by Sara Rosett
Alex and I entered the suite of rooms that contained the estate offices of Parkview. The door to Beatrice’s private office was open, but the lights were off.
Carl, his salt-and-pepper head bent over his desk with its usual avalanche of paper, looked up. Noticing my glance at Beatrice’s office, he said, “Beatrice is still out.”
“That’s okay. I’m here to see Ella,” I said, then added, “Good to see you back at work.”
“Looks like you had plenty of ‘get well’ wishes.” Alex gestured to several flower arrangements and potted plants that lined the edge of his desk, enclosing the piles of papers and binders.
He said, “I had no idea so many people cared.”
“I’m not surprised.” I noted that most of the names on the cards were female.
“How’s Cart Cottage? Everything all right?” Carl asked.
“Yes, it’s perfect,” I said. “Thanks for the new flowers, by the way. They’re gorgeous.” Each day, a cleaner arrived at the cottage to tidy up. The flower arrangement in the kitchen had been changed out as well. Today we had an arrangement of peach roses, pink foxgloves, and peonies.
“You’re welcome. We usually have a few kinks to work out with the first booking. I’m glad it’s comfortable for you. Let me know if you need anything.”
“We will,” Alex said as we moved to Ella’s desk at the back of the room. Malcolm’s desk was empty, and I was glad that the back half of the room wasn’t filled with people. Sylvia was seated in the chair beside Ella’s desk. She wore a black turtleneck, jeans, and calf-high boots. Her golden brown hair fell in loose waves across her shoulders. Ella said hello to us, then said, “And you remember Sylvia?”
“Yes,” I said. “In fact, we hoped we could ask you a few questions.”
“Um—sure.”
“How about some tea?” Ella asked. Before anyone could reply, she said, “I’ll make a pot. Won’t take a moment.” She dragged another chair over for Alex, then waved me into her swivel chair before she moved to the alcove with the sink, small refrigerator, and hotplate.
I sat down in Ella’s chair and looked at Alex, mentally telegraphing that I’d done all the talking last time. It was his turn.
“Again, I’m sorry about being late for the ceremony,” Sylvia said.
“We’re not worried about that,” Alex said. “We wanted to talk to you about Nick.”
The expression on her pretty face changed immediately. Some of the vivacity went out of it. “It’s dreadful. I can’t quite believe it, actually. We’d talked only a few hours before…it happened.”
“You knew him well?” Alex asked, his voice gentle, but she stiffened.
“A little,” she said.
Her guard was up. I recognized the signs—the sudden wariness in her gaze and the way she looked around for Ella.
Alex swiveled his chair toward me, and I knew he wanted me to join in the conversation. My family was involved. I had the most compelling argument to ask for her help, so I said, “I know it sounds strange for us to ask about him, but the police are investigating everyone who was here at Parkview late that night, which includes my parents. Alex and I are supposed to leave on our honeymoon soon, but if things are still up in the air about Nick…well, I don’t think we’ll be able to go. We’re trying to find out anything we can that could wrap up the case. If you could tell us about Nick, that could be helpful. You knew him, right? He was a friend?”
“It was a long time ago. I don’t know anything about him now,” she said.
“You…dated?” I hazarded a guess.
She frowned. “How did you know that?”
I showed her the picture on my phone of the two of them. “It’s one of the wedding photos. It’s obvious that you hadn’t just met.”
She took my phone and stared at it a moment.
Alex said, “If you know anything about his past, that could help.”
She returned the phone to me. “I met him about three years ago. I went out to California, sure I could ‘make it.’ Movies were my dream. I wanted to be the next Meryl Streep.” She laughed. “Cliché, I know, but it’s what I thought.”
With her looks, I supposed if she’d gotten a break, she would have gone far.
