Margot Durand Cozy Mystery Boxed Set: Books 4 - 6

by Danielle Collins

  “You mean old gumshoe over here?” He indicated the gray-haired woman who was giving every detail imaginable to the poor deputy taking her statement. “You’d think we walked onto the set of Matlock or something. I seriously think she thinks she’s going to solve this crime.”

  The corner of Margot’s mouth tilted up at his humor, but she knew it wasn’t funny. None of this was. “How is Bentley?”

  “Shaken, but rallying well. I contacted the staff at the complex and they had already sent two workers up to help him. They’ll have it cleaned up in no time, I’m sure. Still, it was a shock.”

  “It was.” Margot twisted her fingers together in front of her. It still didn't make sense. What was someone looking for? And had they been the same person to kill Nils? Was it even possible? Then again, she thought back to the time she’d left Bentley’s complex and gotten to dinner and the time they’d discovered his ransacked apartment. Depending on when the medical examiner said that Nils had died, she could piece together a timeline.

  Then something Bentley had said came back to her. Had Harrison still been at his apartment when she’d come to pick him up for dinner? Hadn’t Bentley said that he told Harrison to make up his mind and that he was going to dinner? That meant Harrison would have had access…

  No. She stopped her thoughts. Harrison was a victim here. His bodyguard had been killed and—

  She gasped as Harrison walked down the hall toward them. His pants were rolled up at the hems and his hair was wind-tossed. The unlit cigar hung out of the corner of his mouth and his brow furrowed the closer he got.

  “What’s going on here?” He looked from the deputy with Pricilla over to Margot and Adam. “Why are you outside my room?”

  “I need to ask you where you’ve been, Mister Douglass.” Adam turned his hard gaze on the man.

  Harrison frowned. “What do you mean, where I’ve been? I’ve been out walking on the beach.”

  “At night?” Adam sounded skeptical.

  “Yeah, at night. Why? What’s happened?” His furtive glance toward the police officer standing with Pricilla evidenced his worry.

  “I’m afraid,” Adam said, stepping closer to the man, “that Nils was just found dead. In your room.”

  The news seemed to visibly shake Harrison and he stumbled back a step. “Wh-what? No. He can’t be. I mean…Nils? He-he was just in….” He blinked.

  “I’m sorry for your loss,” Adam continued, “but we’ll need to speak with you privately. Get your statement and such.”

  Harrison looked to Margot. “Is he serious?”

  She wasn’t sure if he was asking about getting his statement or the reality that his bodyguard had, in fact, been murdered while he took a leisurely walk on the beach, but she nodded. The answer was yes to both questions regardless.

  “I’m sorry, Harrison,” she said, stepping toward him. “I know this is a shock, but—”

  “A shock? You can say that again.”

  Margot narrowed her eyes, trying to see what he wasn’t saying. She continually got the feeling from him that he wasn’t telling the whole truth, but she didn’t know what the truth would be. Why would someone who was afraid for his life be walking on the beach alone while his bodyguard stayed in the room?

  “Why were you on the beach?” she finally asked, hoping she wasn’t stepping on Adam’s toes.

  Harrison looked up at her from where he’d been staring at the floor. “Why? ‘Cause a man likes to take walks now and again.” There was too much anger in his words, but she couldn’t tell if that came from a place of hurt over losing his friend or something more.

  “But—” She stepped closer. “—considering your situation, didn't you think it unwise to be by yourself?” She wanted to add, Isn’t that why you had a bodyguard in the first place, but felt it could come off too harshly. Here was the same man who had all but claimed that someone was after him and he was talking walks—at night, no less—on the beach? It didn’t fit.

  “I have no reason to think that anyone knows where I am. I’m not signed into this hotel under my name and—” He swallowed, visibly moved. “I have—had Nils.”

  Just then Pricilla’s high-pitched voice broke into their conversation. “No, young man, I told you—it was a pink rose, not red. It’s a subtle difference, but I think you should note it.”

