When No One Was Looking (Sophie McGuire Mysteries)

by Jenny Rebecca Keech

  My purse slid down. I shoved it back up on my shoulder. “I was wondering,” I said, plowing my path carefully. “I heard the word Marabou yesterday and thought you might know what it meant. For some reason, it sounded familiar.”

  Effie Rae gave a nod. “Of course. I’ve heard of Marabou.” She gave me an odd look. “But it’s been years since I’ve heard anyone mention the word.”

  “Really?” Interesting. Jane’s eyes were still on the cake but I caught the movement of her head as she listened and leaned toward the conversation. “Who is it?”

  Effie Rae grinned. “Not who, but what. Marabou was a place.”

  “A place?” I asked, perplexed. “I don’t understand.”

  She gave a shrug of her shoulders. “Well, like I said, most people wouldn’t mention it today because it doesn’t exist anymore.”

  I persisted. “Where did it exist?”

  “It was the old Wilkins family estate,” Effie Rae stated casually.

  A light blinked on. George Wilkins. There was the connection. “Okay,” I said slowly.

  Effie Rae put her hands together. “Look, people used to name their family estates. That’s no big secret. The Wilkins had owned Marabou for, I’d say, around a hundred years. But over time, with high costs of maintenance and less family money existing, people started seeing the estates as more of a burden than a heritage. The Wilkins eventually sold the estate and surrounding land to pay off debts owed. With the leftover money, they were able to keep the grocery and move to town.” She gave me another odd look. “Where did you hear the word?”

  I smiled and shrugged. “I don’t know. I think I actually read it somewhere. It sounded interesting, that’s all. Do you remember when Marabou was sold?”

  Effie Rae nodded. “Oh, about twenty years ago, I’d say.” She sighed. “The history of a lot of the family estates has been lost over the years. The library might have some interesting facts about it. Very few like Larrinaga exist today.”

  Jane looked up. “Larrinaga?”

  Effie smiled. “You’re standing in it. This place is well over two hundred years old. It’s been in the Sutherland family the whole time.” She shook her head. “It’ll be a shame to see it go away now.”

  “Why would that happen,” I asked?

  “Seth had no heirs, except for Marissa,” Effie Rae replied. “And, she doesn’t have any children so I’m not certain what will happen to the estate in the future. Even if someone buys and maintains it, it still won’t be the same. Oh well. At least there’s still Shadow Oaks. Now there’s a place with plenty of heirs. It’ll probably still be standing in another hundred years,” she said with a chuckle.

  “Ladies. I’m so glad you could come.”

  Marissa Sutherland stood in the doorway, her long brown hair brushed back from her face. It cascaded down her back in a silky mass. She was dressed somberly in a plain black dress that came elegantly to her calves and sheathed her slender form.”

  Effie Rae walked over and gave Marissa a hug. “I’m so sorry about Seth.”

  Marissa’s smile was tight with grief. “Thank you.” She looked beyond Effie Rae to Jane and I. “Thank you all, for everything. Please feel free to mingle.” She motioned toward the outer hallway. “Some of the other ladies are in the drawing room. Second door on the right. I’ll let you find your own way. Martha is serving refreshments and I need to check on a few things in the kitchen.” She started to say something else but instead brought her handkerchief up to her mouth as she blinked back tears. She turned and slipped quietly out into the hall without another word.

  “Poor woman,” Effie Rae said sadly, “And after only being married for five years.”

  “They looked so happy,” Jane commented.

  “Oh, they were,” Effie Rae said with a nod. “Seth doted on her like she was a princess. There was nothing he wouldn’t give that woman. Sad,” she muttered again and walked out.

  I watched Effie leave.

  Jane hustled over to me. “I heard what Effie said,” she stated excitedly.

  I passed her a napkin. “Stop eating the food for the bereaved.”

  Jane rolled her eyes but wiped the corners of her mouth. “It was only Susan Wilkins’ Chocolate Éclair Cake and I only broke off a piece of the icing along the bottom.” She looked stumped. “I still haven’t figured out a certain taste hers acquires.” She tapped the table and closed her eyes in thought. “There’s this hint of, I don’t know, something in the chocolate,” she said in aggravation. “I just can’t get it.” Jane opened her eyes and blinked. “Where were we?”

