by Cindy Kline
“Four…” She used her finger to poke his chest. “Four… she has an aconite plant in her bedroom, identified by no other than your Professor Stewart from the horticultural department at Listowel University. I’m sure if you call him, he’ll confirm it.”
DI Elliott cleared his throat. “Murphy, work on getting a warrant for the Pierce household, specifically Mrs. Moore’s bedroom, along with an arrest warrant.” He looked at Molly. “You may have lucked out on this, but I still think you had something to do with this. I hear it was your glove stuck to the murder weapon found near where Henry Pierce was knocked unconscious.”
Molly’s grin of satisfaction left her face. “What? You found the weapon? And what’s this about my gloves?”
“Yes, your glove, as identified by Sergeant Murphy here, with your glove attached to it, was found close to the scene where you found him.” She turned to Callum, who mouthed, “Sorry,” and turned away, so she turned back to the DI. “I had nothing to do with it, and you know it, but like the poisoning, I guess I must solve this for you too.” She turned and opened the gate and stormed out of the Garda’s office. It wasn’t until she went outside that she realized Callum still had the files from the private investigator.
Molly got back into the Land Rover and drove the few blocks to the Book Nook, for once, arriving before her staff. She worked on payroll and other paperwork she detested, thankfully distracted by a text from Keith. He was outside, asking if he could come in.
Molly let him in, and he followed her toward the back room. Looking at his scrunched shoulders, along with his famous pout, she knew something was up. “What’s wrong?”
He shrugged off his coat and set it on the back of a chair before plopping down. She turned on the electric kettle for herself, pulled out a coffee pod for Keith and inserted it into the coffee pot.
“I called to change my return flight. There isn’t anything until the twenty-eighth.”
She handed him his cup of coffee, “I’m so sorry, Keith. I know how much you wanted to get home.”
He took it between his hands and shrugged, “It’s my fault. I never should have come here and bothered you.”
She would have loved to point out how true that was but decided not to rub it in. “Well, I have some good news.”
His chin was on his hand, his elbow on the table, and he sighed deeply, “Oh, what’s that?”
“Two pieces, actually. One is, I ran into DI Elliott this morning, and he is obtaining a warrant for Shannon Moore’s arrest.”
His head popped up off his hand, “Well, that is good news—for everyone other than Imogen. Her husband is in a coma, and then her mother’s arrested. It won’t be much of a Christmas for her, will it?”
Molly hadn’t thought of that. Now she felt bad.
“What was the second thing?” Keith sipped his coffee.
“What?” Molly asked, her mind in a whirl.
“You said there were two things. What’s the other piece of good news? Did you run over the neighbor’s cat?”
Molly slapped his shoulder, “Hilarious. No, I did not. Besides, they don’t have a cat. They have a parakeet.”
“Whatever. What’s the news?” He wrapped his hands around his coffee cup.
She told him about the phone call to the private investigator and how she manipulated him into sending her the files.
“That is good news! Where are they?”
“Oh, well, I don’t exactly have them. I had to have them sent to Callum. I was there to pick them up when I ran into DI Elliott, so Callum swooped them away, so I don’t actually have them yet.” Now, Molly felt depressed.
“What do you exactly consider bad news?” he asked as he sipped his coffee.
Just then, she heard the front door chimes go off, so she didn’t have to come up with an answer. She looked at the clock, and it was nine-fifty. The store opened in ten minutes.
“I’ll get them on my lunch hour, and we can go over them then.”
Keith took the last sip of his coffee and set the cup in the sink. “Okay, call me when you have them.” He pulled on his coat and walked out of the breakroom, waving to Ciara as he passed her by.
“What’s wrong with him?” Ciara headed for the teapot and poured herself a cup.
Molly explained to her how he was trying to get home and why.
“You’re kidding? You never said his affair was with another man…” Her eyes were wide.
“Well, it doesn’t exactly make me out to look very good now, does it?” Molly said, refilling her cup of tea.
