Organized for Murder

by Ritter Ames

  Both girls ran from the room, screaming in excitement.

  "Oh, stop, please." Kate dropped into a chair.

  The grin disappeared from her husband's face. "I'm sorry, hon. I'll go get them calmed down and ready to eat. I wasn't thinking."

  "No, I'm sorry. You lightened the mood, and I do appreciate it." She propped her head on one hand and straightened scattered silverware with the other.

  "You'll feel better after you eat."

  She nodded but didn't believe him. The only thing that would make her feel better was to find an end to this nightmare and stop looking over her shoulder all the time.

  Who had the opportunity to slip the fan into her van, and when? While they were at church? Yesterday at the meeting in Amelia's mansion? Kate thought back to how the heirs all left on Saturday. Of course, Sophia had stormed out ahead of everyone. Danny, still upset, had been the first of the remaining group to depart, his dad trailing after him. Thomas stayed with the lawyer while Kate and Meg left, but she remembered him dropping out of sight a few times before and after the tour—ostensibly to smoke. That gave him the opportunity to break into her van. The lock didn't show tamper marks, but she and Meg dropped their purses and jackets on the buffet as they had entered the meeting. Had Thomas been brazen enough to lift her keys as they all sat around the huge table? Was there a time no one would have noticed? Yes, at the time the lawyer talked about the will. Every eye stayed trained on him. Or, when Bill and Sophia argued.

  Thinking of Sophia reminded Kate how the stepdaughter diva had been a late arrival herself. A mental picture flashed in her mind, replaying the sweeping grand entrance Sophia employed, plopping her fur wrap atop everyone else's belongings, then lingering to pick through her vintage alligator bag for a compact. "I must remove this shine from my nose," Sophia had said. Kate now wondered whether the shine was the only thing the viper removed.

  Everyone wove in and out during the tour, and had ample opportunity to steal the key and hide the fan. After church would have been harder. None of her suspects attended the McKenzies' church, so no one had a chance of stealing her key and putting it back today unless one of her fellow parishioners was a confederate. Though, that didn't count the possibility the key could have been surreptitiously borrowed Saturday by one of the heirs to make a wax mold, and a duplicate key used this morning.

  She moved to the oven as the timer pinged to signal the bread was done. Standing did more than physically straighten her backbone. Kate realized she was truly angry. She filled the breadbasket, vowing not to let this mental hustler win. "No way."

  "What, Mommy?" Sam asked, the girls almost tiptoeing back into the room, Keith at their heels.

  Poor things. As long as she let herself get frightened over every new setback, her family remained as much victims of this fiend as she was. "Just…um…telling myself not to let a headache ruin a wonderful Sunday afternoon with my family." She smiled at each girl, then up at Keith, adding, "I think I've found the cure I need, and I'm not letting this get to me anymore."

  "You sure?" He held the chair out for her.

  "Absolutely. Now, who wants bread?" she asked. As everyone filled their plates, happy, and often silly, conversation reigned once more. Kate stayed a little quieter than usual, but no one seemed to notice. She had plans to make. Her fingers itched to get hold of her casebook.

  First, she needed to talk to Meg. They needed to send a bid in the next day, but not as a ruse to get into the house one more time. Stacked in Your Favor was going to accept the job, and not simply to make enough to take their families to Disney World. She'd show whoever pulled these nasty acts she was no convenient scapegoat. Until the unmasking of Amelia's murderer, Kate would enter the Nethercutt mansion at least five days a week, keeping her eyes and ears open.

  There was no substitute for prudence, however. She needed to mandate some rules to protect herself and Meg, and she couldn't wait to tell Valerie how "for security reasons" they would do a group search of each other's belongings every day before leaving.

  *

  "Oh, yes, Thomas is a rather sad story," Jane said over the phone that evening.

  Kate had been unable to get with her motherin-law for a private conversation all afternoon and fell back on a telephone call after Keith and the girls left for an after-dinner ice cream run. "He seemed rather short on confidence."

