“Have you ever had a case with anonymous notes like those?”
“A time or two. Most of the time it’s pretty obvious who’d send something like that.”
“But not now.”
“No,” he admitted. “Not this time. Susan didn’t have any family. The only one she left behind is that boyfriend of hers.”
“Fiancé.”
“Fiancé then. But he’s about as far from here as you can be and still be in the continental U.S. Pretty unlikely that he’d be slipping by here to leave you little love notes.”
“Then who could it be?”
“Who knew Susan when she lived here?”
“Not that many people, as far as I can find out. And after she came back from school in New York City, she wasn’t here long. And she drowned way down in South Carolina. If there was something suspicious about her death, what would someone here have had to do with it?”
Roy drained his cup and returned it to the tray. “You have to consider the cranks out there, too, you know. Peggy’s been talking up this whole thing about Susan Morris for a while now. Maybe somebody in town just doesn’t like the idea of a busybody, if you’ll pardon the expression, digging up the past. Especially if that busybody is an outsider.”
“True enough. I guess you’ve gotten a little of that ‘outsider’ treatment yourself since you’ve been here, haven’t you?”
He grinned. “Not so much I can’t handle it. I figure once people get to know me, they can’t help being smitten.”
She finished her own coffee and got up. Whether or not he meant that to apply specifically to her, now seemed like a good time to break off the conversation.
“Thanks for telling me what you found out, Roy.” She put both of their cups on the tray and picked it up. “If you guys find out anything else about Susan, please let me know.”
She smiled firmly, and he stood too.
“Thanks for the coffee, Annie. If we get any breakthroughs on the notes, I’ll buzz you.” He gave her one of his ever-present grins. “And if you feel like company, you know where to find me.”
She smiled and waved as he drove away. Peggy had been right from the start about his not being able to take a hint. Annie didn’t want to hurt his feelings, but he was certainly single-minded when he wanted to be. She’d have to keep her distance for a while.
****
The next meeting of the Hook and Needle Club renewed Annie’s resolve to distance herself from Officer Hamilton. She had just taken her seat and started on her woefully neglected crochet when Gwen and Peggy converged on her.
“So?”
Gwen’s blue eyes sparkled in anticipation, but Peggy frowned.
“I told her it’s ridiculous, Annie, but she won’t believe me.”
Annie looked from one to the other. “Believe what?”
“You know.” Gwen smirked. “You can’t keep these things secret forever.”
Annie stopped her work, placing her sweater-to-be in a multi-colored heap in her lap. “What are you two talking about?”
“I told her you and Roy don’t have a romance going on.”
“Peggy!”
Peggy shrugged. “She won’t listen.”
Annie turned to Gwen. “Listen.”
“I don’t mean I think you’re getting married tomorrow or anything. But it just seems to me, from what I’ve heard and with Roy talking about you all the time, there just might be a little something …” Gwen raised her eyebrows.
Annie glanced at Alice, who held both hands up. “It didn’t come from me. I wouldn’t wish him on anybody.”
Annie pressed her lips together. She couldn’t tell them about the notes she had gotten. “Look, Gwen, whatever you’ve heard and whoever you’ve heard it from is wrong. I’m still trying to find out about Susan Morris. Chief Edwards’ office is helping me. That’s all there is between Roy and me. That’s all, got it?”
Gwen looked down at the thick sock she was knitting. “Got it. Though I don’t know why it would be such a bad thing. He seems like a nice guy.”
“Well, he’s all yours, if you don’t think your husband will mind.”
Gwen chuckled, and Annie’s expression softened.
“Roy’s all right, Gwen, but I’m just not interested in him.”
“Yeah, OK. So, you’re still trying to find out something about Susan?”
“Trying. I guess everybody knows by now that Susan drowned over twenty years ago.” Annie glanced at Peggy, who ducked her head and concentrated on her appliqué. “I was hoping Stella would tell me more about Susan’s fiancé today, since she knew his family. Where is she, anyway?”
“She and Edie Borman had to go meet with somebody in Portland about donations to the Cultural Center,” Mary Beth said, “but she’ll be at the meeting next week, I’m sure.”
“That’s OK. I can talk to her at the banquet. Did you decide what you’re going to bring?”
With that, the talk turned to the coming festivities, and to Annie’s relief, away from Roy Hamilton. She was glad the meeting wound up without anyone mentioning him again, but he was still on her mind when she walked across Main Street to the hardware store where she’d parked her car.
He was talking about her all the time now? Enough to make people think there was something between them? She’d definitely have to do something to dispel that notion. Piqued, she flung open her car door and leaned down to toss her purse and tote into the passenger seat.
When she straightened, she found herself face-to-face with Tom Maxwell.
14
Annie was speechless for a moment and then managed an uncertain smile. “Hello, Mr. Maxwell. Excuse me, I didn’t see you there.”
He narrowed his dark eyes at her. “You don’t pay attention real good, do you?”
“I’m sorry?”
“I said, if you’d pay a little better attention, you’d save yourself a lot of trouble.”