“Does anyone else know?”
“Just Gran. But I have an idea, and if it pans out, it won’t be a secret much longer.”
“What are you up to?” Ciara asked.
“I have to make a few phone calls,” she said as she made her way to her shoebox of an office and shut the door.
Thirty minutes later, Molly returned all smiles. Ciara just looked at her, as she was busy with a customer. Molly dug into some books she needed to get on the shelf. When Talia arrived at noon, Molly set out to the Garda office to retrieve the files from Callum.
However, Callum wasn’t at his desk when she got there, but she spotted Constable Mills. His short black hair standing up in the middle, his head down reading something on his desk.
“Constable Mills, how are you?” Molly asked from the other side of the counter.
His eyes widened when he saw her. “Miss Molly, I’m good. How are you?” He stood up and came over to the counter.
“I’m well. Have you heard anything about Henry Pierce’s condition?”
He smiled. “Yes, it seems like he’s coming out of the coma finally, so that’s some good news.”
“Oh, I’m so glad. I’ll text Imogen later. Are you ready for the holidays?”
His face fell. “No, not really, Well, yes, but no,” he was now frowning.
“Okay…what exactly does that mean?” Molly was afraid she’d regret asking.
“I’m ready as far as I’ve finished shopping, but we’re doing Christmas early because my parents and sister are going on a cruise, and I have to work.”
“That’s horrible. Can’t anyone else work for you?” Molly asked.
“Nope. I’m the lowest ranking officer, so it’s me, I’m afraid.”
“Well, I’ll tell you what. How about you come and spend Christmas with us?”
“Oh, Miss Molly, I couldn’t do that. I’d be imposing.”
“No, you wouldn’t, and I insist. How about four o’clock?”
He was all smiles. “That’s wonderful, Miss Molly. Thank you. Now, what can I do for you?”
“Oh, I was looking for Callum. He’s holding something for me I need to pick up.”
“He’s not here right now. He’s presenting a search warrant at the Pierce household, but he should be back later.”
“Would it be okay if I just came and looked for it?” Molly pointed to his desk. “I know where it is.”
“I’m afraid that’s against regulations, Miss Molly. I would if I could, but I could get in a lot of trouble.”
Molly tried giving him her sad look, with a bit of batting her eyelashes.
“Are you okay, Miss Molly? Do you have something in your eye?” He looked at her closely.
Molly gave up. “No, they’re fine. Can you just have him call me when he gets back?”
“Why certainly, and thanks for the dinner offer. I’ll see you at Christmas.”
Molly walked back to the bookstore, texting Keith that she’d struck out in retrieving the file and she’d let him know when she had it, and then texted her mother, saying there would be a few extra guests for Christmas dinner.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Later that day, Craig Wilson came into the bookstore. Molly had forgotten about meeting him at Megan’s right after she was murdered. Did the police ever speak to him? Something about him made her senses tingle, but she couldn’t figure out what it was. She’d have to think about it.
&
nbsp; Molly smiled as he stepped up to the counter. “Mr. Wilson, it’s so nice of you to come in. How can I help you?”
“Good to see you again, Ms. McGuire. I’m glad to say under much better circumstances this time. Imogen Pierce said you’d like to speak to me.”
“Oh, yes, I would. Thank you so much for coming in.” She leaned over and whispered to Talia, who nodded.
“Why don’t you come in the back where we can talk?” She came from behind the counter, and he followed her into the back room. “May I take your coat?”
“No, I can’t stay long. This whole situation with Henry and Megan has been chaotic for the office. Imogen has asked me to step in and run things until Henry’s better.”
He stood in front of the table, and she found his height very intimidating. “Are you sure you don’t want to sit down?” She motioned to a chair.
“Thank you.” He pulled out a chair, sat down and looked around. “Nice place you have here. I get little chance to read these days. I miss it.” he smiled.
