Prologue to Murder

by Lauren Elliott

  “Am I interested? Of course I am.” She dug into her handbag. “Here’s my card. Call me one day soon, and I’ll come by and take a look to see what you have and are willing to part with. As closely as June and I worked, we did feel very differently about a few topics—local sources for library acquisitions being one of them.” She glanced at Catherine. Addie couldn’t help but notice the glaring look Catherine shot back at her.

  “Well, we’d better finish setting up here,” said Catherine quickly. “Although I see you’ve done most of it already.”

  “Yes.” Addie’s brow furrowed as she studied the two women, who were now walking in the direction of the seating area. “I wasn’t sure how many people to expect, so I have the six leather chairs and three folding ones. I hope that’s enough.”

  “It’s just fine. There are seven of us, then eight with you, and then the one spare seat for good measure, in case an extra pops by.”

  “Actually, that was my thinking, too. Because Dr. Emerson mentioned he might come by after his shift. He’s anxious to get to know people in town, and—”

  “Dr. Emerson, hey?” Catherine winked.

  Heat crept up Addie’s neck, and she turned her flushing face away from the two women and the glint of amusement in their eyes.

  The chimes rang and three more women Addie didn’t recognize entered. She followed Catherine to the door. “Addie, this is Ida; she works at Fielding’s. This is Connie; she’s a judicial clerk at the courthouse. It’s on the top floor of the police station, in case you weren’t aware.”

  “No, I wasn’t. Nice to meet you. All of you.” She shook their hands.

  “And this is Maggie. She’s the owner of the real estate company on Main Street.”

  Addie nodded at the women.

  “So,” said Catherine, clasping her hands together, “we’re just waiting for—”

  The door flung open.

  “—Gloria, our never-fails-to-be-tardy travel agent.” Catherine laughed.

  Gloria made a face at her, but her rosy, round cheeks couldn’t hide her friendly grin. “Hi, Addie. I’ve seen you around, but I don’t think we’ve spoken.” She shook her hand.

  Catherine looked at Addie. “I guess we’re all here—well, except for Jeanie, and I’m sure she’ll be along soon.”

  Addie motioned to the counter. “There’s coffee and tea set out. Help yourselves, ladies, and make yourselves comfortable.”

  The women chatted as they each made their beverage of choice, then began perusing the shop. Addie smiled inwardly—this was the most people she’d had in here for over a week, and she crossed her fingers it might be the start of customers returning to her store.

  She spotted Dorothy in the historical book section and made her way toward her. “You’re a history buff like me.”

  “Yes.” Dorothy glanced up from the book she held. “It’s a passion I shared with June, too. That’s one of the reasons we got along so well.” Her eyes filled with tears.

  Addie patted her arm. “I know her passing must have been hard on her friends.” She gave her arm a light squeeze.

  Dorothy placed the book back on the shelf and retrieved another one. “Oh, look! I know June borrowed this one from your aunt once. The History of Pirates by Dr. Angus Konstam.”

  “Are there any other books here you know of that she might have used in her research?” Addie scanned the shelf.

  “I don’t know if they’re here, but I do know there were a number that your aunt loaned her over the course of her research. She told me she found your Aunt Anita’s attic collection extremely helpful. She’d spend hours up there making notes on her laptop.”

  “Was that where she conducted most of her research, from my aunt’s collection?”

  “No, she also visited the Lighthouse Museum down in the harbor frequently, and then . . .” She shrugged. “There were some other museums, one in Boston and one closer. I can’t remember where it was, but she went to that one regularly. She said their archives were more extensive than the one here.”

  “Interesting. If you can remember the name of it, please let me know.”

  Dorothy nodded.

  “Did she ever mention which one of my aunt’s books she found most helpful?”

  “No, not really.” She frowned, rubbing her forehead. “There was one she did remark on that was a very old, rare book. It was a collection of New England pirate journals, if I remember correctly. Yes, and your aunt wouldn’t let her take it out of her house, which was why June had to read through it in the attic.”

  “But you don’t know the name of it?”

