“I’m so happy you’re here. Maybe you can tell us all about Ireland,” Susan said.
“Yes, we’d very much like to visit there someday,” Elaine chimed in.
“Ah, ‘twould be me pleasure. Perhaps over a suppa tea at Ms. Watson’s establishment,” he said.
Their faces drooped, and so did Don’s, at the mention of the tea shop. It was clear the event had upset them. They looked at her and hemmed and hawed nervously.
“I understand how you feel. I don’t know if I’ll ever get over the fact that somebody we know died in my shop,” Tommie said.
“Oh, now Tommie. It wasn’t your fault. We know that, for cripes sake. As much as we’ve gone in and had tea, we’ve always felt your place was so clean,” Susan said. “I don’t care what Charles Williams says.”
“Me neither. Linda Beadwell was in here yesterday, and she tried to say your tea blend was bad, but I told her she didn’t know what she was talking about. She doesn’t even drink tea, for cripes sake,” Elain stated.
“Yes, ‘tis true. Ms. Watson made me a sup of tea last night, and I slept like a bare-bummed babe. She’s a wonder with them herbs. I’d trust her wit’ me life, I would,” Finbar said, “but I’m wondering, what d’you think happened to the poor woman?”
“Well, let me tell you. We were sitting two tables over. Coral was sitting alone in her usual spot with her usual teacup. She was predictable, you know what I mean? Even her sack lunch was the same as always. Ham and cheese sandwich on white bread, a single-serve bag of barbecue potato chips, fat dill pickle, and three oatmeal cookies,” Don said.
“Not two, not four, but three,” Susan and Elaine said in unison with a guilty laugh.
“Always the same,” Don said with a shrug.
“Curious woman, it seems,” Finbar remarked.
“Yes. She banked here, you know,” Don said. “She lived in the historic Beadwell House on Bottlebrush Boulevard. It’s number seven on the historic trail—a colonial two-story home with columns and a balcony. It used to be a larger mansion, but they took out the walkways between the main house and the wings. Tom—that’s her brother—and Linda Beadwell live in the West Wing. They converted it into a stand-alone house and cut in a new front door facing King’s Mantle Street. We secured their building loan. The East Wing was sold to the Blakes, and they turned it into Blake’s Bed ’n’ Breakfast. People call it the ‘B B ‘n’ B’ because Blake’s Bed ’n’ Breakfast is too much of a tongue-twister. We secured their renovation loan, too. Coral had lived in the main house by herself the past four years since her folks died.”
“I hear Linda wants that house real bad,” Susan said.
“She’s cheesed because Tom didn’t get it in the parents’ will,” Elaine said. “I guess she’ll get it now.”
“Not necessarily. The terms of the will stated Tom would have right of first refusal to buy the house, just like Coral did. She bought the house, and the money went to some charity her parents had designated,” Don said.
“How did you know that, Donny?” Susan asked.
“I heard it from Pete Smith at the poker game last night. Pete’s the Beadwell’s attorney. A few of us guys get together and play cards once a week. You’re welcome to join us, Mr. Holmes.”
“I may well do that, Mr. Lareby. I like the cards almost as much as the horses,” Finbar said with a wink.
“Great. Call me Don.”
“If you’ll call me Finbar.”
“It’s a deal.”
“Who’s handling the sale of Coral’s house now that she’s deceased?” Tommie asked.
“Floral Real Estate, who else?” Elaine said.
“So, Charles Williams gets to put more money in his pockets,” Tommie said with a sigh.
“Well, the way I hear it, he has to split it with Beverly Cantrell ... again! They got equal commissions on the first sale, and they’ll get the same if Tom and Linda buy it,” Susan said, joining her sister nodded in a conspiratorial nod.
“No! I can’t believe Charles would do that,” Tommie said, her eyes wide.
“I don’t think he wants to, but it’s stipulated in the will. The parents died on the same night, believe it or not. Car accident. Charles and Beverly had a knock-down-drag-out shouting match outside our window four years ago when the will was read. We all heard the fight. And then yesterday, when Linda Beadwell was in here, she was complaining about Beverly getting half the commission again,” Don said.