  She could almost hear her motherin-law nod through the phone lines, as the response came, "Very low self-esteem. Amelia loved him without reservation, but she was never good at building confidence in others, her son included. She spent too much time polishing her own ego. It's all been such a sad situation."

  "When we were introduced I noticed he had the same surname as Amelia's maiden name," Kate said. "Didn't she marry his father?"

  "Oh, yes. Though of all her marriages and divorces that likely was the only one Amelia considered a failure. Dear, dear Joey."

  The name of the husband Amelia said she always forgot about. "Miss Amelia mentioned him. From what she told me, I assumed the marriage was quite short."

  "No, no." Through the phone Kate heard Jane take a deep breath, followed by a long moment of silence. "Until Amelia's marriage to Daniel Nethercutt, hers and Joey's was her longest. Six years. I doubt she forgot a single day."

  "This doesn't jell with what she said to me. She spoke as if he was inconsequential. Like she could barely remember him."

  Jane's voice took on a quieter tone as she continued. "Amelia and Joey grew up together. I think Amelia always loved him, but he wouldn't get married right out of college, and she got angry and found someone who would. James Harper. The marriage was doomed from the start. After all, its foundation was built on nothing more than spite, hurt feelings, and attempted jealousy."

  Imagining a young headstrong Amelia, determined to either get her way or make the man pay, came easily to Kate. Jane's next words confirmed these impressions.

  "The marriage lasted little more than a year. Her second, to Charles Walker mere months—"

  "Charles Webster Walker? The attorney?" Kate cried.

  "Why yes," Jane replied. "Have you met him?"

  "He's the one who hired Meg and me to inventory the collections. He's the executor of the will." This was getting way too complicated. "Isn't it a conflict of interest for Miss Amelia's ex-husband to be handling her estate?"

  "I don't see why, unless he's an heir. I can't imagine Amelia leaving him any kind of inheritance. That wouldn't be her way. Of course, with the rumors of their affair—"

  "A recent affair?"

  "Again, this is all rumor, Kate, but it is why George and I moved all of our legal work to the lawyer in Bennington. We don't have a lot, but this is a small town and—"

  "Did he know why you left?"

  "We didn't say in so many words, but…still…I always liked Mr. Daniel."

  "Well, given that Mr. Walker gave me the inventorying job he doesn't seem to be one to hold grudges against the McKenzie name."

  "Oh, no, Charles might be a bit stiff, but he's a politician at heart and stays on pleasant terms with everyone. Never forgets a face and is always the first to offer help. Even after he and Amelia divorced, she relied heavily on him for keeping her financial affairs in order. Which was probably some basis for the rumors."

  And could lead people to wonder whether Amelia killed her husband. Kate knew that angle was not something her motherin-law would discuss and took the conversation back to its original path. "I can't connect the dots on what Miss Amelia said about her husband Joey to what you've told me. She acted like the marriage slipped her mind, yet none of it explains why her son doesn't use his father's last name. How did she finally get Joey to marry her? And what was his last name, by the way?"

  "Oh, Cavannah," Jane said. "Sorry, more local trivia. Anyway, Joey Cavannah was eventually worn down and agreed to be Amelia's third husband."

  "You make it sound like a bit of arm-twisting. I realize she had a strong personality, but was Joey so weak-
natured?"

  "No, no. I'm going about this all wrong. Let me start over. Well, not completely from the beginning, but back a little." Jane was silent again, apparently to collect her thoughts. "Joey hated hurting people. Actually, he avoided hurting anything. He was very much like Thomas, always attempting to be helpful, never wanting to make waves. Joey had an artistic temperament. He wanted to be an actor. Unfortunately, his family, and even Amelia, were determined he would go into politics."

  "So, Amelia wanted to go to Washington for more than the cherry blossoms," Kate mused.

  "What, dear?"

  "Nothing. Go on."

