by Joy Avon
Callie shrugged. “I don’t know. Mrs. Forrester never told us. Besides, Iphy wouldn’t lie her way in here to take a vase that doesn’t belong to her.”
“She must have told herself she would be returning it later.”
Callie shook her head in disbelief. But Ace caught her arm. His eyes were insistent, pleading. “Strong told me that once upon a time he loved Iphy, and he believed she loved him. People do the oddest things for love. What do you know about the vase, Callie?”
“Nothing. Mrs. Forrester didn’t mention a brand or how old it was, what it looked like. I can’t point out where it should be either, to check if it’s still there. Sorry.”
Ace let go of her and took a deep breath. Then he said, “Check all the rooms to see if she’s there. If not …”
They each ran in a direction, throwing open doors and looking in. Callie’s heart was thumping. She wanted to find Iphy, no matter what. But she didn’t see anyone.
Ace came up to her, defeat in his features. “She’s not here. What now?”
“What did she tell you about this meeting she wanted to set up with Delacorte? Aside from the vase?”
Ace lifted both hands in a helpless gesture. “I told you I wasn’t really listening. I had told her I was not okay with it, and it just annoyed me how she kept going on about it.”
Callie stood in front of him, holding his gaze. “Try to recall something—anything. Please.”
Ace closed his eyes a moment, as if to focus completely on recalling those moments in the sunny street with Iphy beside him, explaining her plan. He shook his head with an irritated sigh. “She only mentioned the vase and some quiet spot for the meeting.”
“Quiet spot? Around here?”
Ace thought again. “Yes, I think so. She said something about the vase being precious and her not wanting it to leave the grounds.”
Callie sucked in air. “Not leave the grounds? Then Iphy must be on the grounds belonging to Haywood Hall. We’ll find her outside.”
She ran off, Ace following her. As they raced down the stairs, he asked, “Do you think she called Delacorte for a meeting? Did she have his phone number?”
Callie nodded. “He gave me a card with his contact information. She could have taken it out of my purse.”
Ace looked grim. “I should have known about all of this. Then I …” They were in the hallway and ran out the front door, closing it behind them. They looked outside, around the house, peeking into windows and the conservatory. But they didn’t spot a sign of life.
Callie stood, gasping for breath.
Ace looked about him. “Maybe away from the house?”
Callie jerked upright. “That’s it! The old stables. They’re no longer in use—they just sit empty. They’re large and—”
Ace cut her off with a brisk movement and gestured for her to come along. His hand was on his weapon, but he didn’t draw it yet.
Callie followed him, with the blood pounding in her ears. What had Iphy gotten herself into?
At the stables, Callie showed Ace the narrow side door. The padlock on it was open. Ace nodded at it, and Callie nodded in return to acknowledge she had seen it and understood what it meant. They could no longer speak now because of the risk of being overheard. Someone was inside.
Ace pushed the door open slowly. It didn’t creak. Inside it was dim. Callie had to blink a few moments before she started to discern things. The old stalls for the horses, some gear against the walls, and there in the center … Iphy, with a vase cradled in her arms. Delacorte standing opposite her.
Callie froze and stared at her great-aunt, so brave and so foolish. Her first impulse was to call out to her so that Delacorte would know they were not alone and wouldn’t do anything sudden. Assuming he had something to hide. But she kept quiet, listening to him speak. “Why offer the vase to me?” he said. “My boss was the one taking things where he could get them. I wanted no part in his actions.”
“I know.” Iphy sounded kind and compassionate. “I know everything. Your father first lost his job, his career, all he had built, and then also his life. Because of this wicked man who preyed on people. You went to work for him to confront him somehow, maybe get money back? I don’t know what you intended, but I’m sure it wasn’t murder. You killed him on impulse, maybe even self-defense. We can help you with the court case. I want to help you because I understand how you must have felt. Maybe he taunted you, said it didn’t matter?”
