by Sonia Parin
She expected Lana to be smart enough to realize when she was being blackmailed. Eve’s silence about her engagement to Jon O’Brian in exchange for her catering services.
“I guess that means I’m really having a party.”
And how exactly would she coerce Charlotte into attending?
Chapter Thirteen
“It’s the same time it was a second ago when you last checked your watch. I thought you said you’d earmarked today for the estate sales. Are you running late for something?” Jill asked.
“And I thought you’d rather stare at your thumb than spend your day looking at antiques.” If Jill knew they’d been hot on Dante Hildegard’s heels since she’d first spotted him going into an antique store an hour before, she’d be grumbling about putting their lives in danger.
Jill shrugged. “Someone has to keep an eye on you.”
“It’s all you’ve been doing all morning. You’re making me look suspicious, almost as if I can’t be trusted in a roomful of expensive antiques. Will you look at the price of this vase?” Eve picked it up and looked at the bottom. “I’m starting to think I’m sitting on a gold mine. There are stacks of this type of knick-knacks at the inn, but I never bothered to take a proper look.”
“They must be worth something. You certainly paid enough for them.”
“It was worth it. Think of the time I’ve saved. If I had to furnish that house from scratch I’d never get the place open.”
“Why are you suddenly in such a hurry? I thought you were going to take your time. Suddenly you’re pretending you want to have a party and everything else needs to happen yesterday. You don’t even have a kitchen and that’s the first thing you talked about doing up.”
“I’ve looked at ovens.”
“Have you even advertised your inn... hired staff... contracted a linen service?”
She hadn’t thought about any of that.
“You haven’t. In fact, I don’t know why you keep referring to it as an inn. It’s still a house. And at this rate, it might stay a house.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been otherwise engaged—”
“Sticking your nose where it’s bound to land you in trouble. You’re waiting for Lana Bishop to return your call. Admit it.”
Eve chewed her bottom lip. “So, what if I am?”
“I bet you don’t even know why you want to have her catering your fictional party.”
“To gather all the suspects in one place and play them off against each other.”
“You plucked that out of thin air.”
“Rounding up the suspects is a good idea,” Eve said, “In fact, I think Jack should organize a re-creation of the night.”
“I’m beginning to think you have a death wish.” Jill gave a slow shake of her head. “Come on. There’s nothing here.”
Eve nudged her in the ribs.
“Ouch. What was that for?”
“Don’t look now, Dante Hildegard is at the other end looking at an antique mirror.”
“Why tell me he’s here if I can’t look. Did he just walk in?”
“Promise you won’t get mad at me,” Eve said.
“I’ve done mad. Now I’m simmering and waiting for the inevitable explosion.”
“I saw him at the first store we went into.”
“And you didn’t think to share that with me because...”
Eve shrugged. “You would have dragged your feet. We had to remain inconspicuous.”
Jill grumbled under her breath. “Are you going to tell me when I can look?”
“Turn discreetly and slowly. Pretend you’re looking at something.”
“Is that who I think it is?”
“Who? Where?”
“Striding up to him.”
“Lana Bishop.” Making her way toward Dante Hildegard. Were they meeting for the first time? In an out of the way place, Eve thought.
“I guess this means she has a legitimate reason for not returning your call. She’s busy with a bigger fish.”
Eve drew in a shaky breath and looked around her. If she wove her way around the store she might be able to get close enough from the other end without being detected and listen in on the conversation. If either one saw her, Eve knew she’d have a legitimate reason for being here. The same couldn’t be said for them. This looked like a clandestine meeting. They were up to no good. She could feel it in her bones.
“Eve, I’ve got a bad feeling about this. I think we should leave.”
“I’m not going home empty-handed.”
“At this rate, you might never go home. You don’t know what these people are capable of.”
“I’m glad you see that.”
“I’d have to be blind or stupid not to. Look at the way he’s pretending to be looking at that table while he’s talking to her. And she’s doing the same. Talking but not looking at him. It’s so obvious.”
“You stay here. I’ll be back in a second.”
Jill grabbed hold of her arm. “It’s not worth it, Eve.”
She was about to argue when her cell phone rang. Eve checked the caller ID. Her eyebrows lifted. It took all her willpower to not look in Lana’s direction. “Hello, Lana. How lovely to hear from you.” She looked at Jill and raised her eyebrows. As she listened, she took hold of Jill’s arm and signaled for her to follow her out of the store. “I’m not sure I’m free. Let me check my diary.” She checked her watch. “Okay. I can be at the inn in an hour. I’ll see you then.” She disconnected the call and scooped in a big breath. “She wants to see me to talk about a proposal.”
“I don’t like the sound of that,” Jill said.
“Neither do I. Yesterday she suddenly became unavailable. She avoided my calls. Today she meets with Dante and now she wants to meet and talk. I’m guessing whatever she has to say has nothing to do with catering.”
“What are you going to do?” Jill asked.
“I’m going to go see Charlotte.”
“You won’t get a foot in the door.”
