Murder, of Course

by Diane Weiner

  Chapter 23

  The police arrived within minutes. Shortly after the squad car arrived, Detective Megan O’Leary, still wearing the black dress she’d worn earlier at dinner, stepped out of Pat’s car and followed him to the door.

  “Hey, buddy, what’s going on? Is anybody hurt? Megan and I were at the movies when she got the message.”

  “We’re okay. We got home and noticed the lock had been fooled with. Then we found Maddy’s bedroom window smashed.”

  “Was anything taken?” asked Megan.

  “We didn’t go inside. We didn’t know if the perpetrator was still in there.”

  Megan said, “Good thinking. I see Emily is already giving a statement.”

  A uniformed officer was taking to Emily and Maddy. Another came from around the corner of the house. “Coast is clear. There are tire tracks on the grass and the rock used to smash the glass is inside the room. Any idea as to who did this?”

  “Emily thinks she was followed the other day. We’re the ones who discovered Danielle LaPierre’s body last month, along with our neighbor, Kurt. We’ve kind of gotten drawn into amateur investigating. Maybe it’s related.”

  “Come in with me and let’s see if anything was taken. It’s your daughter’s room, right? She should come, too.”

  Henry walked over to Emily and Maddy, who were still talking to the other officer.

  “Maddy, come inside with me. The officer wants us to see if anything’s missing.”

  Maddy followed him into the house. The sheets and comforter were heaped on the floor, and her mattress was half-way off the bedframe. Drawers were open and clothing had been thrown onto the floor. She wiped her moist eyes with her sleeve.

  “Who would do this to me? It’s not like I had money or jewels hidden in here!”

  “Thank God we weren’t here when it happened,” said Henry. “Until this person is caught, we’re not letting you out of our sight.” He hugged Maddy close. “I know it’s a mess, but do you notice anything missing right off the bat?”

  Maddy looked around. “My laptop! And it has all my stuff for the cat café on it.”

  “Don’t worry,” said Henry. “It’s all backed up on the cloud. You haven’t lost it.”

  Henry checked the living room and the loft master bedroom, where Chester hid under the bed. “Nothing was taken as far as I can see. Doesn’t look like he even came upstairs. Emily’s laptop is sitting right on her desk and she has some expensive jewelry sitting on top of her dresser. I tell her all the time not to leave it lying around.”

  The officer took notes while Henry spoke. “We’ll get some pictures and send the crime guys over to look for prints and get a mold of the tire tracks. Do you have a place to spend the night?”

  Henry said, “I’m sure we can get a room at the Outside Inn for the night. Where’s Emily and Detective O’Leary?”

  The officer checked his phone. “They went over to your neighbor’s to see if he witnessed anything.”

  Maddy said, “I’m getting Chester. I don’t want him to stay here without us.”

  After gathering a few things, Maddy and Emily followed Henry to the Jeep. Emily was glad she’d grabbed a jacket for both herself and Maddy. The roads were deserted, and in no time at all, they pulled up to the familiar inn which was practically a second home. Coralee’s son, Noah, on nightshift behind the front desk, took off his headphones when he saw them enter.

  “Weren’t you just here?”

  Henry explained what had happened. “I hope you’ve got a couple of rooms for us. I know it’s the height of tourist season.”

  Noah scrolled through the computer. “Hmm, nothing. Wait, we’ve got two rooms left if you don’t mind some half painted walls and bare floors. We’re in the middle of renovating the first floor rooms. Otherwise, we’re booked solid this weekend. Mom won’t charge you.”

  “Thanks, Noah.” Emily took the key, anxious to crawl into bed. After getting Maddy settled in her room, she and Henry collapsed on top of the four poster bed next door.

  “I’m going to grab a quick shower,” said Henry. He pried himself off the comforter and feeling like he was eighty years old, dragged his tired bones to the bathroom.