She turned on the electric kettle and sat down in a chair across from him. “I know how you feel. I thought owning the bookstore would be heaven, but it leaves me little time to read.” She set the tea things out on the tray. “Imogen has asked me to find out who attacked Henry. Would it be okay to ask you some questions?”
“Sure, but I’m not sure if I can be much help. I wasn’t at the tree lighting. There were some issues at the warehouse that night, so I let the manager go to the festivities, and I stayed to take care of it. I didn’t realize what happened until Shannon, Mrs. Moore, called me.”
Molly put the teapot onto the tray and carried it over to the table. “Imogen mentioned a story Henry told her that happened a while ago, something about a man who approached you and Henry in a pub asked if the two of you would intervene with Ronan Moore on purchasing Moore Plastics. Do you remember who that was?”
“What does that have to do with Henry’s death?” he asked, taking the cup of tea Molly handed him.
She smiled. “Maybe nothing, maybe something. Do you remember who it was?” Molly asked, observing his face as he sipped his tea.
“I vaguely remember something like that, but I have no idea who it was. Ronan loved that company, and there was no way he’d sell it. If he told the man no, the answer would remain no, and there was no talking him out of it.”
Molly smiled. “He sounds like he was quite the business owner.”
Craig smiled back. “He was. I never got along with my father, and Ronan became somewhat of a substitute. He was always someone I could talk to about anything, you know?”
“Several people have mentioned something happened between you and Ronan before he died. Would you mind telling me what it was?”
Craigs shook his head. “You shouldn’t listen to rumor. It wasn’t anything important, just a minor disagreement.” He ran his hand through his hair, then took hold of his teacup.
“Okay, but I was told that you’d gotten in an argument before he died.”
“Look, Moore Plastics is a vast company. He was grooming me to take over after he retired. We had a difference of opinion, that’s all.”
“Really? Then why was Henry Pierce named president when he died?”
“Yes, well, that was a shock to me as well.” He looked down at the table.
“Is there something wrong, Mr. Wilson?” Molly took a sip of her tea but eyed him over her cup.
He looked around to make sure no one was listening and let out a long sigh. “I had been in a car accident a year ago and got addicted to painkillers. Ronan was concerned it was interfering with my work, so he wanted me to get some help. I refused. So, to get me to go, he changed his will. He said he’d change it back once I was clean. I went into a facility the following week. They discharged me the day before Ronan died. He obviously didn’t have time to change it back.”
Molly put her hand over his, still wrapped around the teacup. “Thank you for telling me. That had to have been hard.”
He smiled, and his blue eyes seared into hers. “Getting over those opioids was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. No one else knows about it, though. I’d appreciate it if you’d keep that to yourself.”
“Of course. How was your relationship with Henry Pierce?”
“He’s one of my best friends. I’m the godfather to his son, and Imogen and I have been friends our entire lives.”
“Yes, but you were closer than friends at one time, weren’t you?” Molly took a sip of her tea.
He sat back in his chair and smiled. “Wow, that was a long time ago. Yes, at one time, I thought of her as more than a friend, but it quickly fizzled out, and we went our separate ways.”
“What about Megan? Did you get along with her?”
“Very well. I worked with her quite closely on a couple of projects. I couldn’t believe it when I drove up, and you told me she was dead. She said she couldn’t get hold of Noah and needed a ride to work. If I’d gotten there just a little earlier, maybe I could have prevented it,” his hand hit the table, making the tea tray jump. “But no, I was working out and wanted to finish and take a shower. I figured she could wait.” He shook his head. “I’ll never forgive myself.”
“There’s nothing you could have done, Mr. Wilson. She must have considered you a good friend, or she wouldn’t have called you for a ride. The most we can do now is to be there for Noah and help the police all we can in finding her killer.”
“Do you think the two incidents are related?” he asked, finishing his tea and standing up.
