Laura blinked. “I never thought of that. Oh, my.” She put her hand to her mouth, then took it down and turned to Hank. “Are the police investigating my daughter?”
Hank shifted on the sofa. “They’re investigating everyone who inherited. I’m sorry.”
Laura rubbed her hand over her eyes. “That odious woman. Alive she was enough trouble. Murdered, she’s turning out to be a lot more.” She stood up and grabbed her book. “Tina, you can show Hank where everything is in the guest room. It’s all made up. I’m going to bed.”
Everyone murmured good-night, and Laura left the living room. Tina scooted over toward Hank on the couch, and he put his arm around her. They hugged and kissed for a while, but finally Hank pulled away. “I’ll go collect a few things at my house and come back as quickly as I can.”
“Mmm. Let me get you a spare key.” She left his arms reluctantly.
“I don’t need a key.”
“You’re going to pick the lock?”
His laugh rumbled in her ear. “No. It just so happens I have a key. Your mother gave me one ages ago. Just in case.”
“You two are a pair. Lately I’ve noticed zipper marks on your lips. I assume those are so you can close said lips quickly when needed.”
“We were born with them.” Hank stood up. “You are just now beginning to notice.”
Tina stretched out on the couch. “Wake me when you get back.”
He laughed again as his eyes traveled the length of her body. He looked a bit hungry, she thought with satisfaction. She closed her eyes and heard him open and shut the front door. After a few minutes, too restless to remain there, she went to the office and sat at her desk. She made a list of all the suspects on a yellow legal pad, then sat staring out the window.
A flash of light caught her eye. It came from Olivia’s office. Not again! She stood up, her eyes never leaving the light. It moved slowly around the room, then came to rest.
She’d left her cell on the coffee table in the living room. Dashing across the hall, she tripped over Princess and bumped into Uncle Bob.
“Hey!” Her uncle caught her by the arm and steadied her. “Where you going in such a hurry?”
She pulled away from him, knowing the light was too dim for him to see her face to lip-read what she said. She pointed to the living room and dashed in, picked up her phone, and speed dialed Hank. He answered on the first ring. “Miss me already?”
She turned so Uncle Bob could see her lips. “There’s a light on in Olivia’s office. A flashlight again, I think.”
Uncle Bob’s shocked expression made her put her hand on his arm for reassurance.
“Call Lisbeth. And do not go over there!” Hank said and disconnected.
Tina fumbled with her phone while hunting for Lisbeth’s contact information. Got her voice mail. She left a terse message and ended the call.
Uncle Bob sat down in his favorite chair and stroked Princess’s head. “Doesn’t that fool know enough to pull the drapes?”
For a moment, Tina was confused. Did he mean Hank? No, he meant whoever was over at Olivia’s house. “Maybe it’s a ghost,” Tina joked.
“I don’t think they need light to get around. Don’t they sort of make their own?”
Tina laughed. It sounded shaky, but some of the tension left her. “I’m going back to the office to see if the light is still there.”
Uncle Bob and Princess followed her. Tina gasped when she looked out the window again. Flames shot up from the room across the way. A shadowy figure moved toward the hallway and disappeared. She looked at Uncle Bob to see her shock reflected in his face.
CHAPTER 51
Because she still clutched her cell in her hand, Tina immediately dialed 911. The dispatcher didn’t answer right away, but sirens sounded in the distance. She saw two uniformed figures now moving in the front of the house. She realized they probably called it in. One rushed toward the street as a fire engine drove up. The dispatcher answered, and Tina told her the fire trucks had already arrived and ended the call. She and Uncle Bob watched the firefighters wrestle hoses and equipment out of the truck. She saw Hank’s Jaguar pull into the Shaw driveway. Hank jumped out and ran toward the fire chief, who had positioned himself under a street light. They stood talking for a few minutes, then Hank headed her way.
Before he arrived, the fire looked to be out, but the men and women continued to train the hoses on where the flames had been.