Delacorte stood motionless, watching her. “I didn’t harm him.”
For a moment, Callie felt some tension slip away from her. Of course Delacorte wasn’t the killer. Iphy had just pieced some information together and jumped to a conclusion. Delacorte would convince her it hadn’t been him, and then, aside from some embarrassment over the rash accusation, no harm would have been done.
“It must have been you,” Iphy said. “You overheard Mr. King’s argument with Sean Strong. Mr. King laughed about the agony of his victims and even called Mr. Strong’s mother an old carcass. Your anger about the injustice done to your father flared again, and you couldn’t walk away. After Mr. Strong left the room, you confronted King. Then it happened.”
Iphy took a deep breath. “All I want is for you to admit you killed him. We’ll hire the best lawyers to help you with your defense. Sean can testify what King did to his mother and how terribly he spoke about her. A jury will understand you acted in a moment of great emotional distress. Please don’t let an old man go to prison for what you did. Sean’s like your father. Think of him.”
“He is nothing like my father.” Delacorte sounded half amused. “Dear lady, you misunderstand completely.” He stepped closer to her. “My father was fired from the law firm where he worked because he had done favors for clients. He liked fast money, you know. One of the clients was our Mr. King. I realized that he could be important to me. So I left college and started to work for him. Or should I say, he started to work for me?”
Iphy stared at Delacorte, her mouth half open.
Delacorte said, “You see, like my father, I love money. And King had connections he could use. He also never had scruples, so it wasn’t hard to convince him to help me get my hands on pieces like that.” He nodded at the vase.
Iphy said, “You asked for this?”
“Through him, yes. Via my father’s network, I got in touch with people who deal in antiques. Do you know how much money collectors are prepared to pay for certain pieces? They don’t ask where they come from either.”
Callie stood motionless. The black market for antiquities and art. Of course.
Delacorte said, “The only problem was that King had been a bad little crook in the past. You know, swindling women for money. Small fries. He still couldn’t stop conning people. Offering too little money for the books, grinning to himself like he was so smart. I told him to stop doing it, to focus on our big antiques scores. But no, he wouldn’t listen. He also took on the TV engagement without consulting me first. I could have told him that it wasn’t smart to have your face plastered across TV screens nationwide. But he was so vain he just couldn’t say no. And as he was the front man of my operation, I couldn’t just ditch him either. I just had to keep my fingers crossed that if trouble came our way, I could solve it, buy off the claimants or something. But here at the event, it wasn’t a little old lady with a sad story. It was a well-known baritone who was angry enough to cause us serious trouble. I overheard part of the conversation all right. I realized where we were at. Everything we had worked for was at stake. If King came under investigation, it could also endanger me and my connections. They aren’t the kind of people who appreciate police scrutiny, you understand? Yes, I think you do, but King didn’t. When I confronted him, after that baritone had stormed off in a rage, King laughed it off, and he even mentioned to me some Paula who had left a card in a book for him, inviting him to her hotel room. He said he would go too. Because she was quite a dish—excuse the language—and because he thought he could get
money out of her to keep their fling a secret. I couldn’t believe he dared to …” Delacorte’s voice was husky with anger. “I could no longer allow him to jeopardize it all with his messy little cons on the side.”
“But with his death, your scheme has ended,” Iphy protested.
“On the contrary. I have the connections, and people know me as that shy little assistant. Don’t you think I could have gotten into people’s houses and into their collections? I already thought up a new plan to profit from it. A smart plan. Too bad it now seems to have gone awry.”
He looked Iphy over. “You may understand that I’m not going to sign any kind of confession and throw myself at the mercy of a jury. I’m leaving. But not alone.”
Fast like lightning, he grabbed Iphy and pressed her against a support beam. He produced a rope and began to tie her hands. “You will be a nice bargaining chip should the police come after me before I can cross the state line and get on a plane to Europe.”