  Her insistence made the officer blink but nod quickly and write down the information. When Margot turned back to the conversation, she saw a strange look pass over Harrison’s features. Was that fear?

  He swallowed hard. “I don’t think it’s safe for me here, wouldn’t you agree, Detective?”

  “Yes. Of course.” Adam nodded and sent a sidelong glance to Margot as if the man’s worry proved Adam’s early point about her safety. “We’ll put you up in a hotel closer to town and we’ll get some officers to watch over you.”

  “Thank you,” he said, running a hand down his rumpled shirt. “Can I grab a few things from the room before we go?”

  “I’m afraid not,” Adam said, closing his notebook. “It won’t be released from the crime scene team just yet, but we’ll get you a few essentials.”

  The older man looked distressed but nodded. “Sure. Right.”

  Adam motioned for another officer to come over and, once explaining the situation, he sent Harrison on his way to the new hotel. Margot had watched the older man through the whole ordeal but, as shaken as he seemed, he also wasn’t shaken enough. It wasn’t something she could explain or even put her finger on, but she had a feeling that, as much as he seemed to care for Nils and the fact his bodyguard was dead, he also wasn’t completely surprised.

  But why? Why wouldn’t he be shocked? Why wouldn’t he be more frightened than he seemed to be? Or was she reading into things? People did tend to react to stress in much different ways and she couldn't assume something was wrong just because he didn’t seem to show the right emotions. Still—

  “Margot?”

  She blinked, looking up into Adam’s expectant gaze. “What?”

  His lopsided grin told her she’d missed something he’d said. “I asked if you wanted me to send someone to follow you home.”

  “Oh.” She flushed slightly in embarrassment. She’d been so lost in her thoughts she hadn’t even heard him. “I’ll be fine. But I wonder if I should stop by and check on Bentley?”

  “I sent an officer over to his place. I’d say give him a call, but assure him he’ll be watched. I don’t like the fact that their past ties all of these men together and things obviously seem to be happening in line with that.”

  She nodded. “Will you be here long?”

  He shrugged. “There are still a few things I wanted to look over.”

  Pricilla’s words came back to her. “The rose?”

  He grinned. “You don’t miss a thing.”

  “Did you expect me to?”

  “No.” He smiled. “I’ll look in to it. Why don’t you go home and get some rest?”

  She nodded, not even wanting to look at the time or to think about how early she’d have to get up the next day.

  “And, Margot?”

  She stopped close to him, looking up through her lashes at the concern written on his handsome features. “Be careful.”

  “They aren’t after me,” she gently reminded him.

  His brow furrowed. “No, but you have a way of getting into things that you shouldn’t be involved with.”

  Then, before she knew what was happening, he bent down and pressed a kiss to her cheek before stepping back as of nothing had happened. His wink was the only acknowledgement of his action.

  She winked back and left out the front door, her mind filled with thoughts of the night’s events.

  “And they said it all happened at the Bay View. I mean, goodness’ sake girl, you get yourself into more trouble than is good for any one person.”

  Margot shook her head at Rosie, who stood with a platter of cookies for the front display case, a frown etched into he
r ebony features.

  “It’s not like I planned to find a dead body, Rose. He just…happened to be there.”

  “Well, I’d better hope you didn’t plan on finding nobody dead. Goodness, girl.” She huffed out an overly exasperated breath and disappeared through the swinging double doors.

  Margot refocused her attention on the croissants she was making, her hands going through the overly familiar motions while her mind played with the details from the night before.

  Harrison had gone out on the beach for a walk. No doubt to clear his mind—or maybe finally smoke that cigar he had with him. Then again, she hadn’t smelled any smoke on him. But, either way, he’d gone out without Nils. So he’d felt certain he was safe here in North Bank. Obviously, though, he was the furthest thing from safe.

  The one thing that bothered her was why Nils had been found dead, apparently with a pink rose on or near him—she’d have to clarify that with Adam, or perhaps Pricilla—but no one had gone after Harrison. She was glad for that, of course, but it seemed odd. Had Nils been the focus of the attack then? And if so, was he involved in something he shouldn’t be, or was there some other explanation?