“I met Nick at a party one night,” she said. “We dated for a while. Maybe six weeks, then I ran out of money and decided it wasn’t going to happen for me—at least not in Hollywood. I came home and got a job.” She tapped the sheet music in her lap. “I still audition for parts, but teaching music and playing at weddings is how I pay the bills. That’s all I can tell you. Nick and I had a good time, but it was over when I came back here. We didn’t attempt a long-distance relationship. We had both moved on, I think.”
She straightened the sheet music. “Anyway, I hadn’t heard from him or been in touch with him at all since then. I was so surprised to see him at my table at the reception. He was as astonished as I was.”
“What did you talk about?” Alex asked.
“We caught up.” Her arched brows drew together in another frown. “But now that I think about it, he asked me loads of questions about my life, but whenever I asked him about what he was doing now, he was vague. He said he still lived in California and that he was in England checking out an investment opportunity.”
I wanted to roll my eyes, but I managed to keep a straight face. Did Nick ever tell anyone the truth?
Alex asked, “What did he say about that business opportunity? Did he mention what it was? Or where he went to check it out?”
“No…” She was still frowning. “But there was something about the way he said it…almost like it was an inside joke.”
“Did you see if he talked to anyone else at the reception? Did he seek anyone out?” Alex asked.
“Not really. We talked a little with some of the other people at the table, but not much. We spent most of the time catching up. He excused himself once and was gone for quite a while. I thought he’d probably gone to talk to someone else he knew. When he finally came back, I saw Malcolm hurry across the room to him. They spoke, but I didn’t hear what they said.”
“Did they argue?” I asked.
“No. It was a short exchange. Just a few sentences, I guess. Then Nick came back to the table, and we went on talking about what we were doing now—where we lived, that sort of thing. At the end of the evening, we talked about getting together again. We even exchanged phone numbers in the car park after he walked me to my car. It’s all so sad to think what happened later.”
“So he left at the same time you did?” I asked.
“Yes. He said he was going back to the village. When I think about driving away with him standing there…it gives me the shivers to think what happened later that night.” She cleared her throat then shoved the sheet music in a leather carrying case. “I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful.” She zipped the case shut with a motion of finality as Ella returned with our tea. Sylvia stood. “I can’t stay, Ella, I have another appointment.” She turned to me. “I hope everything works out for you.” She moved through the desks to the door, giving Carl a wave on her way out.
I gathered up a stack of papers from Ella’s desktop so she could set down the tray with the tea, flipping closed the file folder that was on top. It had a neon pink sticker and the words “Flower Arrangement Examples” written on it. Even though I preferred coffee to tea, I had a cup of tea with Ella before we left.
When we left the estate office, I said to Alex, “I’d better check on my mom. See how she’s doing—her migraine, you know.”
“Sure. You seemed preoccupied back there,” Alex said.
“I was, at the end.” I described the folder that had been on top of Ella’s desk. “I saw her frowning over the same folder before the wedding. I asked her about it then, and she glanced at Malcolm. It made me wonder…” My pace slowed as we moved down the long hallway toward the main block of the house.
“What?”
“The way Ella looked at him—it was odd. She looked…alm
ost afraid, but then the moment was over, and I forgot about it until now. That folder didn’t have examples of flower arrangements in it. It was open on her desk. I noticed it while we were talking to Sylvia. It was a spreadsheet, like the one Malcolm gave us with a breakdown of the wedding expenses. Ella handles publicity. Why would she be looking over a wedding expense spreadsheet?”
“Maybe they’re shorthanded, and she’s helping Malcolm.”
“That could be, but it doesn’t explain why she looked scared or why she locked it away in a drawer the first time I saw it.”
CHAPTER 16
“Excuse me,” a voice said, and Alex and I both jumped. We were crossing the black-and-white marble floor of the entry hall to the staircase. I’d been so lost in my thoughts that I hadn’t realized anyone else was near us. I looked around. I didn’t see anyone, but then footsteps sounded, and a figure in a sweater vest emerged from the dim recess under the stairs. “Mr. and Mrs. Norcutt,” Malcolm said, “I have three last-minute wedding gifts that have arrived here at Parkview since the wedding. Where should we deliver them?”