“That’s right, she didn’t complain about Charles, though,” Susan said.
“No, not about Charles,” Elaine confirmed.
“Just Beverly,” they said in unison.
“Wow. I guess Henry Erving will be glad when the house sells and Beverly Cantrell gets that big commission,” Tommie commented.
The three of them looked at her blankly.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Why on earth would Henry Erving benefit from Beverly’s commission, for cripes sake?” Susan asked.
“Aren’t they a thing?” Tommie asked.
“What? No. He had a thing for Coral Beadwell. I thought everybody knew that,” Elaine said. “He was lovesick.”
“Now he’s just sick,” Susan quipped.
“Tommie’s new, Sisters. She can’t know everything,” Don said.
“But I thought he and Beverly were dating. They were eating together in the gazebo Monday,” Tommie stated.
“I saw that, too, but it wasn’t Henry’s doing, them having lunch in that gazebo,” Susan said.
“Nope. We were walking over for lunch. Henry was in the gazebo. I saw Beverly come running out the door of the real estate office, cross the street, go in your shop, and come running back to the gazebo. On those high heels, if you can imagine. It’s a wonder she didn’t break her neck, for cripes sake,” Elaine said.
“Henry plays poker with us. He’s never mentioned Beverly, but he’s talked a lot … and I mean a lot … about Coral. He was obsessed with her, and she was hateful as could be to him,” Don confirmed. “Once, he said she made him so mad he wanted to throttle her. He wouldn’t, though. Henry’s a pretty harmless, mild-mannered kind of guy.”
Susan and Elaine exchanged a look, and then gave Tommie the same look. Not so harmless, huh? she thought.
Don Lareby glanced at his watch. “Hey, lunchtime. We’re walking down the street to The Lunch Pad. It’s a space exploration themed diner just past your tea shop, Tommie. They have a good Moon Landing Pie dessert. Y’all want to come along and eat with us?”
“Alas. ‘Twould be lovely, I’m sure, but Ms. Watson has been on her broken ankle far too long today, so I’ll be taking her back to her house. But, sure, one day soon we’ll go,” Finbar said.
“That’s great, and you’ll think about the poker club, too, right?” Don said, shaking his hand.
“Sure. Sure. ‘Twill be on me list,” Finbar replied.
“And Tommie, don’t you worry. As soon as your shop is back open, we’ll be there,” Susan said.
“Yes, Tommie, we love you. Take care of that ankle, and thanks for bringing Finbar to meet us. We’re thrilled, just thrilled to have him here,” Elaine said.
“Bye, now,” the three of them said in unison.
Finbar helped Tommie into the car, and they drove back home and ate breakfast leftovers for lunch.
Chapter Sixteen
Lunch at Finbar’s was leftover breakfast. In Tommie’s estimation, it was just as good the second time around. She ate heartily, helped Finbar clear the dishes, and took up her spot on the sofa.
Finbar sat in his armchair, lifted his feet onto the ottoman, and took his legal pad in hand. The three dogs (he said Sherlock had requested the presence of Zed and Red) laid on the floor and finished licking their chops after receiving the last bits of black pudding and bacon.
“I would say we had a productive morning, d’you agree?” Finbar asked.
“Definitely. Let’s get it on paper before we forget the d
etails,” Tommie suggested.
“Righto. I’m listing our suspects as we interviewed them. This is my notepad setup.” He took a second legal pad from the end table and showed her. At the top of the first page was written: SUSPECT INTERVIEWS. Below that was written: SUSPECT 1: He filled in the name Sarah Beth Brewster beside it. Underneath were listed topics with several lines between each:
Interviewed at:
Motive:
Alibi:
Lies:
Truths:
On the second page, the topics were:
Implicates:
Gossip & Hearsay:
Questions:
Observations:
The following page began a new chart with SUSPECT 2: Beside it, Finbar wrote: Henry Erving. He filled in the rest of the suspect names on the subsequent pages.
“That’s amazing. You are the most organized man I’ve ever met,” she said.