  "Anyway, like I said, Joey was an artistic sort and had no desire for the rigors and competitions of politics. But he couldn't fight everyone, and he had no champions for his dream. He went to law school to please his parents. But the longer he played the role of trying to be the good son, the easier it came for everyone to bully him into doing whatever they wanted. His will shattered as his dream died. Eventually even Amelia got her way and they married, though such a battle won is never a sweet victory, especially as she never kept her ambitions of his political potential and her social goals a secret. She should have just stayed married to Charles. Her marriage to Joey never materialized the way she envisioned, but Amelia was too stubborn to accept anything less than the powerful fairy tale she'd imagined."

  "And Thomas?"

  "The couple may have had their ups and downs, but he's definitely Joey's. The pressure the poor soul lived under from both his parents…and then Amelia…"

  She could tell her motherin-law was feeling uncomfortable about the turn of the conversation, how it smacked quietly of gossip. Jane kept an open mind, but tried to keep her mouth closed on other people's private affairs. This information could be important. Kate pressed on, even if it meant smaller steps. "How long until he left his family, or did Amelia divorce him?"

  "Oh, no, Joey couldn't leave. That wasn't his way, and besides, Amelia wouldn't let him go. Also, like I already mentioned, he had been systematically beaten into submission throughout his life. We would call it emotional abuse today, but back then people accepted it as bowing to family pressure. I guess we still do, actually. He did rebel a bit. Joined a community theater group, but his father heard about it and ended that. No Cavannah would humiliate the family by appearing on stage."

  Jane stopped for a moment. After a pause, her motherin-law spoke up again, either understanding Kate's need to know or else wanting to make sure everything was understood. "People talked, of course, wondering if Joey would finally decide enough was enough, and, well, poor Amelia had to have heard at least some of it. But she steadfastly refused to believe the marriage doomed. By the time she gave birth to Thomas, she and Joey had been married nearly four years. She looked ready to walk on air, and I know she thought the baby would make all the difference. In my heart, though, I never doubted her fall back to earth would be a painful one, and I was right."

  "You said he didn't leave—"

  "No, I said he couldn't." Silence reigned again briefly, then Jane added, almost in a whisper, "He killed himself. Joey drove his car into Hunter's Pond. He'd mailed letters to his parents and to Amelia, saying goodbye, and that he was very sorry. Joey's parents died within the year; his father from a heart attack and his mother from an accidental fall down the stairs."

  "Oh, that's sad." Kate gripped the receiver. "At least Thomas was a baby, but poor Amelia."

  Jane sighed. "She took the baby and left for Europe immediately after the funeral. I never even had a chance to speak to her. A few months later, I think it was while she lived in Italy, her parents died in a small plane crash. She came home to close up their house, listed it with a realtor, and disappeared once more. I followed her subsequent marriages and divorces in the paper, as surprised as everyone else in town when she returned to Hazelton after marrying Daniel Nethercutt. They bought that huge mansion, and, finally, Amelia seemed happy. Truly happy."

  "And Thomas?"

  A tsking sound came over the receiver ahead of Jane's words. "Of course, I have nothing to gauge anything on. I didn't see the boy grow up. I suppose Amelia had him use the Lane name to protect him from anyone who knew about his father. But Thomas always seemed a shadow person to me. Like someone who's perpetually waiting to be told what to do next."

  The front door slam announced her family's return. "I have to go, Jane. Thanks for talking about this with me."

  "I hope I helped, dear."

  As she replaced the receiver, Kate wondered what real help would look like at this point.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  STACKED IN YOUR FAVOR

  KATE MCKENZIE, PRES.

  Monday, April 12th

  Memo to Self:

  I will not get discouraged.

  *

  Kate sat across the kitchen table from Meg, with Valerie James at one end. They silently watched as Valerie, stunning in jeans and a faux zebra fur vest, perused the contract they'd fine-tuned and printed an hour earlier. Everything hinged on the diva's decision. Would she sign or wouldn't she? The Stacked in Your Favor bid sheet was ready to send to Charles Webster Walker's office as soon as the contract carried her signature. Without a third person, Kate and Meg already acknowledged over morning coffee they couldn't undertake the job, money or no money, access to return items to the mansion or no access. They'd again tossed around the idea of using the proffered legal assistant but decided their first instincts were still best. It was Valerie or nothing.