  “Something about what Effie Rae said,” I mentioned slowly.

  “Oh yeah, you know, the George Wilkins thing.”

  “Marabou.”

  Jane threw her hands up in the air and continued as if she’d never gone off on a tangent. “Exactly. And this place is called Larrinaga,” she said eagerly. Jane’s eyes narrowed. “Wasn’t there a letter ‘L’ in the journal?”

  “Now that you mention it,” I whispered. There was a flush of excitement that came with understanding. “You think Seth Sutherland was one of Cindy’s men?”

  Jane shrugged. “What else? But we need a way to prove it.” She snapped her fingers. “The notecard. If Seth was on the list, there’s every chance he would have got a notecard like the one you found in George’s desk.”

  I gave her a blank look. “What do you want to do about it? It’s seems in bad form to ask the grieving widow about her late husband’s mail.”

  Jane rolled her eyes again. “We don’t have to do that. We can look for it ourselves.”

  My eyes widened. “Are you out of your mind? We’re here to console a bereaved widow and you want to rifle through her things?”

  “Technically, his things,” Jane corrected, “although I suppose since Seth’s dead, they would be her things now.” She held up her hand. “It doesn’t matter. And in answer to your question – yes, I do. Think about it: when’s the next chance you’ll have to be in this house?”

  She had a point. Still, it seemed a little bad form. However, my curiosity quickly overrode that thought. I tiptoed to the door and looked out. There was no one in the hall. I turned back. “We don’t even know where Seth’s office would be.” I whispered.

  Jane walked over to the door. She peered out both ways. “Then we go look,” she said as she walked out.

  I grabbed her arm. “What happens if we’re caught?” I hissed.

  She shrugged. “We use the age old excuse.” At my blank look, she sighed, “We were looking for the powder room.”

  I blinked. “Jane, have you been watching those old black and whites again? Because that doesn’t really work in here in the real world.”

  Jane plucked my fingers off. “Of course it does. Follow me.”

  I watched her walk confidently down the hall and past the room where we should have been heading. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and followed. No one called out our names. There was a heavy silence in the air as we went deeper into the house. Ahead of me, Jane was poking her head through different doors. I sighed. This was right up her alley.

  Jane pulled her head out of one room. “This is it,” she whispered excitedly. “At least it looks like some kind of study.”

  Before I could stop her, Jane disappeared inside. I took one more look behind and then followed her.

  “Hold one second and let me find a light.” Jane’s voice floated to me in the dark. “Oh, I got it. Okay, close the door.”

  I pushed the door shut and we were enveloped in complete blackness. Suddenly, there was a click and light invaded the tiny space around the desk. It was a small banker’s lamp. Jane was leaned over, looking. I made my way over and set my purse down on a chair. “What do you see?”

  “A man who wasn’t a big fan of order,” Jane said crossly as she maneuvered the piles that covered the desk. “Take the drawers, why don’t you?”

  I sighed and knelt beside her. I started looking, gently slidin
g the drawers out so that the light would catch the insides. My fingers shuffled through the contents. “I can’t believe you talked me into this. For all we know, even if Seth received a notecard, he could have thrown it away.”

  “Or, he could have found it intriguing and kept it. It’s what I would have done. Besides, you want to know who killed Rebekah Peterson and framed Johanna, don’t you?”

  She was right so I held my tongue and kept searching. Third drawer down, I found what I was looking for. “Jane,” I whispered, holding up the distinctive white card with blue hydrangea pattern. She paused and I rose and leaned in closer to the light, opening the card. It read, ‘It’s time to make amends for the past, Larrinaga. See you soon. CP’.

  “I was right,” Jane said in excitement, her voice ringing out in the room. Her eyes widened and she added in a whisper, “Seth was ‘L’.”

  I nodded. A sound of movement out in the hall alerted us. Quickly, Jane reached over and cut off the light. We eased down behind the desk. I heard the door swing open and held my breath. There was a heavy pause. Then the door swung close with a thud. I let my breath out in a rush and tried to slow my pounding heart. We stayed that way for a moment.