Callie looked at Ace. He glanced back at her and shook his head to indicate he wasn’t going to interfere now.
Callie agreed that it was better to wait until Delacorte tried to move her bundled-up great-aunt out of the stables to his car. Where would it be parked?
Iphy cried out in pain as the rope was pulled tight around her wrists.
Delacorte said, “I’ll leave you in the trunk of the car when I park it in the airport parking lot. If you’re lucky, you can make so much noise someone walking past will notice and free you. If not …” He clucked his tongue. “They do say curiosity kills old biddies, don’t they?”
Callie would have liked to run over and smack him, but she couldn’t be sure he wasn’t armed. He was so close to Iphy he could easily harm her as soon as he noticed they weren’t alone. If only out of spite that his escape plan was ruined.
Ace had drawn his gun but seemed hesitant to take aim and call out. Callie realized that, on hearing a voice, Delacorte could use Iphy as a human shield. Her heart beat so fast she could barely draw breath.
Delacorte knelt down quickly to put a rope around Iphy’s ankles. Iphy was still holding the vase in her arms, clutched against her. She looked down at him and in a flash she lifted her arms and smashed the vase down on Delacorte’s head. It broke in an explosion of shattering bits.
Delacorte made a gasping sound and then sagged to the floor.
Ace ran up to Iphy and asked in a rush, “Are you okay?” while he also leaned down over Delacorte to pull his limp arms behind his back and handcuff him.
Iphy looked at Ace with wide eyes. “Deputy!”
She stared a moment, her mouth half open and then said, “Oh, if I had known you were here and could arrest him, I needn’t have—that precious vase! What will Mrs. Finster say?”
Chapter Twenty
They sat around the table in Haywood Hall’s dining room, with sandwiches and hot tea. Iphy had apologized a thousand times for breaking the vase, but Dorothea said it didn’t matter as long as the murder was solved and the real killer caught and brought to justice. Mrs. Keats produced salve to rub on the rope burn on Iphy’s wrists, and Callie hovered over her, bringing water and scolding her for taking ten years off Callie’s life with her actions. “Don’t you ever do something like that again.”
Ace left with Delacorte, to lock him up and file charges against him. Callie was surprised he hadn’t lectured her great-aunt about her behavior, but maybe that was still to come? First things first, right?
Suddenly the doorbell rang, and Mrs. Keats stood to open the door.
Dorothea said she had no idea who might call at this hour, but then there was a bustle already, and Sean Strong walked in. He came straight for Iphy and said, “What have you done? The deputy told me you single-handedly apprehended King’s killer to ensure I was released.”
He looked down on her and shook his head. “You shouldn’t have done that.”
Callie cringed as she imagined Strong going on to explain that he really didn’t have any feelings for Iphy that warranted such action.
But surely he wouldn’t say so in the presence of others?
Strong didn’t say anything. He just leaned over and kissed Iphy full on the lips.
Her befuddled great-aunt sat blushing and then said, “What was that for?”
“That’s what I should have done when I walked through the door the other day.” Strong smiled at her. “You’re coming to Vienna with me. No—no excuses. I want to show you that great city. You need some time away. There are too many murders here.”
Callie was certain her great-aunt would say no, as she had Book Tea to consider, but to her surprise, Iphy rose to her feet and threw her arms around Strong. She hugged him and said against his shoulder, “I would love that! When are we leaving?”
“Tomorrow, first thing.” Strong patted her head. “I’m going to spoil you. The best dinners, a show of the white horses. The Ferris wheel.”
It was odd to see her great-aunt in the arms of a man like that, but somehow it was also right. Callie couldn’t help smiling. Iphy looked so happy and in place.
“You better get packing,” Strong said, “I know how much stuff you think you need to take with you.”
Iphy let go of him and said, “Not so fast, Sean Strong. We are going to dinner right now to celebrate your release.” She turned to Callie. “I’m sure you will run Book Tea very well while I’m away, Callie. I’m so happy I can now leave it in capable hands.”
