by Haley Harper
Chapter Seven
“Hello dear. I wasn’t expecting you to call.”
Shannon tried to keep her voice normal. But it was no use. “Oh Mom, it’s so awful. The wonderful lady who owns the castle died in her sleep last night. Everyone is just beside themselves. I feel so helpless.”
“Oh my goodness, how awful.” Myra tried to console her. “Had you had a chance to meet her?”
“I did, but only briefly. I’ve actually talked with one of her sons the most. He was very close to his mum and is quite upset.”
There was a bit of a pause at the other end and Shannon thought maybe they had been disconnected. “Mom? You still there?”
“Yes, I’m still here. I was just thinking about your other trips. There isn’t any chance that this is another suspicious death is there? I’d hate to see you involved in something again.”
Shannon kept her voice light. She hadn’t called her mom with the intention of getting her all worried. “No mom, I’m quite sure it’s nothing like that. Let’s change the subject. How’s Burt? How are wedding plans coming along? You haven’t gone and eloped on me have you?”
Myra chuckled. “No we haven’t, and don’t worry, we’ll wait for you. Burt is nervous though. I had to promise him it wouldn’t be a big fancy affair. He’s a simple kind of guy, doesn’t like being in the spotlight.”
“Tell him not to worry. It will be a lovely wedding. How’s my furry boy?”
“Edgar is having the time of his life. He misses you of course, but he and Burt are having a great time. Edgar is simply loving all the attention. Burt has always had dogs but he said he was too old to get another one after his Shelby passed, so Edgar has been good for him.”
Shannon smiled to herself. She could just picture Edgar lapping up all the love. “Well I’m glad Burt is enjoying his company and I’m so grateful to have you guys to leave him with. It really helps. Thanks again, Mom. You’re the best.”
Myra laughed. “You are very welcome, honey. Now go back to your castle and try to finish your work. Then you get get back here and relax.”
“I’ll try,” Shannon assured her. “Bye Mom, love you.”
“Love you too. Bye.” And with the click of a button her Mom’s reassuring voice was gone. Oh how she wished she were at home. There was nothing she wanted more just now than her favorite chair with Edgar at her feet.
Instead she moved over to the big four poster bed and sank down into its softness. For a long time she pondered how to proceed with her research. With Maeve’s passing, her main source of information was gone and she didn’t think either of the two brothers would be of much help.
She supposed her best hope was Maeve’s long time friend, Dr. Winthrop and maybe some of the staff. She doubted if any of them would feel much like chatting, however, at least not for a few days. She had a feeling the next two weeks were going to drag by.
The sound of angry voices outside her door broke into her thoughts. Rising from the bed she tiptoed to her door to listen. The voices were both male and she recognized both of them. Aiden and Sean were having a confrontation of some sort.
“This is hardly the time or place to discuss this. Have you no sense of decency. Mum has just died and already you want to discuss her will? You’re disgusting.”
“Oh don’t go all sentimental on me. You hardly cared that much for the old lady. You couldn’t even live in the same house.”
“I cared a great deal for her. Probably more than you. I’d have gladly lived here and taken care of her. It’s being near you that I couldn’t abide.”
“Well that feeling is certainly mutual, and the sooner we get the will situation straightened out the sooner we can get on with the business of selling this beast and going our separate ways.”
“And just how do you propose to straighten out this “will business” as you call it? You can’t just change the will because you want to. If mum wanted Winston to have an equal share of the estate, then he gets an equal share of the estate.”
Aiden gave a growl of contempt. “Over my dead body, he will get a share. I’ve spoken to Gus, and he’s assured me that since I have power of attorney, we may be able to do something. He just has to agree with me that mum wasn’t capable of making sound decisions when she wrote him in.”
“Mum has always been quite capable of making the right decision. And besides, Mum wrote Winston in years ago. I doubt there is a thing you can do about it, especially now that mum’s gone. So you’d best just get used to the idea that the castle is going to be left to the three of us.”
“Never,” Aiden shouted. The sound of uneven footsteps echoing down the stairs told Shannon he had walked away. She listened carefully trying to decipher what Sean was doing. She didn’t hear footsteps, so she assumed he was still out there. When a few moments went by and she still hadn’t heard him move, she opened her door just a crack and peeked out. A ways down the hall she could see Sean standing at one of the large windows looking down over the garden. He was obviously deep in thought.
Shannon debated for a while whether to go to him, but considering the conversation she had just overheard, she decided he would probably prefer to be alone with his thoughts. She gently closed her door and went to the small writing desk in her room. She wanted to jot down a few things while they were fresh in her mind. They didn’t really have a lot to do with her book, but she somehow felt remembering them would be important.
She wrote about Maeve and her insistence that the Lady in Grey had suddenly changed and that she was becoming more malicious and appearing more often, adding a note about the clanging and banging and loud noises that people had heard. She pondered for a moment what Maeve had meant when she said she had gotten to the bottom of some of those things. With her gone, she would likely never know.
The next note was about the two brothers and their long standing disagreement over selling the castle.