  I turned to where I thought Jane might be, “Did you see who it was?”

  Her voice floated to me from the right. “Oh yeah,” she whispered sarcastically. “I thought I’d just pop my head up like a deer in the headlights and freeze.”

  There was a fumble and a small scrap; then the light clicked back on. I glanced apprehensively at the door before looking back. Jane was standing, glaring at me. I stood and grabbed my purse. I watched as Jane took the notecard and stuck it in her purse.

  “What are you doing?”

  “It’s evidence,” she muttered. “We have to keep it for evidence. It’s not like Seth’s going to miss it.”

  I frowned. “What about Marissa?”

  Jane gave me an odd look. “You think Marissa knows about this card? It was stuck at the bottom of the third drawer. That’s not normally the ‘I want to discuss this with my wife’ part of the desk.”

  I ignored the ill temper and thought. “Still. I wonder if Marissa knew about this.” I shook my head. “It’s doesn’t matter. Bring it. We have to get out of here before we get caught.”

  “Stay close to the light,” Jane stated as she walked over to the door. She eased it open and looked out. Turning to me, she nodded. “Come on.”

  I looked at the path to the door for memory and then cut off the light. Somehow, I made it to Jane without running into anything breakable. I peered out. She was right. The hallway was empty. I sighed with relief and followed Jane out. I grabbed her wrist. “Now, what?”

  “Now we just mingle as if it were natural.”

  We went back down the hall. As we passed the stairs leading up, a voice called down, “Ladies?”

  I felt Jane jump. It was good to know that she was also the slightest bit nervous. We looked up.

  Martha was on the landing between floors. She looked at us with curiosity. ”Can I help you?”

  I very slowly reached over and pinched Jane. She broke from her freeze with a jerk and a smile. “Oh, hi, Marth. We were just looking for the powder room.” Jane turned and gave me a glare as she rubbed her side.

  Martha nodded and continued down. “It’s actually the door next to the one the ladies are in,” she said, pointing. “Marissa was exhausted so she has retired for the night. I was just on my way to let the other ladies know.”

  “Thank you, Martha,” I said cautiously. “I’m sorry we didn’t get to say our goodbyes in person. Please give them to her from us, along with our condolences.” Jane nodded solemnly.

  “Of course.”

  Martha went by us and into the room with the ladies. Jane and I made a quick stop into the bathroom for appearances sake before popping back out. Women were in the process of gathering coats. I saw Charlene Kirkwood, but she only gave us a quick nod as she turned away and grabbed her coat. So much for mending that fence.

  Susan Wilkins was in the process of sliding into her coat as Jane and I went by. The night air was cool and I wrapped my sweater tight as I went out into the night. My mom was already gone. So was Effie Rae. Jane and I went down the steps.

  Near the bottom, Jane jerked on my sleeve. “Did you see George Wilkins?”

  I jerked my head up. “Where?”

  She tilted her head a direction to the side. “He’s sitting in the driver’s seat of that gray car.”

  “He’s been sitting there the whole time?”

  “You know Susan hates driving at night. Maybe he felt weird going in with all the women there.”

  I turned and glanced to the side. There, in the gray car, was George Wilkins. He looked out at me from behind the shadowed glass. His eyes were narrowed, his stare intent as he looked in my direction. The car door opened and George stepped out. I was stunned at the displeased look on his face. I had this sinking feeling that somehow, he’d found out about my snooping. He did not look like the friendly, upbeat George Wilkins I was used to seeing at my hometown family grocery.

  I moved to the driver’s side of the Yukon and unlocked the door as I slid in and popped Jane’s door. “Come on.”

  Jane had been staring back but she slid into the seat. “That’s weird. He’s just staring at us.” She glanced back through the glass. “He couldn’t know you went through his desk, could he?”

  Great. Voice my inner thoughts, why don’t you, Jane. I looked into the review mirror and started the car. “Of course not. Let’s just go.” I backed out of the park. George was still standing in the dark under a light, watching.

  Jane shook her head. “That was just plain odd.”