  Dorothy shook her head.

  “I guess I have some more exploring to do in that attic.” She looked at the book Dorothy held in her quivering hand. “Could I give you that one? To remind you of her?”

  Dorothy took a deep breath and smiled at Addie, shaking her head. “Thanks anyway, dear, but it’s not necessary.” She replaced the book on the shelf. “New England pirates were June’s speciality. Anything I need to learn about them I can find in her book now, I suppose.” Addie noted the cutting edge to her voice.

  “I assumed you’d worked on it with her, being her assistant and all.”

  Dorothy sucked in a sharp breath. “No, I didn’t help her with her book.” She bit her trembling lip. “Well, I did in the beginning, but then out of the blue she said she didn’t need or want my help anymore. After that, she kept her research pretty close to her chest.”

  “Sorry, I guess I misunderstood.”

  Dorothy rested her hand the cover of the pirate history book. “I never even read any of her later notes.” She straightened her shoulders. “My first reading was when the book was released.”

  “But weren’t you on the town council when they rejected her first draft?”

  “Yes, I was.”

  “But you never read it?”

  She shook her head. “Only Blain Fielding—you know, part of the family that Fielding’s Department store is named for. He was the council chairman back then, and Dean Davenport was the vice chair. They’re the only two who read it.”

  “Dean Davenport?”

  “Yes, Lacey’s brother. He runs a charter boat business down in the harbor.” Her eyes continued to scan the titles on the shelves.

  “I didn’t know she had a brother. So you never saw it? Did anyone aside from them?”

  “Not as far as I know. Dean said that we should take their word for it, that it was garbage, and we had to reject it and her grant, pending a rewrite.”

  Addie’s heart raced. “What was in the book that he objected to?”

  “I have no idea.”

  Dorothy retrieved another book from the shelf. “I’m not sure if you knew, but Dean was pretty indebted to the Fielding family, who thought they ran this town, which is why he was selected to be on the town council in the first place. He was their yes-man. Ask Ida—she’s worked as a sales clerk at Fielding’s for over twenty years.”

  Addie tried to keep her voice level, unassuming, normal. “Do you know what happened to the original manuscript?”

  “No idea. Jeanie might know though.”

  “Thanks, I’ll check with her.” Addie watched Dorothy’s face as she ran her fingers over the spines of the books on the shelf in front of her. “I know you were very close to June and obviously shared her love of books.”

  Dorothy smiled and nodded.

  “So I was surprised to hear that the two of you disagreed on—was it acquisitions you mentioned? What did you mean by—”

  “Pfftt.” She waved her hand and moved along the shelf away from Addie. “That was nothing.”

  It was apparent that Dorothy wasn’t going to disclose anything telling about her and June’s friendship tonight. She’d have to grill Catherine about it later.

  Addie was busying herself by straightening the bookshelf Dorothy had been browsing when the door chimed behind her. She heaved a sigh. Finally, she’d be able to ask Jeanie about a few of the burni
ng questions she had. Like whether she’d come across the original manuscript since they first talked. And then she could try to get some information about the man of many disguises that she’d seen her with. Addie wanted that information before she told her the file box was missing. She was afraid if she mentioned it now Jeanie might get scared off and refuse to answer because she is somehow involved, or she would become angry with Addie for losing it, and then she’d be no further ahead in finding the answers to all the questions whirling around in her mind.

  “Serena?” Catherine’s voice gushed from the storefront. “How lovely of you to join us, and Lacey, too. This is a wonderful surprise.”

  Addie’s heart plunged to the pit of her stomach.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “Hello, everyone.” Lacey fluttered her fingers. “Isn’t this a quaint little shop?” She dramatically waved her hands in the air, waltzing around the room, nodding and oohing as she glanced from the book section to the curios. “It’s just delightful, isn’t it?” The group murmured their agreement.

  Addie bit the inside of her cheek and headed to the front. Her eyes fixed on the back of Lacey’s head as she moved up beside her. “What are you doing here, Lacey?”