Jill was right, but she had to do something. “I suspect the other day she invited me at someone else’s request. Dante Hildegard is calling the shots and I aim to know what his end game is.”
“If you think he masterminded Jon’s death, you’ll have to come up with a motive. Remember, Jack likes motives.”
Eve got in her car and tapped the steering wheel.
“You’re making me nervous. Talk to me.”
“Hang on a sec.” She got her cell phone out again and dialed. “Charlotte. It’s Eve. I need to talk to you.” She listened to the silence on the other end. “It’s important,” she added. She heard Charlotte’s intake of breath. When she agreed to meet her, Eve released the breath she’d been holding. “Okay. Meet you at the inn in an hour.” She gave her the address and hung up.
Jill grabbed hold of her seat beat. “Buckle up, this is going to be a bumpy ride.”
“I have one more call to make.”
“Please tell me you’re calling Jack.”
“Of course, I’m calling Jack. Do you think I’d throw myself in at the deep end without a plan?” Her call went to voice mail. “Jack. It’s Eve. I’m meeting Charlotte and Lana at the inn in an hour.”
“That’s it?”
“I can’t drag him away from work. If he thinks I’m in any danger, he’ll send a squad car.”
“You don’t feel the slightest bit guilty about tapping into police resources?”
“Not if I catch a killer.”
“Yeah, that’s the part I haven’t caught up with. How exactly do you plan on doing that?”
“It is called taking matters into my own hands. Don’t quote me, please. We need to see what happens when Charlotte and Lana are in the same room. I gave Lana the impression I had let the cat out of the bag by passing on sensitive information to Charlotte.”
“About Lana being engaged to Jon?”
“Yes.”
“You’re evil.”
�
�Keep up, Jill. I did no such thing.”
“Lying is just as bad.”
“Not if it’s for a good cause.”
“My mother told me there’s never an excuse for lying, not even to spare someone’s feelings. There are ways around it.”
Eve sighed. “You’re missing the point.”
“I’m actually trying to make a point. There is never an excuse for meddling in something that could get you killed.”
Eve nodded. “And I count on you to always remind me of that.”
“I see there’s no talking you out of it,” Jill said under her breath.
“I’m going home to change. We’ll have a quick coffee and go to the inn.”
“What’s wrong with the clothes you’re wearing?”
Eve gestured with her hand.
“Sorry, I didn’t quite get that. Note to self, learn to read Eve’s hand gestures.”
“Next to Lana, I feel like a poor country mouse. You have to help me choose some more appropriate clothes.”
“You? Feeling self-conscious? I never thought I’d see the day.”
Eve spent the drive home trying to picture the scene she’d set but didn’t get further than the shock and anger on Charlotte’s face at being forced to confront something she would prefer to ignore.
“Put the kettle on, please. I won’t be long.” Eve said as she rushed upstairs to change. When she reached the top landing, she waited to hear Jill in the kitchen and then snuck downstairs and out the front door.
Guilt weighed heavily on her as she drove to the inn. She had no idea what she’d be walking into, but she knew for sure she didn’t want to put Jill in any danger. It had already happened a couple of times and she couldn’t bear the idea of being responsible for anything happening to her.
She knew she’d get an earful afterward. But she’d deal with that when the time came. However, when she pulled into the driveway, she caved in and called Jill.
“You’re not going to like this,” Eve said.
“And you’re not going to like what I did,” Jill grumbled.
“What did you do?”
“The moment I discovered you’d left without me, I called Jack and guess what? He’s on his way. If you think you’re in trouble with me, wait until he gets his hands on you.”
“Do me a favor and stay with Mira. I didn’t like Dante’s tone the other day. I’m sure there was an underlying threat there. If anything happens to Mira, I’ll never forgive myself.”
“This isn’t going to end well, Eve. You’re taking on two dangerous women. One of them is most likely a killer. What if they’re both killers?”
“They’re not going to try anything in front of witnesses,” Eve assured her.
“You obviously haven’t thought this through. What if they’re collaborating?”
“I’m not sure that’s the right term to use. But you’re right. They might be in cahoots. I promise to be very careful and not turn my back on either one. I have to go. There’s a car coming.” Eve disconnected the call and waited for the car to pull up.
To her surprise, it wasn’t Lana or Charlotte.
Millicent.
She strode along the path, her head lowered as if in deep thought.
As Eve pushed her car door open, another car pulled up.
Again, Eve waited. And again, she was caught off guard.
Allan Albright.
Two people Eve had delegated to the bottom of her suspects’ list.
This couldn’t be a coincidence.
She sent Jack a quick message alerting him of the changed circumstances.
She got half way up the path when she heard a car drive off. Turning she saw it was the car Allan had arrived in. There had been someone else with him.
A quiver of apprehension crawled along her spine. She tried to shake the sensation away by thinking about motive and opportunity.