  Emily closed her eyes for a few minutes, then unpacked her nightgown and robe. Clearing the bed, she grabbed a hanger and put her jacket in the closet. As soon as she closed the closet door, she heard a crash. The clothing bar had pulled out of the wall and ripped a hole into the side of the closet. Coralee had made the decision to renovate just in the nick of time. The inn dated back to the 1700’s and was overdue for repairs.

  She pushed away the chunks of plaster. When she leaned her hand on the interior wall, it caved in as though it was made of wet cardboard. Something looked strange. She pulled the chain on the single light bulb above her head and now saw that the wall was completely damp. Looking up, she found the source—a leak coming from the top of the closet, dripping down its side wall.

  “What are you doing in the closet?” asked Henry. He was wrapped in a fluffy towel, shivering.

  “The clothing bar collapsed. There’s a leak in here.” She ran her hand along the damp wall, causing it to crumble like wet plaster. Her hand poked through the wall with no effort at all.

  She pulled it apart with her hands. “Henry, look!”

  Henry, pulling his towel tighter, bent down and peeked in. “What’s that?”

  “It looks like a secret room of some sort.” She kicked the remainder of the wall with her foot. “I’m going exploring.” She stepped over the crumbled plaster. “Henry, there’s a metal trunk of some sort.” She tugged at it, trying not to break a fingernail. After a bit of persistence, she was able to open the dusty lid.

  “What did you find?” Henry squeezed into the small room next to his wife.

  “Some blankets, an oil lantern, and tin cans. I think there’s food inside. I wonder if Coralee knows about this?”

  “If she did, I’m sure she’d have cleaned it out. If the wall hadn’t collapsed, it’d still be hidden. Who’d think to go looking for a secret room? I’m freezing. We’ll clue her in at breakfast.”

  Emily was about to follow Henry back into their room, when she heard a creak. She stomped her foot and heard it again. “Wait, Henry.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I think there’s a trap door or something.” She bent down and felt the rotting floor. “Here!”

  Henry helped her pull up the boards. “You’re right!” He tugged at it and it creaked open. “There’ a ladder! It’s too dark, we can’t go down there.”

  “I’m going to get Noah. I’m sure he has a flashlight. Put on some clothes.”

  Emily ran out to the lobby. “Noah.” He didn’t flinch. Coming closer, she saw he had his earphones in and shouted, “Noah!”

  Noah jumped. “What’s wrong? Do you need towels or something?”

  “No, we need a flashlight. Henry and I discovered a secret passage!”

  “A what?”

  “Do you have a flashlight or not?”

  “Yeah.” He pulled one from under the desk. “We keep one right here in case the electricity goes out.” He followed her back to the room, where Henry was busy clearing away more plaster.

  Henry grabbed the flashlight and illuminated the trap door, then shone the beam into the opening. “I wouldn’t want to try that ladder. Looks well-rotted.”

  “I gotcha,” said Noah, grabbing the flashlight from Henry. “It’s not deep at all.” He stepped down the rungs. “It looks like a tunnel. If I’m not back in a few…”

  Emily shouted, “Are you crazy? Get back here!” He was already out of sight. Emily considered dialing 911, but Henry calmed her down.

  “Give him five minutes. It’s probably a root cellar, where they kept vegetables stored for the winter months.”

  Emily squirmed, thinking of the possible consequences. If anything happened to Noah, Coralee would never forgive her for summoning her foolish son in the middle of the ni
ght and putting him in harm’s way. She stared at her watch. “Henry, we have to get help.”

  Henry was about to agree, when they heard a knock. He flung open the door. “Noah! We were just about to call the police.”

  “You’re full of mud. What did you find?” asked Emily.

  “It’s a tunnel. I’m sure it was part of the original building. It leads outside behind the barn.”

  “Why on earth did they need a secret tunnel?” said Emily.

  Henry cleared his throat. “I think I know. Remember that museum in Oakbridge we passed? I told you how my parents were history buffs. I think it was used to hide fugitive slaves. Vermont was anti-slavery from the start.”

  “My mom is going to love this!” said Noah.

