Shades of Earl Grey atsm-3

by Laura Childs

  Outside the closet, barely six feet from where she sat, was Drayton’s desk where one of his stamp albums lay enticingly open. Rows of plastic-encased stamps that hearkened back to Revolutionary War days filled its pages. This album was propped up against a second leather-bound stamp album. Next to these albums was a smattering of first-day covers, rare stamps that had been postmarked on their first day of issue, and of course, Aunt Libby’s Z grill stamp. At the last minute, Drayton had added a few extra props to make it look, as he put it, “not so much like a stage set.” A pack of gum, silver letter opener, a leather box filled with paper clips, Haley’s bottle of superglue, and a small notepad with some random scribbles on it.

  This desk top still life was lit by a single Tiffany lamp that sat on Drayton’s desk, which was not really a desk at all but a sturdy old oak library table. The rest of the small twelve-by-fourteen-foot room was lined with bookcases that sagged with all manner of books—fiction, history, poetry, gardening, and cooking. In one corner was an overstuffed leather chair. On the wall opposite the closet where Theodosia sat waiting was a small window that looked out over the back garden.

  Theodosia knew that if their cat burglar was going to show tonight, there was a very good chance he’d come in through that window. On the other hand, because Drayton had a prize collection of Japanese bonsai trees, a tall wooden security fence had been constructed around the backyard to make it virtually impenetrable.

  So... Theodosia told herself, the cat burglar would have to scale the wooden fence, then come in through the window. Not exactly a difficult feat for someone who had leapt to her window ledge or climbed the live oak tree outside the Hall-Barnett House or clambered across the glass roof at the Lady Goodwood Inn.

  Minutes ticked by slowly as Theodosia sat in the darkness, wondering who, if anyone, might show up.

  A few moments ago, there had been knocking at the front door. Small, tentative knocks at first that had escalated into a couple of real whaps. Unhappy trick-ortreaters, no doubt, who’d been hoping for a handout of candy bars or popcorn balls.

  Now there was only silence.

  Theodosia put her hand to the old brass doorknob on the inside of the closet door, turned it slowly, heard the catch release. Slowly, she pushed the closet door open. An inch at first, then two inches. Now she could see the desk and the little puddle of light that lit the stamp and the stamp albums. Next to it was the office clutter that Drayton had arranged.

  Theodosia pushed the door open another two inches. Now she could see part of the window.

  Better, she thought as she rested her head against the back wall of the closet and slid a piece of remnant carpet underneath her so the sagging old hickory floor wouldn’t be quite so hard. Earl Grey, trying to get comfortable himself, had pushed away from her and snuggled himself into the far corner of the closet. Now the dog was curled up in a ball, nose to tail, behind an old leather foot stool that had been shoved in the closet.

  Theodosia had sat with her eyes closed for the better part of forty minutes when she heard a faint sound. She watched as the tips of Earl Grey’s ears lifted slightly, then relaxed again.

  Must be nothing, she told herself.

  Scrtch scrtch.

  There it was again. A faint scratching.

  What is it? She strained to hear. Dry leaves sliding across patio bricks? Kids running down the back alley, their witches capes and superhero costumes rustling in the wind?

  Probably.

  And yet... there it was again. Not really footsteps. But... something.

  Theodosia glanced over at Earl Grey. Now the top of his nose was visible above the foot stool. She held her hand out toward him, palm forward. The hand signal that told him to stay. She could see one of his shiny brown eyes watching her intently.

  Then she heard it. A small creak. The outside shutter on the window being moved just so? Moved by the wind? She thought not.

  Fear suddenly gripped her heart and she had to remind herself that the window was locked. If someone intended to break in, they’d have to break the glass. And if that happened, she’d hit 911 on her cell phone.

  Now a different sound. Faint, almost imperceptible.

  The window in Drayton’s office slid up with a low groan.

  Ohmygod. Someone must have inserted some kind of tool in the lock and popped it. Probably the same kind of flexible metal bar that police use when you lock your keys in your car!

  She hadn’t counted on this. Now, any movement in the closet, any dialing of 911, would be immediately detected.

  Theodosia held her breath. This was not good, she decided. Not good at all.

  She leaned forward slowly, peering through the darkness at the window.