Then she jotted down a few points from the conversation she had overheard. Apparently Maeve had written Dr. Winthrop into her will and Aiden was very unhappy about it.
Sean seemed to have no issue with that fact and told Aiden as much. Aiden, on the other hand took quite an issue to it. So much so that he had called for the family lawyer, a man named Gus, to come and change it.
Lastly, she scribbled in that Maeve’s death thus far had been ruled as natural causes. As she wrote those last words, Shannon felt a knot start to form in her stomach. She had a writer’s instincts for these things, and that instinct was telling her that things were going to turn nasty. Beside the phrase “natural causes” she drew a large bold question mark.
She closed the notebook and decided she would do some exploring around the castle. Most of the staff members were keeping to their rooms so things were pretty quiet. An announcement had been made that in honor of Maeve, and her love of tradition, dinner would still be served in the dining room at seven. Shannon had a few hours to kill before she needed to get ready for dinner.
Picking up her Ipad so she could take pictures and make notes, she headed out into the hall. She had explored the back staircase as far as the kitchen but she knew it continued on down to another level. She supposed this would be considered the basement of a normal home but she wasn’t sure what it would be called in a castle.
Chapter Eight
Like the rest of the castle this level was deserted. She could hear no voices nor saw movement of any kind. The stairs ended into one large room with several doors off to every side. Rows of shelving lined the walls of this room that held an array of jars and cartons and baskets. It was obviously a food storage area.
Other doors that she tried revealed a cold cellar full of fruits and vegetables, a wine cellar lined with an extensive assortment of bottles, and a furnace room where the mechanics of the castle were located.
A large laundry room boasted very state of the art washers and dryers, ironing boards and clothes steamers. Maeve must have been very particular about her clothing and the castle’s line
ns.
The final door that Shannon tried was locked and she was unable to see what it held inside. Thinking it strange that only one out of all these rooms was locked, she immediately became curious. She was fiddling with the handle again when a voice startled her.
“I’m afraid that one is not open to the public.”
Shannon whirled around to see the head maid from the dining room standing there. The scowl on her face told Shannon that she was not too happy to find an intruder in what she considered to be her domain.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude. I was just exploring a bit. All of the other doors were open so I just assumed this one would be as well.”
“Well, it’s not. It’s locked for a reason, and one that only certain people are privy to. Shall I show you the way back upstairs?”
Shannon tried to hide her annoyance. She didn’t really want to start making enemies. “No, that’s ok. I can find my way.” She turned to head back up the stairs, assuming the maid would follow. But the sour faced maid remained at the bottom of the stairs arms crossed over her chest until she was certain Shannon had gone all the way to the top.
“That was strange,” Shannon muttered under her breath. “What was in that room and why was it being kept a secret?” With a vow to return and explore a little further, Shannon headed back up the stairs. She was forced to stop on the landing when she ran into the butler headed down the stairs at full speed. When he saw her there, he had to grab the handrail to slow his momentum.
“Oh, sorry, Miss. Let me retreat to the top. It’s bad luck to pass on the stairs.” He spoke in short spurts, trying to catch his breath.
“So I’ve heard,” Shannon replied. “My Granny always said that too.” She continued up the stairs and smiled at the man as he stepped aside to let her pass.
“I see you’ve been exploring our cellar. I was just on my way to retrieve a bottle of wine.”
“I did see it. That is quite an impressive collection of wine.”
The butler nodded. “Mr. Aiden does enjoy a fine glass of wine.”
Shannon walked past him and headed towards the dining room. “I won’t keep you, but keep an eye open. The dining room maid was down there as well. She may very well be on her way back up too.”
The butler nodded. “I’ll watch for her. Thank you Miss. And do be sure to wipe your feet on the mat there before you leave the kitchen. It’s quite dusty downstairs.”
Shannon looked down at her shoes. They were covered in a thin film of grey. She wiped them on the mat and then headed into the dining room. She could feel the butler’s eyes on her back as she walked away.
She wondered if he was going down to continue the argument he had been having with the maid that morning. Only pretending to leave, Shannon waited until she heard his footsteps heading down the stairs then she tiptoed back into the kitchen.
The stairwell door was still open and she could hear voices drifting up the stairs. For the second time that day she stood and eavesdropped. Apparently it was a good way to gather information around here.
This time the maid and the butler were speaking loud enough for her to hear.
“Did she get in?” The butler sounded very agitated.
“No, the door was locked. Do you think I’m that daft?”
“Of course not. So far we’re safe, but if anyone else gets in there, we’re in big trouble. We’re close to done now. Then we can get ourselves out of this dungeon.”
From the sounds that followed, Shannon was pretty sure the maid was heading back up. She hurried back through the kitchen and into the dining room, settling herself at the table with a cup of tea. She pretended to be engrossed in her notebook when the maid passed through.
She didn’t know what the two of them could possibly be up to, but she was pretty sure it wasn’t good. The butler had made a reference to anyone else getting in. Shannon wondered who the “someone else” was and what they had found.
Shannon decided she would hang around in the dining room for a bit. Maybe she would meet up with someone else that had opinions of this castle, its owners and its ghosts.