“Elementary, my dear Watson. It’s just a technique to help me get my thoughts in order. It’s easier for me to see it to get it in my brain. Right then. Sarah Beth Brewster. Interviewed at Brewster’s Coffee Shoppe. Motive we leave blank and fill it in after some discussion. Ah. Now, this one is very important. Alibi. Where was Mrs. Brewster at the time of the murder?”
“She said she wanted to get groceries, so she closed up early. She sent Linda Beadwell out the back door.”
“Precisely. Now, do you recall if we caught her in any lies? Anything that you would consider untrue?”
Tommie thought for a few minutes. “No. Not at the moment. She said she was late opening up, but we can’t verify that until we interview Linda Beadwell. I know they were arguing just before I opened at 12:00, and she confirmed it. I heard Sarah Beth’s door slam shut just before mine opened. No, Finbar, I can’t find any lies.”
“What can we verify as true, then? She closed up her shop before 12:00. Mrs. Beadwell was in her shop until that time. Right?”
“Yes. Pretty much. Oh, and she saw Charles Williams outside walking with Coral. That’s another reason she hurried Linda out of the shop, so she wouldn’t have to deal with Charles. Where do we put all that about the affair?”
“That goes on the line labeled GOSSIP & HEARSAY. We’ll come to that later.”
“Cool,” she said, adjusting her position on the sofa.
“Who would you say she may have implicated in her testimony?”
“I’d say mostly Charles Williams, but maybe Linda Beadwell, too.”
“I agree. Now for Gossip. Charles and Linda’s affair. Questions. I should like to know more about that argument and why she was tardy in the morning. Observations? None right now, so we leave it blank. Right, then. I think we’re done with her for now.”
He passed the legal pad to her for closer inspection, and Tommie was able to see at a glance the particulars they discussed surrounding the first suspect.
SUSPECT 1: Sarah Beth Brewster
Interviewed at: Brewster’s Coffee Shoppe
Motive:
Alibi: Closed early for groceries & to avoid Charles Williams
Lies: Must verify reasons for tardiness & early closure
Truths: Closed early; sent Linda Beadwell out back
Implicates: Charles Williams, Linda Beadwell
Gossip & Hearsay: Charles & Linda affair
Questions: details of argument; why late opening?
Observations:
“That looks great, Finbar. It puts everything in a perspective that’s quick and easy to check off. I like it,” she said, handing him back the legal pad.
“Lovely. Next is Henry Erving. Suspect number two.”
“Let me try this one, since you did the interviewing.”
“Brilliant. I am quite delighted you are so engaged in our investigation. Proceed.”
“OK. Interviewed at UPS Store. Motive unknown. No, wait. I think he has motives. He was passed over for promotion because of Coral. Also, she publicly made fun of him and spurned him. Those are pretty strong motives, don’t you think?”
“Loss of income. Humiliation. Jealousy. Unrequited love. Those are strong indeed. Good on you, Thomasina.”
Tommie smiled and sat up straighter. “Alibi. He was in the gazebo having lunch with Beverly. I saw them myself. Lie? I don’t know, unless what he said about Beverly being his girlfriend is untrue like the sisters said. You know, I really think I would have heard about it if they were an item … unless it was a brand-new relationship that day. How about put ‘relationships with Coral and Beverly’ under questions?”
“Good thinking. For truth, we will say he watched Coral and Charles go in together. His testimony implicates Charles Williams, I think.”
“And himself. I think he implicated himself, too. And the gossip is that Charles and Coral were an item. Henry put that out there to throw us off, I believe. Questions? Like I said, his relationship with Coral Beadwell is a big question, and so is his relationship with Beverly.”
“Right you are. Here, missus. You write out the next one whilst I put us on a fresh kettle of tea. I have a throat,” he said, handing her the pad.
“What’s that mean? You have a throat?” she asked.
“My throat is dry. I’m thirsty,” he replied with a grin.
Tommie chuckled. What an odd turn of phrase for an odd sort of man, she thought. But I do like him very much.