  Chapter 24

  Snuggled under the down comforter, Henry and Emily woke up when Maddy knocked on the door, Chester cradled in her arms. Emily, too tired to move, was glad that Maddy had slept through round two of last night’s excitement.

  “Are we staying here for brunch?” said Maddy.

  “Of course.” Emily swung her feet over the side of the bed. Looking at the clock on the nightstand, she was surprised she’d slept this late. It was nearly noon. “I’ll jump into the shower and be ready shortly. Henry can fill you in on what we discovered last night.”

  Henry told Maddy what they’d found.

  “I wanna see.”

  “You can peek through the closet wall, but don’t go into the damp basement. I think I saw spiders.”

  The mention of spiders dissuaded Maddy. She peeked in the closet, then plopped on the bed and played with her phone while they waited for Emily.

  “I’m hungry, how about you two?” asked Emily, coming out of the shower.

  “Starved,” said Maddy. Henry agreed.

  As soon as they opened their door, they could smell the aroma of bacon and pumpkin pancakes. Every meal was an event at the inn, but Sunday Brunch was the academy awards. The dining room was packed, and they had to wait for a table.

  Coralee ran up to them immediately, bubbling about the historic finding right here on her own property. “I’m going to get the historic society to put up another plaque. Maybe they’ll put a model of the inn in that museum over in Oakbridge. Just think, my very own inn was once used to help slaves escape to freedom. Gives me chills thinking about it.”

  “You could start giving tours. You’d make some nice extra change,” said Henry. “Better yet, you could do nighttime ghost tours.”

  Coralee wiped her hands on her apron. “Like I don’t have enough to keep me busy.” Max came from behind the front desk, nuzzling against Maddy’s legs. “Max has made himself quite at home here. The guests love him.”

  Maddy said, “I can’t wait until the grand opening of Coralee’s Cozy Cat Café next weekend.”

  Megan and Pat came into the lobby.

  “Don’t you ever eat at home?” said Henry.

  “Look who’s talking,” said Pat. “I hear the food’s good and that they have this cool cat café.”

  Emily hadn’t seen Pat look this good since his wife’s death. The worry lines around his mouth had faded, and he looked ten years younger sporting an oversized Patriot’s sweatshirt that matched the one Megan wore.

  Maddy smiled. “By this time next week that’ll be true.”

  “Have you recovered from last night?” said Megan.

  “Barely. We had some more excitement after we got to the inn last night. If you join us for brunch, we can fill you in.”

  Henry said, “How long until we know if the prowler left behind any evidence?”

  “The guys were at it into the wee hours of this morning. They found a cigarette butt on your lawn last night and were able to pick up fingerprints, though elsewhere, it seems he wore gloves.”

  “Really?” said Emily, surprised at the speed at which the police department worked. “Was it a match for the ones you found on the fuse box outside of Danielle’s cabin? Or did they match anything in the system?”

  “They matched the ones found at Danielle’s. Neither set belongs to Brody, or to Winnie, for that matter.”

  “How about Hartman?” said Emily.

  “Hartman is away at a friend’s funeral in Atlanta. He gave the eulogy yesterday afternoon. It wasn’t him. With those three eliminated, the only lead left is the investor working with Hartman and Brody. Detective Ron is checking into finding out his identity.”

  The waitress offered them menus, but they declined in favor of the spectacular buffet. Emily loaded her plate with veggie quiche and Belgian waffles topped with cinnamon apples. She wasn’t used to eating so late and felt light-headed.

  “How’s school going?” asked Megan.

  Emily cringed thinking about her new colleague and the additional stress she’d brought to St. Edwards. “Classes are good, but I have Lucifer herself as my new chair. I have no doubt she killed that son of hers. Why on earth hasn’t she been arrested?”

  “You do know her father was the police chief over in Oakbridge, right? Mysteriously, no evidence linked her to the crime, and due to the father’s insistence, the ball was dropped way too prematurely.”

  “Hopefully my new book will reignite interest in the case. Maybe I’ll even solve the mystery while doing my research. We took a ride over there. The grounds are humongous. There are so many places a body could be hidden.”