She didn’t have to wait long. Within just a few minutes Dr. Winthrop and Elena came through the door. Their body language and their somber expressions spoke volumes about how they were feeling. Shannon wasn’t sure if she should speak to them or not.
Elena noticed her sitting there and took Winston’s arm to guide him over.
“Hello,” Shannon with a tentative smile. “Please won’t you join me?” As the pulled out chairs and sat down, Shannon continued. “Winston, I am so sorry for your loss. I understand you and Maeve were long time friends.”
Winston nodded and for a long moment didn’t raise his eyes. When he did, Shannon was heartbroken by the pain she saw there.
“Yes, we go way back. I’m going to miss her immeasurably. But the worst of it is the news I’ve just received. The medical examiner has just informed me that Maeve did not die of natural causes. It appears she was poisoned.”
Elena gasped loudly and she quickly covered Winston’s hand with her own.
“Oh, Winston how awful. Who would do such a horrible thing! Do the police have someone in custody?” Shannon was a bit surprised at the woman’s outburst. She was usually so quiet. Winston patted her hand to comfort her.
“That is awful,” Shannon agreed. “I assume the police will be opening an investigation then.”
“Indeed,” Winston confirmed. “I should imagine they will be descending upon the castle in no time.”
Suddenly their conversation was interrupted by a door slamming loudly and heavy footsteps thumping unevenly through the kitchen.
“There you are.” A very drunken and very angry Aiden came barreling towards them his finger pointing at Winston.
“You. You are the one. I just got the news that mother was poisoned. You killed her didn’t you? You knew she was going to change her will and leave you out of it. You wanted to make sure she couldn’t do that so you murdered her.”
He now had his face right in Winston’s, his foul whisky breath filling the air.
Winston said nothing at first, but simply stood and pushed his chair back from the table.
“I did no such thing and the police will prove as much. I cared very deeply for your mother. As for being written out of her will, I tried myself to get her to change that years ago and she steadfastly refused. I doubt very much that she would have ever changed her mind.”
“Ha!” Aiden spewed. “You’re nothing but a money grabber and a murderer. I’ll promise you that you will never see a cent of this family’s money.”
Winston said nothing more. He simply took Elena’s arm and started to leave. “Good evening, Miss Porter. I suggest you head to your room and let the staff deal with this drunken fool.”
“Good night to you both. Please take care,” Shannon said, feeling embarrassed for them. As they exited the room Shannon was flooded with a huge sense of respect for the man. He had stood up with such dignity to Aiden’s wild accusations. But a wee little voice in the back of her mind wondered if Aiden just might be right.
Chapter Nine
Shannon returned to her room with a heavy heart. She felt so bad for the Winston and Sean and even Aiden. They had already suffered such a great loss and to now have to face the fact that their mom’s death was a murder just made it so much harder.
On her way to her room she had to pass by Maeve’s closed door. She knew that the police would be arriving soon and would likely seal it off for their investigation. Although the last thing she wanted was to be drawn into another murder, she just couldn’t turn her back on it either. She wanted a quick peek around Maeve’s room just to see if anything jumped out at her.
Shannon looked up and down the hallway and listened for voices or footsteps. The castle was completely silent and deserted. She tried the door and the knob turned easily in her hand.
The room was dark except for a small night light that was plugged into a
socket in one corner. It didn’t cast enough light to really see anything, and for a minute Shannon thought she would just abandon the whole idea. But then she remembered the flashlight app that she had on her Ipad. She turned on the device and shone it downward around the room.
It looked as though nothing had been touched. The bed was unmade, the curtains still drawn and an empty tea cup sat on the small night table beside Maeve’s glasses and the current book she had been reading.
Shannon bent down and put her nose to the tea cup. She recognized the aroma of chamomile. The thought crossed her mind that an odorless poison could have been added to Maeve’s tea. But wouldn’t the murderer have returned to remove the evidence?
Moving on, Shannon noticed Maeve’s robe folded at the foot of the bed. Shannon shone her light there and scanned the area. There was nothing unusual about her robe and slippers being where they were, but there was something unusual on them.
The bottom hem of the robe and the tops of the slippers were covered in the same dust as her own had been when she returned from the basement. Apparently Maeve had made a trip to the cellar as well. That in itself was probably not unusual, but to go down at night after she was ready for bed, did struck Shannon as odd.
Suddenly the butler’s words echoed in her head. “If anyone else gets in there we’ll be in big trouble.” Could Maeve have discovered the secret of the locked room? Could someone have killed her to keep her quiet?
Shannon shook her head. “Get a grip on your wild imagination, girl,” she muttered to herself. She decided she’d best get out of the room before she got caught snooping around. Taking her mystery writer’s curiosity with her, she went back to her room to work on her book.
She was hard at work when she heard footsteps in the hall. Just as she figured, a group of investigators were sealing off Maeve’s room with crime scene tape. A dining room chair had been placed outside her door and an officer had positioned himself there. She expected there would be a swarm of officers there in the morning going over everything with a fine toothed comb, but for now it seemed they were going to leave the castle and its family and guests to have a peaceful night.