  A leg eased itself slowly over the sill and down toward the floor. A leg encased in black lycra. Wearing a shoe of soft brown leather. The kind of shoe that looked very sporty, but could also be worn for rock climbing.

  In that instant, Theodosia suddenly understood the identity of the mysterious cat burglar.

  It wasn’t Cooper Hobcaw, who’d roused her suspicions with his late-night runs through the historic district. And it sure as heck wasn’t the waiter, Graham Carmody.

  The realization of who had caused Captain Buchanan’s death, who had stolen the Blue Kashmir necklace at the Heritage Society, who had been an intruder in her house last night, caused her to inhale sharply. And in that instant, she felt a subtle change in the room.

  With a sickening realization, Theodosia knew her cover was blown. Frantically, she grappled for her cell phone, punched the numbers for the Heritage Society, frantically flailed to hit the send button. But even as her fingers finally found the button, the closet door was jerked open.

  Aerin Linley, eyes hard as ice, peered into the darkness.

  Theodosia raised a hand, palm out. Her signal to Earl Grey to stay put, to remain exactly where he was.

  Aerin Linley took it as a gesture of surrender and smiled.

  Reaching in, she snatched Theodosia’s cell phone from her and threw it to the floor. The little black Star Tac smashed into a dozen pieces.

  Theodosia stared up into a grim, determined face. Aerin Linley, she thought. The trusted associate of Brooke Carter Crockett at Heart’s Desire. The same woman who’d carefully planted nasty innuendoes against Claire Kitridge. Aerin Linley, who had once made mention of secret drawers and panels in the old homes of Savannah. Aerin Linley, who would have known all the details about the Buchanan family’s heirloom ring!

  “Get up,” Aerin snarled at Theodosia. Her eyes blazed with a slightly deranged look.

  Theodosia rose to her feet. And as she did, a glint of light caught her eye. Aerin Linley had grabbed the letter opener from Drayton’s desk and now clutched it menacingly in her hand. Honed from silver, the metal instrument looked extremely sharp.

  Can it inflict a serious wound? Theodosia wondered. Of course it can. No doubt about it.

  “Did you think I was so stupid?” Aerin hissed. “I could smell your pathetic trap a mile away.”

  Even as Aerin jabbed the letter opener toward Theodosia’s throat, she pawed frantically with her other hand, trying to gather up the stamps that lay scattered atop Dray-ton’s desk.

  “You goody goody,” Aerin sneered at Theodosia. “With your proper little friends and your proper little tea shop.” She stuffed the Z grill stamp into the pocket of her black fleece vest, then her hand went back and swooped up the pile of first-day covers. “You really thought you were investigating, didn’t you? Hah,” she barked sharply. “Little Miss Detective. Looks like the joke’s on you.”

  Theodosia stared at her evenly, praying that Earl Grey would continue to obey her command and remain in the closet. In the distance she could hear the shrill of a police siren. Her call had gone through. Drayton had known it was her and immediately phoned the police. Thank goodness.

  Aerin saw Theodosia register the sound of the siren and sneered at her. “You think that police car will get here in time? I thi
nk not. No one’s come close to me yet, no one ever will. I’ll be out of here and out of this town so fast it’ll make your head swim. And you’ll look like a fool.” She gave Theodosia the flat, slow-eyed blink of a reptile. A snake about to swallow its prey.

  “You were on the roof of the Lady Goodwood Inn...” stuttered Theodosia.

  “Piece of cake,” Aerin sneered at her. “I grew up scaling rocks in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Only gear I needed for that job was an aluminum descender.”

  Theodosia suddenly recalled the metal ring she’d seen hanging from the strut of the Garden Room’s roof. Aerin must have employed the same gear that sport rappellers and police and fire rescue units used.

  “Pity the roof gave way,” said Aerin in a cold, offhand manner. “And trapped that poor fellow underneath.” She shrugged. “You never can tell about those old structures.”

  “I have to know,” said Theodosia. That’s it, keep her talking. “Did you snatch Delaine’s watch and plant it in Claire’s desk?”

  “Oh please,” snapped Aerin, “that was child’s play. Delaine’s house is a cat burglar’s dream and the Heritage Society kindly invited me in on a jewelry appraisal. Convenient, no?” Smug and cold, Aerin’s grin was hideous.