  “Me?” she exclaimed loudly, drawing all eyes to her. “I can’t believe I haven’t made the time to come in here before, but you know how it is.” She turned to the group. “I’ve been working so hard to help poor Serena in her shop.”

  “Yes.” Catherine smiled at Serena, who shifted from one foot to the other, looking sheepishly at Addie. “And Serena should be so grateful for all your hard work. You’ve done a wonderful job there. Hasn’t she, ladies?”

  Through a round of applause and hails of congratulations, Addie gritted her teeth and whispered, “I could have sworn that you stopped by just the other day?” She hoped her smile still matched the fake one splashed across Lacey’s face.

  Lacey shrugged. “My bad. But then that day I wasn’t focused on anything or anyone except my Marc sitting at the counter.” Her icy eyes flashed at Addie.

  “Give me a break,” Addie hissed through gritted teeth.

  “Oh, I will, darling.” She leaned closer to Addie and whispered. “When I have exactly what I want.”

  “And how adorable is this, everyone?” Lacey’s voice rose as she made a showman’s gesture, waving her arms in front of the Founder’s Day decorations in the window then clutching her hands to her heart. “Our Addie is so talented.” She beamed, looking at Addie, and the group murmured and nodded. But then she leaned toward her, lowering her voice. “Of course, Addie, your display isn’t even close to being up to the same standards as the other merchants’. But I’m sure if you’re lucky enough to still be here next year, you’ll get the hang of how things are done around here and always have been. So back off.”

  The hair on the back of Addie’s neck stood up so hard it hurt. Had Lacey just given herself away as the person who had sent the gift box with the dead rat in it? She raised her hand, wanting nothing more than to slap the smirk off Lacey’s face, but remembered where she was, and that she was an adult, like it or not. She scratched at her tingling neck instead and averted her eyes from the tasteless wonder before her. Her gaze landed on the small car that pulled up in front of the door. She shook her head and let out a deep breath to release her tense jaw. “It looks like Jeanie’s here.”

  “It’s about time,” Maggie muttered, fluffing her coiffured hair.

  “Stop it,” said Gloria, her already round cheeks puffing out. “She’s had a rough week. I’m surprised she came at all.”

  “You’re right. I wouldn’t have blamed her if she hadn’t,” Ida added.

  “Who’s that guy driving her car?” Lacey said, standing on tiptoe, peering through the window display.

  Addie ducked to see around her. It was the man from the church. “Why, do you know him?”

  “I think I do.” Lacey leaned forward, knocking over a nautical flag and tipping the pirate ship off its book perch.

  Addie shook her head, reset the display, and stretched to see over Lacey. The black-haired man got out of the driver’s side and walked around to Jeanie’s, where he retrieved two large trays from the back seat, placed them in her outstretched arms, and then produced a third, setting it on top, kissed Jeanie’s cheek, and got back in the car.

  “Well, Lacey,” Addie murmured, “don’t keep me in suspense. Who is he?”

  Lacey glanced back at her. “He looks like a reporter I worked with in LA.” She shook her head. “No, Peter’s blond. It couldn’t be him. Although I must say, other than the glasses and dark hair, they could be twins.” She swept past her and perched in the chair that had earlier been designated for Addie.

  Addie’s mouth opened, then snapped shut. She glanced back out the window. Jeanie stood at the closed door, struggling with the trays, her car and driver gone. Addie rushed to open the door, took the large covered trays from Jeanie’s arms, and placed them on the counter.

  Jeanie flopped down on a stool. “Thank you, they were heavier than I thought they’d be.” She helped Addie spread the sandwich, fruit, and vegetable platters in a line across the countertop. “We’ll probably eat later, so leave the covers on them, if you don’t mind.”

  Addie nodded. “I’m surprised your ride didn’t help you bring these in.”

  She waved off Addie’s comment. “Steven had a business meeting this evening and was running late. I guess neither of us realized how awkward these platters would be. But they’re here now, so no damage done.” She turned her back on Addie, swiveled around on her stool to greet the book club members, and smiled when her gaze came to rest on Lacey. “How nice of you to join us, and Serena, too. I had no idea Mother’s book would garner all this interest.”