  Her cell phone rang, the sound much different than the shop’s landline, and she gritted her teeth. Her hands were covered in flour and Rosie hadn’t come back from the front of the shop yet. It was possible customers had come in and Margot had missed the sound of the bell.

  Brushing the flour off on her apron, she rushed to her office and snagged her phone right before it could go to voicemail.

  “Hello?” she said, breathless from her rush.

  “Everything okay, Margie?”

  Her lips curved into a smile. “Hey, Adam.”

  “Hey yourself.”

  “I was just rushing to catch the phone is all. What is it?”

  “I got a hold of Sean Kaufman.”

  “You did? What did he say?”

  “I only explained briefly what was going on, but he agreed to come up to talk with me. I wanted to see if you wanted to be there.”

  “Really?” She was surprised he’d offered.

  “There isn’t anything to really tie him to the investigation so I told him if he came, it would be voluntary. He still agreed. I also asked him if you could be there and he said it was all right.”

  “Well then, yes. I’d love to be there. When?”

  “He said his duties would hold him there until the evening so it’ll be later, like around seven or so. Will that still be all right?”

  “Sure.” Margot nodded to herself, thinking through her calendar for that day. “I’ve got Dexter coming in for the afternoon shift, so I’ll be able to head out, stop by to see Bentley, and then be ready for a night meeting.”

  “Maybe get a nap in this afternoon?” Adam teased.

  “Perhaps. I seem to keep finding myself out late at night.”

  “Are you all right after last night?” The care in Adam’s voice colored his words.

  “I am.” She thought back to her questions regarding the whole situation, but at that moment, Rosie came back into the kitchen. “I’ll see you tonight. Text me where we’re meeting?”

  “Absolutely. Have a great rest of the day, Margie. And tell Bentley I said hi.”

  “Will do.” Margot hung up and Rosie eyed her again. “What?”

  “I’m just worried about you is all.”

  “Don’t be,” she said with a smile.

  They went about the rest of the morning duties and Margot even got to chat with a few customers when Dexter showed up, something she missed when she was back in the kitchen most of the day.

  When she finally left for the day, armed with a box of pastries for Bentley, she felt as if she’d accomplished a lot and was ready for the meeting that night with Sean. Her questions were only growing.

  “Did you bring me my favorite?”

  Margot smiled with Bentley’s greeting, holding up the box she’d brought for him as evidence that she had, in fact, brought his favorite pastry.

  “Hope you brought enough for me.”

  Margot was visibly startled and looked behind where Bentley stood at the door to see Harrison behind him in the darkened living room.

  “Forgot to mention I had a visitor.”

  “Oh. Hello, Harrison.” Margot stepped into the apartment, her thoughts trailing to the night before.

  “We were just talking about the good old times,” Bentley said, shuffling back into the living room after checking that Margot was getting plates for them all.

  She handed a plate and fork to him and then offered Harrison a muffin as well. He declined, his hand twitching the cigar back and forth.

  “As I was saying…” Harrison turned his full attention back on Bentley. “Do you know where it is?”

  “Mmm.” Bentley took a moment to savor his first bite. “Haven’t got a clue, friend.”

  Margot, taking a sip from her water bottle, eyed Harrison. A look of annoyance flared behind his eyes before he turned to peer through the drapes before dropping them back in place.

  “That’s a shame.”

  “What is it you’re looking for?” Margot kept her voice nonchalant, though her curiosity made her want to press in.

  “Gold doubloons,” Bentley said.

  “Nothing of importance,” Harrison said at the same time.

  She looked between the two and decided to keep her tone light. “Gold coins from Spain? Sounds exciting. Tell me more.”

  Harrison hesitated, but Bentley jumped right in with an explanation. “Remember we’d talked about that gold doubloon I’d received in the mail? Harrison here wanted to see it. He was talking about possibly getting it authenticated.”