  She turned suddenly and ripped five rows of plastic-encased stamps from Drayton’s album. Still keeping an eye on Theodosia, Aerin backed slowly across the room until her hips connected with the window ledge. Then she sat down and swung one leg over the ledge with ease.

  “I’d really love to stay and gab,” she said. “But I’ve got far better things to do. My car’s just down the block and the trunk’s filled with loot . . . including that antique ring you’ve been so hot and bothered about.”

  Theodosia waited until Aerin had completely swung around and was about to drop to the ground.

  “Earl Grey, attack!” she yelled at the top of her lungs.

  Earl Grey came hurtling out of the closet like a silver streak. He rocketed across the room, his front paws barely skimming the windowsill as he sailed through the window frame. As Aerin Linley dropped to her feet, Earl Grey smashed into the back of her like a freight train. Eighty pounds of well-muscled canine heeding the command of his beloved mistress.

  Aerin Linley screamed sharply even as she went down like a rock. The letter opener flew from her hand and made a dull clink on one of the patio stones.

  As Theodosia ran toward the window, her hand instinctively reached out and grabbed the bottle of superglue from Drayton’s desk. Then she had one foot on the window ledge and was clambering out herself.

  On the ground below, Aerin was struggling mightily with Earl Grey, batting at him furiously, her hands balled into fists.

  “Get off, you horrible mutt!” she screamed. “Get off!”

  Theodosia dropped to the ground, stumbled forward, felt the sting of gravel cut into her palms and knees. She rolled, scooped up the letter opener that lay gleaming on the patio stones, found the bottle of superglue that she’d dropped, and scrambled over to the struggling mass of dog and woman. Now she pointed her finger at Aerin’s neck.

  “Hold tight!” she commanded the dog.

  Earl Grey promptly clamped his wide jaws around Aerin Linley’s neck. He didn’t sink his teeth into her flesh, but he held her very, very firmly, just as Theodosia had commanded.

  “Get this mangy creature off me!” Aerin Linley was screaming and carrying on like a banshee. Her face was beet red, her words a garbled cry. Her heels beat furiously against the pavement as her body squirmed and thrashed, struggling to throw the dog off.

  Popping the top off the tube of superglue, Theodosia aimed the tip at Aerin’s hair. She squeezed, watched as a huge dollop of clear glue came squirting out.

  Aerin’s eyes rolled wildly. “What are you doing, you idiot!” she cried as she continued to battle. “You’ll be sorry you . . .” Aerin Linley’s head suddenly stopped straining from side to side.

  “My hair!” she screamed. “What’s wrong with my hair!”

  “Ease off,” Theodosia commanded Earl Grey.

  Panting heavily, pink tongue lolling out the side of his mouth, Earl Grey gazed at Theodosia, hungry for approval.

  She reached down, patted him on the head. “Good dog. Verrry good dog.”

  “What’d you do?” wailed Aerin Linley. “I can’t move my head! Help me, oh please, you’ve got to help me!”

  The whoop whoop of the police siren was much closer now. It sounded a block away. Now it was directly in front of Drayton’s house.

  “Help!” Theodosia yelled. She ran to the side fence, boosted herself up as best she could, and waved frantically, trying to capture their attention. “We’re in back!” she hollered. “Come quickly!”

  Chapter 25

  “Any injuries?” detective Burt Tidwell cocked an eye at the paramedic in his navy jumpsuit.

  The paramedic, whose name tag read BENTLEY, shook his head, but the corners of his mouth kept twitching upward. It was obvious he was trying to remain professional. In other words, not burst out laughing completely.

  “Slight puncture wounds,” responded Bentley. “Nothing that requires any serious medical treatment, even though your perp is complaining bitterly about what she refers to as dog bites.”

  “The woman does seem quite unhinged,” offered Dray-ton. He had arrived home just minutes after the police cruiser arrived.

  The police, at Theodosia’s urging, had contacted Detective Tidwell. And Drayton, of course, had immediately phoned Haley, who’d been trying to call Theodosia at home and was frantic to know what was going on. Not one to miss out on excitement, she immediately came dashing over.