“You can send them to Ivy Cottage,” Alex said while I wondered if Malcolm had overheard us. The high ceiling of the entry hall had a way of taking sounds, tossing them around, and creating interesting echoes.
“Very good,” Malcolm said.
“Or we can take them with us now,” I said.
“That’s not necessary. We will see to the gift delivery.”
I resisted the urge to ask if it was included in the Parkview event contract and said instead, “Oh, by the way, what did you and Nick talk about at the wedding reception?”
“Nick?” he asked.
“Someone said that you spoke to Nick Davis.” I looked more closely at him. Was he blushing? I wished we were in a brighter area of the entry hall where I could see him better. He normally had a pasty complexion, and I’d never seen him with rosy cheeks.
“Oh, yes. The young man…who… the unfortunate young man.” Malcolm drew in a deep breath. “He was upset with the parking arrangements. His car was blocked in. I told him he’d have to take it up with the groundskeepers when the event was over.”
“So he wanted to leave early?” Alex asked.
Malcolm swallowed, took another deep breath, then said in a tone that indicated he had no interest in either Alex’s questions or what Nick had done, “I have no idea. Excuse me.” He walked across the hall, his posture upright and correct every step of the way.
“Yep, he certainly missed his calling. He’s the embodiment of a snooty butler,” I whispered as we climbed the steps to visit my mom in her room.
Alex and I were about halfway up the stairs when we heard a crash from below. We glanced at each other. Several banging sounds filled the air along with a groan. We turned and trotted back down the stairs and across the entry hall. The noise had come from the west wing. As soon as we entered the long corridor, we saw someone lying on the ground. A massive tapestry that had hung on the wall was now on the ground, partially covering the person.
Alex lifted the metal rod that the heavy tapestry hung from, pulling the woven fabric up and revealing Malcolm writhing on the floor, moaning. Alex angled the rod and heavy cloth out of the way. The metal pole clattered against the floor, an echo of the sound that we’d heard from the stairs.
I knelt beside Malcolm. His hands were over his abdomen, and between groans, he muttered, “Shiny…blue…why so many—” And then he clutched his midsection more tightly and gasped.
Alex and I exchanged an incredulous look. Formal, stuffy Malcolm muttering gibberish while writhing on the floor? Unthinkable. I knew he wouldn’t want anyone to see him like this. I reached out a hand. “Malcolm?” He gripped it tightly, but couldn’t seem to form any more words.
“We’ll get help,” I said and looked up at Alex.
He had his phone out and was dialing, but said, “The estate office might be faster, if Ella’s still there. Are you okay to stay here with him?”
“Yes, go.” I waved him on with my free hand, and Alex sprinted down the corridor.
Malcolm groaned again then managed to utter a few words. I leaned closer. Had he said something about a man and hawks?
“Can I do anything, Malcolm? What can I do to help?”
He didn’t respond, and I wondered if I should loosen his tie. His face and hands were clammy, and beads of sweat had popped out along his high forehead. Fortunately, at that moment, Ella and Alex came running back. I could hear more pounding footfalls coming from the other direction, too. In seconds, my hand had been pried from Malcolm’s grip, and two people in Parkview’s navy blazers had taken over, checking Malcolm’s vital signs and murmuring reassuring things to him.
Alex and I got out of the way. It wasn’t long before an ambulance arrived, and Malcolm was strapped to a gurney. After a short consultation with Ella, the medical personnel decided it would be easiest to take Malcolm out Parkview’s main doors because they were the closest. The tall double doors were thrown open, and he was wheeled out, then carefully transported down one of the curved staircases. Alex and I watched from the entry hall as the ambulance pulled away, bumping over the gravel of the circular sweep in front of the house.
“What is all the commotion about?” asked a voice at my shoulder.
“Mom, what are you doing up? I thought you had a migraine.”