  "No matter how annoying she is," Meg had quipped.

  In addition to the workers-searching clause, Kate added a requirement that no persons outside of employees or agents of Stack in Your Favor enter the premises during the weeks of inventory. She even left a place in the contract for Charles Webster Walker to countersign to the conditions. Not that she completely believed said limitations would keep out the mysterious thief, but their inclusion in the contract might make things more dicey for anyone caught inside the mansion who couldn't explain his or her authorized entry.

  The interior decorator scanned the first page, nodding as her gaze hit the area of work hours and per hour salary. Then, as expected, her face darkened when she read the final clause.

  "You're requiring I do what?" Valerie shrieked, giving each a glare hot enough to melt steel.

  "I thought the wording was clear," Kate forced herself to breathe evenly and keep her voice calm, leaning a little sideways to pretend to read the contract, "Let me see if I can expand on it a bit. We're requiring all regular and contract employees of Stacked in Your Favor do hereby agree to—"

  "I can read, damn it!" Valerie slammed one hand on the contract, making the pen jump. "I just don't understand why you added such a stupid condition."

  "Oh, I see," Kate replied. She heard a muffled snort from Meg's direction. "Well, this is simply a formality to keep everything on the up and up for our bonding company. After all, we'll be around countless rare and valuable objects, and if anything turns up missing, my carrier will be on the hook for the appraised amount."

  "Sophia is not going to like this."

  "I beg to differ. Any good businesswoman understands the value of insurance—and its restrictions. Plus, she's already expressed concerns about certain items vanishing in the last few weeks. This contract clause keeps everything clear and defendable. It's not that I don't trust you or Meg, but if all of us can firmly back up each other—"

  "Given the fact as how signing is, as you say, only a formality, we won't actually be searching one another."

  Kate shook her head. "On the contrary. We will definitely conduct the group searches at the end of each business day. I didn't mean to imply we were only giving lip service to what the contract stated."

  Unbelievably, the decorator's face turned a shade darker. "I'm uncomfortable with this clause."

  "In that case, I'm afraid you can't work on the Nethercutt job."

  Kate extended a hand toward the contract. In the same insta
nt, Valerie snatched it out of her reach. "Just a minute. Let me think." She looked at her cell phone for a second, then dropped it into her designer bag. "I really must consider my own company's liability."

  "Of course." Kate sat back and contemplated whom Valerie almost called—the insurance company for the design firm or Sophia. It didn't matter, they knew Sophia was up to something, and Valerie was likely a player in the plan, but knowing for sure could be helpful. She looked at Meg, who was still unable to speak but whose bright eyes telegraphed Valerie's hooked. We've got her.

  And got her they had. She winked back.

  "Okay." Valerie ripped the pen off the tabletop and, with huge, angry, flourishing strokes, signed her name on the line beneath Kate's and Meg's countersignatures.

  "Terrific." Kate scooped up the contract. "I'll go make each of you a copy and send the bid to the lawyer." She headed for her office. "Be back in a sec."

  Ten minutes later, after copies were distributed and a call from Walker confirmed receipt and acceptance of the bid, Valerie steamed out the front door. Still obviously controlling the urge to scream, she called over her shoulder, "I'll meet the two of you at the mansion at one o'clock. I have to go see…a client."

  Kate held her breath as the door slammed, but it was too much for Meg. The redhead exploded, dancing in leaps, lunges, and giddy quick steps after the hysterics took control. They looked at each other and simultaneously collapsed in jubilant laughter. As they shared a dishtowel to wipe away tears, Kate asked, "Do you think she heard us?"

  "Who cares?" Meg waved the towel. "It'll give her more to whine about when she sees Sophia."

  Already on her feet, Kate moved over to the coffeepot. "So, you think she was heading for lunch with her mentor?"

  "Absolutely." Meg found a chair at the table, and wrapped a hand around her refilled cup. "Thanks. Releasing that much energy at one time is draining. I need this. By the way, did you talk to Jane about what's been going on?"

  "I asked for the historical scoop, but I didn't tell her someone's trying to paint me as a thief and murderer."