noah. I can’t thank you enough. That poor boy. Henry’s very fond of him, and as much as I…disliked Ms. Hill, I never wished her harm.”
“Do you think her death is related to Henry’s accident?” She added water to the kettle and turned it on.
“We’re not sure. If they were, it might have something to do with the company. Do you know anyone who had any issues with the company itself?”
Her eyes narrowed, and a few seconds later, she shook her head. Then she tilted it for another few seconds.
Molly asked, “Did you think of something?”
“Maybe, but I’m not sure it has to do with this.” She took the tea out of the cupboard and added the bags to the teapot.
Molly asked, “What is it?”
“About a year ago, when we were still in Dublin, Henry mentioned some man came up to him and Craig at a pub and told him he’d like to buy the company.”
“Really? Do you remember what they told him?”
“They told him he’d have to speak to Father about it. The man said he had, and Father had told him no.”
“Did the man say anything else?”
“It was so long ago. Let me think.” She tilted her head again, then a few seconds later, said, “I think Henry said the man asked them to speak to Father, and if they did, he’d make it worth their while.”
“Any idea who the man was?”
“No. I’m sorry. I don’t. Check with Craig. Henry mentioned he thought Craig knew him. He’ll be here soon. I hate building fires in the fireplace, so Craig’s stopping by to build one for me. He’s been a rock through this whole thing. He e
ven offered to take over the company while Henry’s in the hospital. I can have him get in touch with you.”
“Either Keith or I can build it for you. He’s the one who taught me.” She smiled. “And yes, if you could have Craig contact me, that would be grand. Thank you.” She watched Imogen for a couple of seconds and then cleared her throat. “I have a couple of questions for you, though, if you feel up to it.”
“If it will help, sure.” She poured the boiling water into the teapot and set it aside to steep.
“Henry mentioned you and your mother were in Dublin to see Rory and to do some Christmas shopping. But when you got to the hospital, you had two cars. Did you not drive together?”
“My doctor is still in Dublin. I drove up a day early for an appointment. Mother had some committee meeting or something, so she came up the following day.”
Molly’s ears perked up. “Do you recall which committee?”
“Maybe the St. Patrick’s Day Festival? I’m really not sure. All I know is it was the last one until next year, and she didn’t want to miss it.” She took some cups down from the cupboard and set them on a tray, along with the teapot, milk and sugar. Then, she pulled a drawer open from the island and pulled out a coffee cake, and added it to the tray, along with some tea plates, a knife, forks and napkins. Molly followed her out of the room. They arrived back in the living room at the same time as Keith and Rory.
“Just in time for tea and cake.” Imogen set the tray down on the coffee table, then filled everyone’s cup.
Molly took a cup from her and added some sugar, “Do you recall when Henry got the last prescription of his ulcer medicine filled?”
Imogen handed a cup to Keith, then to Rory. “Aye, it was last week. Mum picked it up for me because I was busy.” She cut some pieces of cake and handed them out. “Please, eat. People have been dropping things off to us, and we can’t possibly eat it all.”
They all accepted the cake, and they spent the next few minutes enjoying the moist, cinnamon-flavor. Molly knew right away it was the cake her Gran had made but didn’t mention it to Imogen. She set the empty plate down and took a sip of tea.