“Suspect three is Beverly Cantrell. Interviewed at Floral Real Estate. Motive is jealousy over Henry. Alibi? She had a lunch date with Henry in the gazebo. Lie? It seems there was no set date and she simply went where she knew he was. Truth? She was in the gazebo with Henry when Coral died. And she saw Charles and Coral walk to the shop and go in together, which implicates Charles again. Gossip? I don’t recall any except the sisters said Beverly did not have a thing with Henry. Questions? I want to know how long she and Henry have been together.”
“I do, as well. D’you remember what Charlie said about her running outside when she saw Henry. Peculiar behavior to run across the street in those high heels like that. And there was some other gossip about Beverly, was there not, from the sisters and brother?”
“You’re right! Let me think. They said Beverly and Charles split the commission on the sale of Beadwell House to Coral. And she fought with Charles about it four years ago. That’s motive—a big commission if Coral is out of the way and her brother buys the historic home. Oh! Oh! And they said Henry Erving was hopelessly smitten with Coral. We’ll have to put that under Henry as a lie.”
“No, missus. Put it under gossip until we confirm it.”
“Oh, I get it. A lie is only a lie if we can prove it. Same thing with the truth. Just like in a courtroom, huh?”
“Precisely. We must deal in facts and either prove or disprove any innuendos or our speculations,” Holmes said, returning to the living room with the teapot.
Finbar poured a steaming mug of tea for both of them and brought Tommie the honey blend and a spoon. He laid an object on the end table beside him, and Tommie could see it was a pipe with a large bowl and an arched stem. She waited for him to explain, but he didn’t.
“You be the scribe now whilst we complete suspect number four, missus,” he said.
“OK. Suspect four is Charles Williams. Interviewed at Floral Real Estate. He has plenty of motive to kill Coral and to implicate me: he didn’t like her—I’m pretty sure she opened at least one of his packages. And he wants my shop.”
“That’s revenge and greed, for sure. What’s his motive for killing Ms. Beadwell?”
“Could it be revenge for her treatment of him and for tampering with his deliveries?”
“Possibly, but there must be more than just ill feelings to be a motive.”
“You’re right. That’s a good question, though. His motive would be more focused on me. By having a death in my shop, it discredits me and my business practices,” she said.
“That’s a very good point, Thomasina. We’ve not considered the ripple effect of having the death occur i
n yer establishment and to pin the blame on you. We must think of that in terms of motive for some of our other suspects. Off hand, I wonder if we should list that as a motive for Mrs. Brewster? Would she benefit from you going out of business?’
“Wow. Didn’t think of that. She would certainly say it didn’t, but I do remember her being very upset when Coral convinced the LCO … the Ladies’ Charity Organization to hold their monthly meetings in Watson’s. It’s a good deal of business because it generated repeat customers throughout the week. That would give her a motive for both me and Coral.” She flipped back to the first page and amended her entry for Sarah Beth, adding revenge and loss of business as motives. “Dangit, Finbar. This opens up a whole can of worms if I’m thrown into the mix as a target!”
“It does, missus, but we must consider it. Would Beverly profit as well from you losing yer shop clientele?”
“Not anymore. If I had lost my shop, I would’ve had to move into a less expensive house. But, because I’m renting from you now instead of her, that won’t be the case. On the flip side, she can’t collect any cleaning or move out fees or any more dog deposits, and she has to return my initial deposit,” she said.
“Ah, but you forget. The murder occurred before we made our agreement. As far as she knew, she would be able to extort yer situation because you would have to find a new residence. So, Thomasina, we must list that as a motive for Beverly. D’you see how the spiderweb enlarges?”
“You’re not kidding,” she said, blowing out a breath of air. “Let’s finish with Charles. Alibi. He was watching Henry in the gazebo, then he walked to the shop and came in with Coral.”
“Neither of those is an alibi. It places him directly at the scene. Yer flustered now and not thinking straight. His only chance at an alibi is that he was sitting away from Coral when she died. But, there again, that doesn’t account for him being in proximity to her cup at the time she took it from you.” He looked at her with interest.
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