Molly shook her head. “I have no idea. You would think, statistically, two incidents such as this from people who work at the same company, the answer would be yes. But what that is, who knows? One more thing. Do you know anything about a file Ronan kept in his safe?”
He shrugged, “I’m assuming Ronan kept numerous files in his safe. Why?”
“There’s a specific file from a private investigator in Dublin that’s missing. I just wondered if you knew anything about it.”
Craig stood still; his eyebrows raised. “Really? What on earth would Ronan want to hire a private detective for?”
“Good question. I’m waiting for copies of the file as we speak. I guess I’ll know soon.”
He cleared his throat. “Well, if that’s all, I really have to get back to the office.”
“Let me walk you out.” She walked in front of him, and he followed her. Once they were close to the front door, she turned to him, “I really appreciate you taking time out of your busy day and coming to see me.”
“No problem. Let me know if you have any additional questions.” He walked out the door.
Molly’s next phone call was to Fiona. Her sister’s computer skills had helped her a lot when she was trying to find out who killed Margery Denton six months ago, and she was hoping Fiona would help her out again. However, like the last several phone calls, she didn’t answer, so Molly had to leave a message. She asked Fiona to see what she could find out about Craig Wilson.
At four, Callum texted, telling her he could meet her at Shenanigan’s after work, that he was calling in a beer or two of what she owed him. She told him he was on as long as he brought the file.
At five o’clock, Ciara and Talia left the bookstore and headed home, and Molly went to get in her car to drive the two blocks to the pub. Then she realized it was a Friday night, and it would be easier to stay parked at the bookstore and walk, as there was sure to be no parking spots anywhere close to the pub. It was quite dark out, but the street lamps lit the area adequately, so she locked the car back up and texted Callum she was on her way. There was a bit of a chill to the air, and she cursed herself for not grabbing a spare pair of gloves she kept at the store. Molly checked for traffic before she crossed the street, wrapping her scarf around her neck one more time to keep out the drafts when she heard someone shout, “Look out!” and something flew at her, and she hit the ground.
Molly felt her elbow hit the ce
ment, and then her head and then nothing.
# # #
For the second time in six months, Molly woke up in a hospital bed in Ballyquicken. She opened her eyes, and all she could see was the ceiling, so she turned her head and felt the vibrations of a hundred church bells ring in her skull. Then the room spun, so she laid her head back down. “What the?” She moved her hand to her head and felt a bandage. “What happened?”
Suddenly, her mother’s face was in front of her. “Molly, you’re awake!” She turned her head. “She’s awake, everyone!”
“Oh, Mum, please, not so loud.”
“Sorry, darling, but we’ve been so worried about you.” She took Molly’s hand and held it in hers.
“What happened?”
Her father’s face appeared next to her mum’s. “You almost got run over by a car. That’s what happened.”
“Were you texting?” her mother asked. “I keep telling you all you’re going to get killed one of these days, your head down and not paying attention.”
“Mum, I wasn’t texting—or at least, I don’t think I was. I really don’t remember.”
“Well, if it wasn’t for Liam, you’d be roadkill right now,” Dillon added, his face appearing on the other side of the bed. He bent down and kissed her cheek.
“Liam was there?” She tried to lift her head again, but it hurt too much. She looked at Dillon. “How is Reanna?”
“Ask her yourself.” He backed up, and Reanna’s face appeared.
“Would you quit doing this to us?” Her red curls were hanging down, almost touching my face.
“Are you okay?” Molly felt horrible for not calling her. “I mean, with your mum?”
She lowered her voice, “Everything will be fine. We talked about things, and I’m looking forward to getting to know Henry.”
“Is he awake then?” Molly swallowed, then realized how dry her throat was.
“Not yet, but they’re hoping soon.”
“He told me how much he was looking forward to getting to know you too. What day is this, anyway?”
“It’s Sunday. You’ve been asleep for over twenty hours.”
Molly cleared her throat. “May I have a sip of water?”