Police cars arrived, and then the press. Hank entered the office with long strides. He stood next to her a few moments, watching the action across the driveway.
“One of the uniforms called dispatch before you reached me,” he said. “You okay?” He glanced over at Uncle Bob, who looked pale.
The smell of smoke came drifting toward them through the closed window. “I’m fine. I wonder what evidence might have been destroyed by that.”
“Good question. A better one is how did the person get by Mickey and Barry.”
“They were the ones on guard?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, there’s the cellar door and another side door. With all the houses so close together and all the mature trees and shrubs, I don’t think it would have been too hard to sneak past either one of them.”
“So you’re saying they should have had four guards.”
“Probably,” Tina said. “Anyone who knew the house well enough could have gotten in. I suspect, pun intended, that Lisbeth didn’t really think anyone would try with two guards.”
“No. It looks as if whoever it is has become pretty desperate.”
Princess perked up when Laura entered the room. Tina, Hank, and Uncle Bob turned to greet her.
“What’s going on? Sirens woke me up. Then I smelled smoke.” She looked out the window and gasped. Tina noticed she’d taken the time to get dressed and comb her hair. Her Jimmy Choo signature perfume mingled with the smoky scent.
“We’re pretty sure it was set,” Hank said. “Tina saw someone moving around over there using a flashlight.”
“Again? When will this ever end?” Laura sank down into her office chair and fingered her necklace.
“Hank was just saying the perp seems desperate now,” Tina said.
“The perp?” Hank laughed. “The police don’t use that word anymore.”
“What’s wrong with it?” Uncle Bob asked. “Perfectly fine slang expression. A four letter word, very appropriate.”
Everyone laughed, and the tension eased.
“There’s Lisbeth and John,” Laura said.
Tina saw Lisbeth talking to the fire chief, then to Mickey and Barry. After several minutes, she and John headed toward their house.
“Oh, bother,” Uncle Bob said. “I’m going to go make some drinks.”
Laura led the way to the front door. She opened it before John could ring the bell. “Come on in,” she said in a resigned voice.
“Sorry to bother you again, Mrs. Shaw,” Lisbeth said.
“Not your fault,” Laura’s tone was grudging. “Olivia has been a trial to us for many years now. We’d love to get this over with, so come on in.”
They all went into the living room. Hank removed his jacket, and everyone sat down, except for John, who stayed standing by the doorway.
“Did any of you see anything before the fire started?” Lisbeth asked.
“I did.” Tina told her what she’d seen. “Is the whole office destroyed?”
“Yes, and some of the hallway. But it appears it can be restored.”
“And you suspect arson, of course.” Tina watched Uncle Bob try to maneuver around John with the big tray full of drinks. John almost knocked the tray out of Uncle Bob’s hands, but managed to move back. Uncle Bob gave him a withering look and set the drinks down on the coffee table.
“It will be investigated,” Lisbeth said in her usual noncommittal tone.
Tina sighed loudly.
“I need to know where all of you were and who you were with during the last
hour.”
“Princess was with me, so I can vouch that she had nothing to do with it,” Uncle Bob said with a straight face. He took a chocolate martini off the tray and sat down in his chair, Princess at his feet.
Lisbeth gave a start, and John frowned. Lisbeth tried to smile, but didn’t quite make it. “Seriously. Mrs. Shaw, let’s start with you.”
Tina looked at Hank. As usual, his expression gave nothing away as he reached for a martini and took a sip. Then he tilted his glass toward Uncle Bob. Uncle Bob saluted him back, and they both took another swallow.
“I was in my bedroom, asleep. The sirens woke me up.”
“You were alone, then?”
It was Tina’s turn to give a start. She never thought of her mother taking a man to bed. Had she, even once, since Tina’s father died? Tina studied her mother while she answered Lisbeth. Still an attractive woman, Tina admitted to herself. Classy and composed, as usual.
“Yes. I was alone.” She said it defiantly.
“You need to lay off Laura,” Uncle Bob said. He set down his martini glass and leaned forward. “She had not one single reason to harm Olivia Blackwell.”