She gazed at Allan and Millicent as they stood on the front veranda chatting. These two were not the major players. It had to be Charlotte or even Lana. They both had a long list of motives and they’d had plenty of opportunities to dabble in a bit of poisoning.
Don’t shoot the messenger, Eve. She could imagine Millicent being coerced into making an appearance, as for Allan Albright...
He too would be acting on someone’s behalf.
Who pulled his strings?
Charlotte or...
Dante.
“Hello, Allan. Millicent.”
When Allan turned to face her, he slanted his gaze toward Millicent.
Eve frowned. And then she looked down.
Millicent held a gun pointed directly at her.
“Inside. The both of you. Don’t make me repeat myself.”
Millicent?
Sweet, chocolate covered Millicent who’d begged her not to say anything about working that night at the cocktail party?
“Allan, what’s this about?”
“Why are you asking him? I’m the one holding the gun.”
“Is it even real? It looks like a toy to me.”
“Um, Eve.” Allan shook his head.
Allan stood more than a head taller than her, dressed in tailored pants and a white shirt that showed off his sculpted body to perfection. While Millicent wore a dark blue dress matched with blue heels that looked to be about three inches high. Even so, she was more than a head shorter than Eve. Yet she held a gun and she spoke with a menacing tone.
“What are you even doing here?” Eve asked. “I have an appointment with Lana Bishop not you.”
“Which part of I have a gun don’t you get?”
“I don’t know what your game is, Millicent, but let me tell you right now I’ve had bigger guns pointed at me and I’m still standing.”
“You think this is a joke.”
Eve turned to Allan. “What are you doing here?”
“Charlotte just dropped me off. I convinced her you had nothing to do with poisoning Jon O’Brian and talked her into coming to make peace with you, but at the last minute she changed her mind.”
“So you don’t know anything about this.” She nudged her head toward Millicent and her gun.
“I have a fair idea.”
“One you’re hopefully going to share with me.”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Allan asked. “You’ve found the killer.”
Millicent cocked her gun. “Inside. Now.”
Eve frowned. “Wait. You can’t be serious. You don’t fit the criteria.”
“The what?”
“I mean, look at you. You sway with the slightest breeze. You’re pint sized. You have large, doe-like eyes. Lana Bishop on the other hand—”
Allan moaned. “Eve, please don’t make this worse.”
“You don’t seriously think she’s going to shoot. What are you waiting for? I’ll distract her while you grab the gun.”
Millicent laughed.
“I said it out loud to give you the chance to come to your senses. And please stop pointing that gun at me. If you fire, everyone around here will hear.”
Millicent took care of that. In the blink of an eye, she reached inside her bag and produced a silencer.
Chapter Fourteen
“Whatever you think you can get away with... you won’t. Trust me, I speak from experience.”
Millicent waved her gun. “Sit down and shut up.”
For once, Eve did as told. After all, Millicent had a gun with a silencer. Unlike Eve, she’d come prepared.
“Okay, you have my attention,” Eve said.
“You’re still talking.”
“Because you aren’t.” Eve folded her arms. “Go on, you have the floor. I’m listening.”
Millicent moved over to the window and gazed out.
“Are we waiting for someone else?” She didn’t get a response. Eve looked over at Allan. He sat opposite her, his hands clasped together, his jaw muscles twitching. She still couldn’t understand why he hadn’t taken her cue and lunged for the gun. At least he sat opp
osite her and not next to her. They still had a chance. If only she knew he’d co-operate and help her distract Millicent before the person she was waiting for arrived.
“So... here we are. Any chance you’ll tell us why we’re here? I mean, I know why I’m here. I’d organized to meet Lana Bishop. I guess she changed her mind about coming and sent you instead.” Lana Bishop. She’d had her suspicions about her, but this confirmed it. More or less. “And now you’re planning to do something really nasty to us. Before you do anything, it would be good to know why you killed Jon O’Brian.”
Millicent chortled.
The last time she’d said something along those lines, the person holding the gun hadn’t had any idea what she’d been referring to because she’d been an innocent bystander caught up in the middle of a sordid affair.
“Jon was superfluous.”
“He outlived his usefulness?”
Millicent shrugged.
Eve was disappointed in her. In her place, she would have stuck to her guns and kept her mouth shut. Instead, Millicent wanted to boast. She’d bet anything it had all been her plan, her doing.
Eve decided to see what else she could get her to admit. “Lana played him.”
“I lined her ducks in a row. I set her up with him.”
“So, you’re the mastermind matchmaker. I would never have guessed. In fact, I didn’t. You had me fooled. And everyone else. I bet the police didn’t even bother to question you.”
“That’s right, you’ve been snooping around, sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong.”
Eve gestured with her hands. “Why does everyone say that about me?”
“Probably because it’s true.” Millicent laughed. “I’m going to do you a favor and put you out of your misery. If I don’t, you’re going to turn into the town busybody. So you can thank me now.”
“Busybody? To tell you the truth, I don’t go looking for trouble. It sort of finds me. I’m like a magnet and I’m starting to think there’s a reason for that.”