She glanced around. There were a few people on the street, not close, but within shouting distance.
She swallowed hard. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“I mean—” He glanced around, too, and then lowered his voice. “I mean that I would prefer that you leave my wife alone. She doesn’t like company, and she doesn’t want you coming around bothering her all the time. Is that clear enough, or do I need to write it all out for you?”
Feeling her heart pounding in her throat, Annie shook her head.
“I tried being polite before, Mrs. Dawson, but it didn’t seem to work. So now I’m telling you straight out. Stay away from my wife.”
Without waiting for a reply, he turned and stalked into the hardware store.
Annie stood frozen for a moment more; then she scrambled into her car and locked herself in. Her pulse was racing, but she didn’t want to sit around waiting for it to slow down and have him find her still there when he came out of the store.
She pulled out into the street, briefly considered stopping at Chief Edwards’ office or at least Ian’s, but decided to head straight home instead. By the time she pulled up in front of Grey Gables, her fear had galvanized into indignation, indignation that wasn’t smoothed over when she found Roy Hamilton on her front porch.
“Roy?”
He came up to her car and opened the door for her. “You’re home early.”
She pressed her lips together, praying for a quick infusion of patience, kindness, gentleness, and self-control. Roy Hamilton was the last thing she needed on a day like this.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’ve been keeping an eye on your place. I thought maybe our guy might show up once you were gone, and I think he might have.”
“Might have?”
“I really didn’t see much. I’m pretty sure there was somebody on your porch just a minute ago. I drove around the block, trying to see if I could spot him, but he was gone.”
“Who was it?”
“I don’t know. He had on a dark jacket with the collar turne
d up and one of those stocking caps pulled down to his eyebrows. To be honest, I couldn’t swear it was a man, but I’m reasonably sure it was.”
“Was he tall or short?”
“I’d say average. About 5 feet 10.”
“Heavyset?”
“No. Medium build. I guess it could have been something harmless. Maybe the guy was chasing his dog or something.” He gave her a sheepish grin. “Maybe I’m too suspicious all the time.”
“I hate to think I have to worry about my neighbors in a place like Stony Point.” Annie sighed. “Maybe you’re right, and it was a false alarm. I do appreciate you watching out for me though.”
“It’s my pleasure.”
“Thanks. See you around.”
“It’s kinda cold out today, isn’t it?” He rubbed his hands together. “Guess I’ll head on home and make me some coffee.”
“That’s a good idea. I think I’ll do the same thing.”
She started to unlock the door and realized that he was still standing there. He looked a little forlorn, as if he wished his valor had earned him more than mere thanks. Again she smiled.
“Would you like to join me?”
He didn’t have to be asked twice.
“You make a good cup of coffee, Annie. Sometimes a guy gets tired of those freeze-dried instant crystals.”
She opened the door and stopped where she was. Someone had pushed another blank envelope through her mail slot.
“Don’t touch it,” he warned. He pulled his gloves out of his jacket pockets and put them on. Then he picked up the envelope. “Mind if I look inside?”
“Go ahead.”
He flipped open the unsealed flap and pulled out the paper.
LET THE DEAD REST IN PEACE
Annie exhaled, her breath coming out in unsteady little puffs. Roy glanced at her.
“I guess it’s referring to this Susan again. Is that the impression you get?”
“Yes. It’s a little, um, unsettling. I don’t know what to think.”
“There’s no real threat here,” he reminded her. “Just like the last one. At least nothing that could be considered more than friendly advice.”
“No. That’s just it. I don’t know whether to be scared or not. I guess I’d better talk to Chief Edwards about it.”
“I’ll let him know. In the meantime, I don’t want you to worry about it. I’ll check this for prints and see what else I can find out.” He leaned toward her. “And I’ll look after you.”
She smiled, genuinely grateful. After her little chat with Tom Maxwell, it would be nice to know someone was watching out for her.
“Thanks, Roy. It’s a little scary when you’re on your own.”
“You always have Boots, right?”
She managed a laugh. “She can be pretty tough when she needs to be, that’s for sure.”
Both of them studied the note again. The words were made up of letters cut from the newspaper. The paper they were pasted to was like any you’d find in almost every household in the country—plain white, no watermark. The envelope was equally nondescript, though this one was a safety envelope, like the second one she had received.
“Just like the ones you got before,” he said. “That’s the trouble with the cold weather.”
“The cold weather? What do you mean?”
He wiggled his fingers at her. “Almost everybody is wearing gloves, so nobody leaves fingerprints.”
She sighed. “Now what?”
“This isn’t much to go on. Has anybody been telling you not to snoop around?”
“My daughter tells me that all the time, but she’s in Texas right now, and I don’t think she has anything to hide regarding Susan’s death.”
He chuckled. “Anyone else?”
“No more than usual. And only friends I know too well to suspect.”
“Maybe they’re friends who think you need a friendly warning. It’s not all that threatening, you know.”
“I hope it’s not. It’s a little vague, like the other one.”
“You got a sandwich bag or something I can put this in?” He turned the note over and then back to the front. “A big one would be nice, so I don’t have to fold it up more than it was.”