  Lacey’s pencil-sketched brows rose as she glanced up from her cell phone, smiled unseeing at Jeanie, and returned her focus to her screen. Addie was dying to ask Jeanie about the man who had dropped her off, but knew she had to deal with a more obvious problem at the moment. She walked nonchalantly over and stood behind Lacey’s chair, glancing down at the woman’s cell phone screen. Lacey snapped it off and looked up over her shoulder. “Can I help you?”

  “It’s just that I do believe you’re sitting in my seat.” Addie hoped the Cheshire grin she had learned to master when dealing with Lacey didn’t falter now as their eyes locked.

  Lacey stood up. The wave of a successful battle won rushed through Addie.

  “No problem, my ride’s here anyway.” Lacey headed toward the door, waving her hand over her shoulder. “It’s been a pleasure seeing you all again.” She bounced out the door.

  An uncomfortable silence gripped the room as all eyes witnessed Lacey hopping into Marc’s patrol car. Addie glanced from one startled face to another. Serena’s confused expression didn’t go unnoticed by her, and she tried to ward off her own pain at Serena’s obvious disappointment in Lacey’s latest unexpected antics.

  “I guess we should get started now.” Addie sat in the chair still warm from Lacey’s toxic residue. She looked from one hesitant face to the other and picked up her copy of The Ghosts and Mysteries of Greyborne Harbor from the table in front of her. “Who would like to begin?” They all opened their books but sat quietly as though they were waiting for Addie to begin a class lesson. She shifted in her chair. “Okay, I’ll begin, then.” She took a deep breath and flipped to the first page.

  For the next hour, discussion centered around June’s findings, which led to a debate on how an adjustment to the annual Founder’s Day Eve ghost walk tour should include something about the pirate history of the Harbor. It was a unanimous decision that the Smuggler’s Den Restaurant might be the perfect place to end the evening tour. They were all certain the restaurant would be more than happy to contribute to the town’s event, as it would mean patrons would want to quench their thirst in the bar after an evening of local ghosts and legends.

  Dorothy agreed to speak with the Den’s manager and t
ake the proposal to the Festival Committee later in the week. Dorothy and Connie had both confirmed that there was indeed a cavern beneath the centuries-old floorboards, although it was still undergoing renovations. Dorothy then promised to ask the manager to consider opening it, at least partially, for the ghost walk finale. Addie fought to contain her enthusiasm for the idea. This was exactly the opportunity she needed to explore what she believed could be the source of the extensive tunnel system shown on the map.

  All in all, it was an interesting discussion as it continued around her, but Addie was disappointed that no one had any further information to add about June’s research and the original draft that the town council had dismissed. She threw out a reference to the first version, but no one bit, not even Jeanie. Although she had told Addie previously she didn’t know anything about the original manuscript, Addie kept hoping the animated conversation about her mother’s book and the ghost walk would spark a forgotten memory in Jeanie’s mind, but it hadn’t. Maybe she really didn’t know anything.

  Addie studied each of the faces around the table, trying to determine which one of them June may have confided in. She was certain that someone at this table had information about the original work, but for whatever reason, wasn’t talking. There was Dorothy, who had worked as her assistant. Did she know more than she was saying? After all, it had slipped earlier that she and June had been in disagreement over at least one issue, which Addie intended to find more about later. She made a mental note to add Dorothy to the blackboard.

  Seated next to her was Ida. Her small eyes darted around the room, which only enhanced her sharp, birdlike features. She had worked for Blain Fielding for over twenty years. Perhaps she’d had access to the manuscript when he was reading it for the town council. Then there was Gloria, the bubbly redheaded travel agent. Addie frowned. She really didn’t know much about her or Maggie, the blond-haired real estate agent, who appeared as though this was a camera shoot for the Million Dollar Listing television show. She realized that she didn’t know much about any of them. She’d have to try to get the inside scoop from Serena and Catherine later.