  Now they were all gathered in a conversational knot on the front walk of Drayton’s house, a few steps from where Burt Tidwell’s burgundy-colored Crown Victoria was parked at the curb.

  “You say she’s unhinged,” said Tidwell to Drayton. “What a quaint assessment. So very Dr. Watson.”

  “Hey,” piped up Haley as she stroked Earl Grey’s head. “Drayton is Dr. Watson. To Theodosia’s Sherlock, that is. Haven’t you figured that out by now?”

  Tidwell smiled tolerantly.

  “Your suspect’s hair condition is what’s really causing the problem,” continued the paramedic, Bentley. His eyes sought out Theodosia’s. “I don’t know what you squirted on her, lady, but it sure as heck is permanent. My partner and the other two officers are still trying to cut her off the pavement.”

  Drayton’s eyes widened. “Cut her?”

  “Well, her hair, anyway,” explained Bentley as he packed a roll of gauze and bottle of antiseptic back into his bag. “Looks like she’s gonna get a whole new look. Kind of patchy and choppy. That glue or whatever it was is pretty mean stuff.”

  This time Drayton threw back his head and howled. “Don’t tell me you superglued Aerin Linley’s hair to my patio!” he exclaimed.

  “How else could I subdue her?” said Theodosia. “She was thrashing around like a crazy woman. I certainly didn’t want to see Earl Grey get hurt.”

  “God forbid,” said Tidwell as he rolled his eyes skyward. “And pray tell, while we’re on the subject, why exactly did you stage this elaborate little charade without benefit of any backup?”

  Theodosia threw him a look that was pure innocence. “But I did have backup, Detective Tidwell. I had you. I always have you.”

  “What she means is it’s comforting to know we can always count on our law enforcement professionals,” said Drayton, jumping into the fray and trying to derail Tidwell’s anger. “Thank you so very much, Detective Tidwell.”

  Tidwell shook his head in bewilderment and gazed down at Earl Grey, who was sitting on his haunches and yawning contently, looking as though he’d just been through a typical, uneventful doggy evening. “I’m afraid the mayor doesn’t award certificates of appreciation to canines,” said Tidwell. “At least he hasn’t up until now. We’ll have to find some other way to honor the crime-fighting Earl Grey.”

 
; “How about a free cup of Earl Grey tea to all our customers this week,” piped up Haley. “And we can put up his photo. With a big thank-you banner.”

  “The dog that helped catch a cat burglar,” said Tidwell, and even he couldn’t resist a snicker.

  “I’ve got a better idea,” said Theodosia. “Let’s all go in and have a cup of Earl Grey right now, instead of standing around shivering in the dark.”

  “When you put it that way,” said Tidwell, “it sounds very inviting. The night is rather chilly.”

  “Tea does sound nice,” said the paramedic, Bentley.

  “You have Earl Grey in the house, don’t you?” Theodosia asked Drayton. “The tea, I mean, not the dog.”

  “Of course,” said Drayton as he started for the door. “And some nice molasses spice cookies, too.” He glanced over at Bentley. “Does your partner drink tea?”

  “I guess so,” said Bentley. “And we were due to go on break,” he said, suddenly showing genuine enthusiasm.

  “By all means invite him in then,” said Drayton. “The other officers, too.”

  “Hey, aren’t they still working on Aerin?” asked Haley.

  “She’s not going anywhere for a while,” said Theodosia with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

  “That’s right,” chuckled Tidwell. “Let her wait. Let her wait.”

  Recipes From

  The Indigo Tea Shop

  Chicken Perloo

  1 tsp. olive oil

  4–5 pieces of chicken, skin removed

  2 slices bacon (cut in 1/4” pieces) or 2 oz. diced salt pork

  1 large onion, sliced

  1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

  1 cup long-grain white rice

  1 can chicken broth (1 3/4 cups)

  1/4 tsp. salt

  1/4 tsp. pepper

  2 Tbsp. minced parsley

  Heat oil over medium-high heat using nonstick 12inch fry pan. Add chicken and cook about 8 minutes or until golden, turning over once. Transfer chicken to plate. Reduce heat to medium and add bacon or salt pork, cooking for 4 minutes until browned. Remove bacon or salt pork with slotted spoon to small bowl. Discard all but 2 tsp. bacon fat from skillet.