  Creepy, I wanted to add. A shiver-running-up-my-spine kind of creepy. I had a growing suspicion that George Wilkins had lied to me when he’d said he’d told me everything. There was something I knew he was keeping to himself. Amazingly, it made him seem slightly dangerous. It was at odds with the George I’ve known all my life who’s always appeared more dry and dull.

  I put the car in drive. As I pulled out of the driveway, I could see George standing where the Yukon had been parked. At the end of the road, I stopped, looked both ways and pulled out onto Marion road only to quickly make a right on Weaver.

  Jane was reclined back in the passenger seat. “Maybe it’s butter rum?”

  She was back on the cake. “I’m surprised you didn’t try to smuggle it out under your coat,” I added, amused.

  “I thought about it,” she stated morosely. Then sighed, “Well, I thought about cutting at least a slice for my pocket, but then you distracted me with the notecard search.” She sighed again and threw her hand above her head and let it drape upon the headrest.

  I didn’t bother bringing up that she’d needed little distraction beyond the bare mention. I chuckled at the image she made. The girl had truly missed her calling for the stage. “Don’t worry, Jane. If you haven’t figured it out next time there’s some event she bakes for, I promise I’ll help with the larceny.”

  Coming up to a slight curve, I pressed the brake to slow the Yukon. It took me a second to recognize that I hadn’t slowed. The SUV took the curve but not without knocking Jane against the door.

  “Sophie,” Jane said, alarmed. “You awake?”

  “Of course, I’m awake,” I stated indignantly as I gripped the wheel tightly and pressed my foot harder. It went all the way to the floor. “There’s something wrong with the brakes. We’re not slowing.”

  With my foot off the accelerator, the Yukon would slow. But not fast enough. A second curve approached. I prayed and hugged the edge. The wheels squealed. Jane was flung in my direction. She managed to catch herself by grabbing hold of the middle console.

  “Whoa. Uh, Sophie, isn’t Davey road right ahead?”

  “I know,” I said through gritted teeth. A stop sign flashed in my headlights. Suddenly I remembered the parking brake and jammed it so hard with my foot, it�
��s a wonder it didn’t break off. There was a squeal as the vehicle abruptly slowed. Not quick enough. I jerked the wheel to the right at the last minute and the Yukon slammed into dirt but not before I heard a nasty crumpling sound.

  I expelled the air I had been holding and looked over the steering wheel I still held with tight fingers. The front end of the SUV appeared to be buried in a side ditch. A few feet outside my window swayed the red and white stop sign. You know, they definitely do look bigger up close.

  I glanced over at Jane. She was still braced against the dash, even now that the vehicle had stopped moving. Her eyes were huge. Her mouth hung open and I couldn’t tell if she was breathing in or breathing out. “You okay?”

  My words kicked her out of her frozen state. She glanced up and swallowed. “That was interesting,” Jane mumbled as she fell back against the reclined seat. She lay there and looked up, panting. “Let’s not do it again anytime soon, okay?”

  I managed a weak smile. “No problem.”

  Lights approached from behind and I slipped out of the door. It was Charlene. She leaned across the car toward her open window. “Sophie,” she said with a frown as I approached, “Are you and Jane alright?”

  I hoped some type of smile was stretched across my face. “Yes. But something happened to my brakes. They just decided to fail, I think,” I said, my voice wavered. “But, don’t worry. I was just getting ready to call Gabe.”

  She nodded, her brow furrowed. “Go ahead. I’ll wait till I’m certain someone’s coming.”

  I thanked her and dialed. It only took a moment to connect with his cell number. Gabe keeps his cell phone close by at all times to deal with disturbances after hours. We normally don’t get that many. Gabe answered on the second ring and a few seconds later he hung up with the words ‘I’ll be right there’ reverberating in my ear.

  I leaned down and let Charlene know. I was gratified to hear her say that she would wait till Gabe showed. We talked and while we did, several more cars from Marissa’s passed by. A few stopped but I waved them on with the information that help was already on the way. This is one of the reasons I love small town life. Everyone’s always ready to lend a hand, even people who might not normally be your friend.