  “They claim to have run a thorough search, but I wasn’t there. My first thought was that he fell into the lake on the property, but I do know one of the divers they sent and he was convinced the boy wasn’t in there.” She turned to Maddy. “And how’s school going for you?”

  Emily realized the question was directed at Maddy in the first place and felt her face turning red.

  “It’s going better than it was. I still don’t have any friends, but I don’t care anymore.”

  Emily wanted to cry whenever Maddy said something like that. She looked at Henry and saw the hurt in his eyes. She knew he couldn’t stand not being able to fix whatever hurt Maddy, just like he ached whenever she herself was hurt. She loved that Henry was a fixer, believing every problem had a logical solution. She’d believed since she first met him that his desire to diagnose and solve problems was the primary reason he’d become a physician.

  Breaking the awkward silence, Pat said, “I’m thinking a second helping of waffles is on the agenda.” He had lost a lot of weight after his wife died, but was recently packing on a few pounds.

  “Good thing you’re wearing that roomy sweatshirt,” said Henry. “Megan, you’ve got to get him to go easier on the bacon and sausage before it kills him.”

  Megan’s phone vibrated. “It’s Ron. I’ll take it outside.”

  While Pat was at the buffet line, Maddy said, “Do you think those two are going to get married?”

  “I hope so,” said Emily. “He finally seems to be bouncing back to his old self. Megan has been good for him.”

  While Maddy finished her pancakes, and Emily sipped a second cup of coffee, the tables were clearing out. Emily looked at her watch. “Wow, I didn’t realize how late it was. The weekend has flown by way too fast.”

  “You can say that again,” said Maddy. “Can I stay home tomorrow? All the teachers post the work online anyway.”

  Henry put down his fork and pushed back into his chair. “I’m surprised you said that. Don’t you realize how valuable a good education is? If you want to get into an ivy league school, you’ve got to stay on top of your game, and that means attending school.”

  Maddy gave him what Emily interpreted as a ‘yes, Dad’ nod. It was kind of sweet the way Henry had stepped into his role as a father so easily. She wished she felt as comfortable with the mother role. She truly loved Maddy, but sometimes she still felt awkward and unsure of herself in dealing with her.

  Megan came back to the table on the heels of Pat, who carried a heaping plate of waffles and sausage links.

  “Good news. Ron said they traced Brody and Hartm
an’s third financial partner.”

  “That’s great,” said Emily. “Are they bringing him in for questioning?”

  “It’d be voluntary, since we have nothing on him. He is the right height, though, according to the calculations Byron Patterson figured. Oh, and I left out the best part.”

  Emily and Henry both looked at her and waited through her dramatic pause.

  Megan drew a slow breath. “Charles. Charles Wilkerson. Brody’s father.”

  Chapter 25

  The dark, colder mornings tempted Emily to stay in bed rather than lace up her running shoes and open the front door. She looked forward to the upcoming time change, though most everyone she knew rued the earlier evening darkness that came with it. She grabbed half a banana and a swig of juice, then off she went, giving herself kudos for self-discipline. She saw her breath in front of her like a chug from a locomotive as she progressed from a slow jog to an all-out run. Following the grass trail around the lake, she ran into a bundled up Abby, and Milo, sporting a Halloween-themed doggie sweater.

  “I see you’re up especially early today,” said Emily. Now that she stopped, the trapped sweat beneath her running clothes chilled her.

  “Milo needed to go out and Rebecca was fast asleep. She owes me one.”

  “Maddy was so happy to see you and Rebecca helping out Saturday. She’s starting to find her place in this town, although I wish school was getting easier for her.”

  “It’s only October. I bet by Christmas it’ll be a whole different story. I’m going over to the inn later to start on the mural.”

  “Detective Megan thinks she identified the man in your photograph. You may have been the bridge to solving the murder.”

  “Happy to do my part, even if it was accidental. If you need help investigating on the sly, Rebecca is an expert. Her favorite part of her job involves digging up information through tracing online records.”