“Except the money she’ll get from Mrs. Blackwell’s will,” John said.
“She has plenty of money without what Olivia left her. I’m sure you know that, so you should cross her off your suspect list. There are several other people who also inherited who have much better motives.” At Uncle Bob’s tone, Princess stood up and looked around at everyone, finally focusing her gaze on John.
John shifted his feet and looked at Lisbeth. “We can’t rule anyone out until we know more,” she said. “I think you understand that.”
Uncle Bob shook his head and looked at Hank.
“Just like Mrs. Blackwell’s house, this one has four entrances, doesn’t it?” Lisbeth asked.
“Yes,” Tina said. “It does. But I didn’t see anyone run this way after the fire started.”
“Were you at the window before the fire started?”
“Yes, I saw someone using a flashlight, moving around. That’s when I called Hank.
“So, you were at the window the whole time?”
Tina cleared her throat. “No. I had to come in here and get my cell to call him.”
“You went back to the office while talking to him?”
“Not immediately. After we hung up, I did, though.”
“So, someone could have run off after starting it while you were here in the living room.”
Tina shook her head. “I wasn’t gone more than a minute or so.”
“Okay.” Lisbeth turned to Uncle Bob. “And I suppose you and Princess were in the house the whole time.”
He nodded.
“He and Princess had not been outside when all this happened,” Tina said.
“How do you know that?” Lisbeth asked.
“It’s cold out. They would have smelled different, especially Princess.”
Even Hank looked at her with surprise. Lisbeth studied her thoughtfully for a moment. “I suppose you can say the same about your mother.”
Tina hesitated. She didn’t want to tell the police her mother had taken the time to get dressed (if she had been in bed) comb her hair, and spray herself with perfume after claiming to hear the sirens and smell smoke. Lisbeth, of course, noticed her hesitation. “Well?”
“My mother did not smell of the outside,” Tina said firmly.
Lisbeth stood up, and John shut his notebook with a snap. “That’s all for now. Hank, can I speak to you for a minute?”
“Sure.” Hank put on his coat and followed the officers out.
Laura finally grabbed a martini and took a long swallow. “Wonderful as always. You made enough.”
“Made one for each of us, if you include Princess. I figured the police wouldn’t drink theirs, or Princess hers, so some of us can have two. I think I will.” He finished off his first one, set the glass down, and took another one.
Laura laughed. “I noticed Hank didn’t put his down when he left. Probably afraid you’d drink it.”
“That Hank is a wily fox. Wonder what Lisbeth and he are talking about.”
“Probably us,” Tina said.
“We discussed the weather,” Hank said as he entered the room. He finished off his martini and grabbed a second, then sat down. “We sniffed it, the weather, I mean, then each other. You’re right, Tina. I never thought about it, although of course was aware of it—people do smell different when they come in out of the cold. And animals even more so. From the heat, too.”
“So,” Laura asked, “how close are you to finding out who really murdered Olivia?”
“You mean how close are the police? I don’t know what Lisbeth is thinking. It appears she’s still making up her mind and hasn’t ruled anyone out. But I’m pretty sure no one in this household is a serious suspect any longer.”
Uncle Bob cleared his throat. “Did you have a chance to talk to her about Jerry?”
“Yes, and of course, she’s following up on that. She didn’t like it that I was vague about how I got my information, but I have to warn you that she will probably put two and two together to get to the fact that you and Jerry know each other, and have for a long, long time.”
“Hopefully he has a good alibi.” Uncle Bob finished his drink and set his glass down.
Hank turned to Tina. “You didn’t see anyone running away from the fire. The side door by the cellar is on the other side of the house, so you wouldn’t have seen anyone run that direction. That must have been the way the person disappeared.”
Tina nodded. Suddenly she realized there was another way it could have happened. But she didn’t want to say anything until she thought it out more carefully and did some digging on line. Knowing this crowd, they’d probably poo-poo her idea because she had nothing to back it up with. “To change the subject,” she said, “did you get to pack before all this happened?”