  “I was just thinking about it last night for some reason,” Harrison interjected, waving a hand in front of him like he was dusting the air. “Nothing serious. Just curious to see if it were real and…I don’t know, perhaps it could lend some information about who is behind all of this.”

  Margot’s eyes narrowed for a moment before she schooled her features. “Behind all of this? So you think Nils’s death is connected to Tony and Russ’s deaths?”

  “Don't you? I mean, it seems unlikely that things would just happen like this. I think they were after me.”

  “And got Nils instead?”

  Harrison nodded, looking grim.

  “And you think the doubloon will somehow clear this up?”

  “It couldn’t hurt,” Harrison said.

  She was about to ask another question when her phone rang. Noticing that it was Adam, she excused herself to the kitchen to answer. He quickly told her that Sean had made better time than he’d expected from Virginia Beach so their meeting was bumped up. Agreeing to meet him at Wok Tok restaurant, she stepped back toward the living room only to be stopped by what Harrison was saying.

  “Just think about it, Ben. It could be a crucial piece in all of this. Want me to help you look around?”

  “No,” Bentley said, and she heard the weariness in his voice. “My place has already been torn apart one time. I don’t think I’ve got the heart—or the energy—to look around again right now.”

  “You wouldn’t have put it in a safety deposit box?”

  Bentley hesitated. “Perhaps. I honestly can’t remember. I’ll think about it, though.”

  “Be sure that you do.”

  Margot frowned, hearing the underlying tone and pressure in Harrison’s voice, but when she came all the way into the living room, both men looked up at her and smiled.

  “Everything all right?” Bentley asked.

  “Yes, but sadly I have to go. I’ve got a…” She hesitated, unsure she wanted to mention that they had found Sean Kaufman. “…meeting with Adam.”

  Bentley grinned. “Good for you. Go have fun with that detective of yours.”

  She smiled back at him. “Will do. Call me if you need anything at all.”

  As she left, she was glad to hear Harrison changing the topic back to stories from
their past, but she was still worried. Why was he so interested in that gold coin?

  Chapter 9

  Sean Kauffman was a handsome man. He stood tall, with short-cropped, salt and pepper hair that erred on the side of salt but only sufficed to make his blue eyes standout in a vibrant way. They sat at a back booth in the dimly lit Chinese restaurant, the only one in town, oriental music playing low in the background. Sean sat straight, shoulders back, and Margot had a feeling he wasn’t comfortable in an at-ease position for long.

  “Thank you for coming up to meet us,” Adam said.

  “Yes, sir,” he said reflexively. Then he looked to Margot with an apologetic smile. “And ma’am.”

  “As you may have heard on the news,” Adam began, “Russ Grossi was found dead in his Chesapeake Bay home not too long ago. Just before that, Tony Mclaren was also found dead in his Maryland home. And, though this isn’t public knowledge, a man was murdered in North Bank last night and I am acting under the assumption that they are all connected.” Adam sent a glance to Margot. “Just so you know, this isn’t officially part of the investigation. I’m not questioning you in that capacity, but it could come to that.”

  “I understand, Detective. I have nothing to hide.” As he spoke, he kept his gaze level with Adam’s and Margot believed what he said.

  “You know who these men are, don’t you?”

  “Yes, sir. A long time ago, they worked for King’s Scuba on Her Majesty’s Glory. I was the ferry boy that summer.”

  “Correct.” Adam looked down at his notes. “Do you know about…” He hesitated, looking up.

  “The treasure?”

  They both blinked. “You knew?” Margot interjected.

  He shrugged. “Let’s put it this way, I had my suspicions.”

  “How so?” Adam pressed.

  “I was young, but I wasn’t blind. One night, I came back to the dock because I’d forgotten my book—yeah, I was one of those kids,” he said with a faint smile, “and I saw Russ and Harrison get back in the boat and head out to sea. It was unusual, for sure, but then I’d also heard them all talking about something big they’d ‘finally found’ and I put two and two together. I didn’t say anything because it wasn’t my place, but I don't think anyone would have listened even if I did say something.”