“I did.” She touched her temple, brushing back the shock of white hair. “Last night was awful, but I’m feeling much better now. I had a delightful lunch with Malcolm. I invited him to eat with me when I saw he was also dining alone. He’s not that bad once you get around that starchy personality.”
“The ambulance was for him,” I said.
Mom looked out the open front doors. The ambulance was still visible, its lights flashing against the tree trunks as it made its way down the drive. “No! What happened?”
“I don’t know. It was some sort of attack.” From the way Malcolm had clutched his stomach, I suspected food poisoning, but I didn’t want to say anything about that to Mom and scare her, especially if they ate lunch together. Alex picked up on my warning glance and didn’t go into any more details about Malcolm.
“No wonder he didn’t eat much at lunch,” Mom said. “It must have been coming on then.”
“Did he seem ill?” Alex asked.
“He didn’t touch the dessert, and I asked him if he was feeling all right. He said he had a bit of an upset stomach but told me not to worry about it. I do hope he’s okay.” Mom frowned. “He said he’d make sure I got a complimentary jar of the vinaigrette that was on the salad. Lemon and honey. Not too heavy. It’s made here at Parkview. So many of these salad dressings are overpowering, but this one was perfect.”
“I’m sure Ella or someone else can take care of it, if Malcolm can’t,” I said, thinking how absurd it was to be standing here chatting about salad dressing when Malcolm was in bad shape and being taken to the hospital.
The front doors were still open, and when the Range Rover drove up and parked at the foot of one of the staircases, it drew Mom’s attention. “There’s my ride,” she said and started for the doors.
“You’re going out?” The fact that Mom had her guidebook and umbrella with her finally registered.
“Just into the village to look around. Neal said he’d give me a little tour. I haven’t seen much of Nether Woodsmoor, you know, with the shopping and getting ready for the wedding. I thought I’d look around today. It’s too late to go anywhere else. Because I wasn’t feeling well, I delayed my day trip to London until tomorrow. Should we get together for dinner tonight? Or would you two rather be alone? Just let me know.” She fluttered her fingers as she left.
“And to think that I was worried about her filling her time while she was here,” I said. “At least she’s getting to use her umbrella.” The fabric burst into a taut canopy that she held aloft to protect her from the light rain as she went down the stairs.
“She’s quite th
e tourist,” Alex said. “But she didn’t even ask about the investigation,” he added with a raised eyebrow.
“That’s my mom all over. She throws herself wholeheartedly into whatever she does. If she’s sightseeing, she goes the whole way—money belt, guidebook, and tours. I sort of admire that about her. But,” I sighed, “when she’s immersed in one thing, everything else doesn’t exist.”
Ella slipped inside the tall doors before a man in a navy blazer closed them. Her hands were clasped together and she looked worried as she crossed the entry hall to us. “Malcolm lost consciousness right before the ambulance left. That’s not a good sign, is it?”
“I don’t know,” I said, but thought she was probably right.
“I heard them say that his pulse was high and that he was in shock. What happened? Do you know?”
“No, we found him collapsed in the west corridor,” I said.
Alex added, “He’d spoken to us a moment before and seemed his usual self.”
“Except he was a little flushed. And my mother said he had an upset stomach at lunch.”
My phone rang. “It’s Louise,” I said, surprised to see her name. I’d been so busy with the wedding and the guests that I’d only had snatches of conversation with her during the last few weeks.
“Kate,” she said when I answered. “I am so sorry to call you, but I don’t know what else to do. Shannon has—well—she’s fallen apart. I finally got her to stop crying, but she shaking and scared. She won’t tell me what’s wrong. She says she’ll only talk to you—that you’re the only one who can help. Normally, I’d call her parents and have them sort her out, but she has had a bit of a rough time. Her family is…not helpful, let’s say. I hate to ask, but could you come talk to her? The only thing I can get out of her is that it’s something to do with that man who was killed in the maze.”
“I’ll be right there.”
CHAPTER 17
A s Louise opened the door to her office, Shannon jumped and moved her hand away from her mouth.