“How long will you be gone?” Callie asked, overtaken by the whole situation.
“Three weeks,” Iphy said, while Strong said, “Three months.” They looked at each other and burst out laughing. They hugged again, kissed, and then ran off, hand in hand.
Past Ace, who stood in the doorway. Callie saw a hint of amusement in his eyes but also something sad. He looked at her and gestured for her to come over.
Leaving the others in the dining room, Callie walked out to stand in the hallway. Iphy and Strong were gone already. Outside a car engine started.
Ace said, “She took an awful chance there, but it seems she got rewarded for it. Strong told me when I released him that he once asked Iphy to come with him and share his traveling life, but she said no because of her ties to Heart’s Harbor, Book Tea, everything she loves about this place. He believed that she’d made the right decision, for her, and didn’t want to contact her again, even though, through the years, he thought of her every now and then. Now, as Mr. King had lured him to Heart’s Harbor, he felt like it was somehow meant to be.”
Before Callie could speak, Ace continued, “I won’t say anything about her behavior this afternoon to you, because I know you didn’t know about it and didn’t agree with it either. I know you’d never allow her to put herself in danger, and I saw firsthand, when we were looking for her, how afraid for her you were.”
He took a deep breath. “Just because you felt that way, you must now understand how I feel about you. Your involvement in all of these cases.” He shook his head. “I can ask you to promise to stop sleuthing after today, but you won’t. You can’t—you’re too kindhearted and perhaps also just too determined once your mind is made up about something. You also have Book Tea now to take care of all alone, and Peggy’s gone too.”
He looked away. “You may be right that it’s good for her to have a job away from town. I don’t always approve of her choices, but I do realize I have to let her be. Maybe it’s best that I’m not watching her too closely. I’ll just trust in her own ability to make the right choices, for her future and the boys. We all need a bit of space, I guess.”
He leaned back. “People have been talking about me becoming sheriff and all, now that our old sheriff isn’t doing well. They say I did a great job replacing him, but it’s all going too fast for me. I’m fine with working as a deputy here, but becoming sheriff—so soon? I don’t know if I really want that. I might just ask to be placed at another office for a bit. Have time away from Heart’s Harbor, see new places, different way
s of handling things. Just so I can make up my mind about it all.”
Callie looked him over. She felt sorry for the tiredness in his features. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.” He smiled sadly as he reached out his hand and cupped her cheek. “I can’t go on like it’s been the past few weeks. There’s too much going on right now, and it’s influencing my judgment. I can’t see straight. I need time away, to think about my job here in Heart’s Harbor and about us. How our relationship can work when you challenge me about my cases, and—well, you were right again. I had the wrong suspect locked up.”
“It’s not a competition,” Callie said quickly, but Ace stopped her with a hand gesture. “That’s not what I mean.”
He frowned as if looking for the right words. “I arrested Strong based on evidence, so I don’t regret that choice. But Iphy showing up to plead for him rubbed me the wrong way. Not just because it was a civilian butting in on a case, but because of you. I wanted to know whose side you were on really, Iphy’s or mine, and I started to make decisions based on emotion.”
Ace swallowed hard. “Because I didn’t listen to her carefully, Iphy could have been killed. You would never have forgiven me. I would never have forgiven myself. I feel like I can’t be a good deputy this way, or a good partner for you. I have to think things over, figure out how I can make all of this work.”
Callie’s heart ached for him. “I do respect your judgment and your expertise on the cases. But Iphy is my closest family here and—”
“Shh.” Ace caressed her cheek. “I understand. And because I understand, I have to do this. I have to go away, take time to think it over and make sure where I am at before I …” He looked into her eyes, searching, it seemed. “I had planned for Valentine’s Day to be completely different.”
Callie’s heart skipped a beat, thinking he might have had a special date in mind, with a special present. Would she ever find out what it was?