“No. I’ll have to go back and do that.”
“Packed?” Uncle Bob asked. “Going on a trip?”
“Just back here to the Shaw Hotel.”
Uncle Bob smiled. “Good idea to have you here, Hank.” Then he turned to Tina. “Aren’t you the little finagler?”
“Who, me? It was Hank’s idea.”
Hank cleared his throat and looked a tad uncomfortable. “Actually, we both came up with it at the same time when we left the race track.”
Laura and Uncle Bob exchanged glances and burst out laughing. “Well, no matter,” Uncle Bob said between guffaws, “it’s a good idea. Welcome to the Shaw Hotel.”
CHAPTER 52
The next day, Tina drove to Taunton to have lunch with Jenny, Hank in his Jaguar right behind her. It felt both reassuring and slightly annoying at the same time. Jenny wouldn’t even know he was there because he planned to stay in his car after scoping out the place before Tina went inside. Jenny had given her good directions to get to Benjamin’s Restaurant, and she arrived about ten minutes before their agreed-upon time.
After Hank signaled his okay, she went in, got seated at a booth, and, after checking the menu, ordered a glass of Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc. She glanced around, trying to relax in the comfortable atmosphere. But it was hard. She was still trying to decide how to confront Jenny with the information Colin had told Laura and her about Jenny’s affair. Which she was determined to do.
She looked up from her wineglass to see Jenny rushing toward her, the maître d’ trying to keep up. As she slipped into the booth, she apologized for being late.
“You’re not late enough to count,” Tina reassured her. “But how come you wanted to meet here? Don’t you work in Boston?” They hadn’t had time to chat on the phone when they’d set up the meeting.
“The senator is giving a talk here in town. You may not know he was raised here. He likes to come back every so often to—” She was interrupted by the waiter asking for her drink order. “What’re you drinking, Tina?”
“Oyster Bay Sau
vignon Blanc. It’s very good.”
“I’ll try that,” Jenny said. The waiter left, and Jenny looked down at the menu. “The butternut ravioli is wonderful. They only offer it this time of year. And even though they also have bay scallops, not ocean ones, they’re excellent, too.”
Tina smiled. “Since you took my suggestion for the wine, I’ll try the ravioli. You were telling me about the senator.”
Jenny looked uncomfortable. “Yes, the senator. He’s visiting his mother for lunch, so the rest of us are on our own. I knew the staff wouldn’t come here—too formal for them, which is why I picked it.”
“Well, I think this is nice.”
The waiter approached to take their food orders. After he left, Jenny asked, “What’s happening with the house? I can’t believe there was a fire in the office. The police notified us this morning, but they said they didn’t know the cause yet. Do you know anything about it?”
Tina hesitated. Should she tell Jenny what she and the police suspected? Why not? She wanted to see her reaction. “Before the fire, I was in our home office. When I looked out the window, I saw what I’m sure was a flashlight moving around your aunt’s office. I’d left my cell in the living room, so I went to grab it.” She didn’t say she’d called Hank first instead of the police. “When I got back to the office, it was on fire. The fire fighters arrived very quickly—they’re so close. I’m pretty sure the fire was set, probably to destroy something in that room. What’s really puzzling is that we finished going through everything in the office, so I can’t figure out what the person was looking for or where they thought it might be.”
“That’s awful.” Jenny stared at Tina with horror. “I can’t believe this. Tina, I’m not sure I can cope. How much longer do you think it will take to finish the clearing out?’
“It’s coming along. There will be a lot to do when it’s finished to get it up to salable condition, though. I guess you realize that.”
“Yes. We’ve decided to hire a contractor and let him handle it. I guess we have to find one now that knows about fire damage.” She sighed. “We just want to bring it back to as close to original as possible, but up to code, of course. He should be able to do that without a lot of input from us, don’t you think?”
Buried Under Clutter (Tina Tales Mysteries Book 2) Page 22