She went into the kitchen and got him what he asked for, and he tucked the note inside.
“I’ll dust this one for prints, too, but I can guarantee you there won’t be any.”
“Maybe we’ll get lucky with this one.”
“We’ll see. Anyway, if you think everything’s secure here, I’ll head on over to the office.”
“Thanks, Roy. Let me know what you find out.”
She went to the door, holding it for him, and he handed her his card.
“That’s got my home and cell numbers on it. I want you to know you can come to me if you need anything—anything at all. Or if you’re just afraid to be home alone or something. I don’t mind keeping an eye on you, if you’d like.”
“That’s sweet, Roy. It really is. But I’m all right. It’s nice to know you’re just down the street though.”
So much for deflecting rumors.
He grinned as always. “ ‘To protect and to serve,’ right?”
“Thanks.”
“Oh, and remember to not say anything about this to anybody. We always like to keep something back that nobody knows about so we can make sure we’ve got the right guy if we catch him.”
“All right. I won’t say anything.”
“Not even to Alice.”
“But, Alice—”
“No, not to anybody. I mean it. If it gets out, it might scare the guy off. Or worse, it might make him do something stupid. So far, this has been pretty mild stuff. No threats. Nothing specific. We don’t want to push him into something worse.”
Annie nodded. “I’ll keep it quiet. You just let Chief Edwards know about it.”
“I’ll take care of everything. Don’t worry.”
He went whistling out to his car, and soon she was alone in the house. More than ever, she wished Wayne were with her.
****
Let the dead rest in peace.
Why couldn’t she do just that? But it still didn’t make sense. Susan was gone. She had no family left except Sandy Maxwell, and nobody in town knew about that relationship. Was there something about the family that maybe Sandy didn’t want anyone to know?
That couldn’t be it. If Sandy hadn’t told her about it, Annie wouldn’t know there was a family connection in the first place. Besides, she wasn’t looking into their family history, just Susan’s death, and there was nothing to tie Sandy to that.
Annie rubbed her eyes. She needed to just drop the issue and get back to her regularly scheduled life. Susan was gone. It didn’t matter.
Let the dead rest in peace.
Maybe she wouldn’t drop the issue. Not quite yet anyway. There was still the anonymous prankster, or worse, to be found. Chief Edwards said he would be looking into the matter, but he hadn’t been too encouraging. Resources in a little place like Stony Point were probably stretched too thin already to make a minor nuisance a priority, and it was likely that Roy was spending way too much time on it as it was.
But obviously, someone did care about Annie’s investigation. She had to know why. If there was some indication that Susan’s death was more than just an accident, maybe it would give her a clue about who might want something like that kept secret.
Before she lost her nerve, she dug out Archer Prescott’s cell phone number and dialed it. It took him four rings to answer.
“Mr. Prescott? This is Annie Dawson.”
“Annie. How are you?”
“I’m fine. I’m sorry to bother you, but—”
“Now what did I tell you? I said you were welcome to call me anytime.”
“Well, yes, Mr. Prescott, but—”
“And I told you to call me Arch, right?”
“Yes.”
He was just being nice, she was sure, but he was obviously us
ed to people obeying him most of the time.
“Now, Annie, what can I do for you? Have you found out anything new about Susan?”
“I hate to ask you this. I don’t want to open up old wounds more than I have already, but I was wondering if you had ever considered the possibility that Susan may have taken her own life.”
He was silent for a long moment.
“I remember the police asking me that at the time. I couldn’t imagine it. She never said anything about wishing herself dead. She didn’t leave any kind of note.”
“But she had just lost her aunt and then both of her parents. Wouldn’t that be a reason for her to be depressed?”
“No. Why should she be? Sad, certainly. That was to be expected, but clinically depressed? I don’t think so, but I’m not an expert.”
“I was talking to our Pastor Wallace about her the other day. Do you remember him? He remembers you.”
“Wallace, huh? I’m not sure. I know I talked to the pastor at the church in Stony Point about us getting married there. Could have been Wallace. Why? Does he have any reason to think Susan may have killed herself?”
“No. No, I don’t think so, but he told me he thought she was different those last few weeks before you and she were to have been married. He said you had arranged for him to do your wedding, and then Susan called him and canceled the whole thing. Why do you think she did that?”
Prescott exhaled heavily. “I told you that already. It’s no big mystery. She wanted a big wedding. That’s why we were sailing down to Florida.”
“The big wedding wasn’t your idea?”
“You know how it is with us guys. All that fluffy stuff is for the woman. They usually want to be queen for a day with all the trimmings. I didn’t much care either way, but I knew what it meant to Susan. After all she’d been through, I wanted to do something for her that would make her happy. I had thought getting married at her hometown church was what she wanted, so that’s what I fixed up for her. Then, when I realized she wanted something with all the bells and whistles, I fixed that up for her. Do you really think she could have drowned herself on purpose?”
“I don’t know. I was just wondering. She had no family left except a cousin she hardly knew.”
Letters in the Attic Page 12