Margot Durand Cozy Mystery Boxed Set: Books 4 - 6

by Danielle Collins

  With one last fierce look into her eyes, he nodded and, crawling under the window, made his way to the other side of Bentley’s apartment, knocking softly on the door.

  Then Margot sucked in a breath and lifted her hand to knock. She only hoped that her plan would work.

  Bentley looked as white as a sheet where he sat in his usual chair facing the television. Harrison stood across from him in front of the black TV screen, his gun held loosely in his hand, his elbow bent and resting at his side. He looked at her with a fierceness she didn’t appreciate, but she saw something else in his gaze. Fear.

  “I told you not to come in,” Harrison said.

  “And I came in instead.” She held her head high, keeping her place just inside the door. She’d need to make sure that Adam could see into the living room just enough that he’d be able to time his entrance, but she also didn’t want Harrison’s attention drawn to the patio. Margot knew that Bentley usually kept the door unlocked since it faced a sheer cliff and offered a magnificent view as well as an impossible entry for anyone wishing to do harm. This would work in their favor, but only if she could get Harrison’s back to face the doors.

  “Margot—” Bentley began, but Harrison cut him off.

  “It’s a shame you have to now be a part of all of this. I liked you and your baking.”

  “And what is all of this Harrison? Why are you pointing a gun at my friend? At your friend? Why did you come to North Bank? Why all the subterfuge?”

  “It’s true, I will admit I don’t like doing this. I don’t like demanding things—especially at the point of a gun—but some things can’t be helped. Some things are more important, which is why I’m here.”

  “Like what?” Bentley said. His tone held no animosity, but there was an edge to it. “What is so important that we can’t work this out?”

  “Living.”

  Margot’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”

  “Let’s put it like this: there are times in a man’s life when he looks back on the things he’s done and the choices he’s made and he’s ashamed.”

  “You stole the treasure, didn’t you?” Margot ventured, taking a small, unobtrusive step into the living room and closer to Bentley.

  “We did.”

  “We?” Bentley spoke up. “What we?”

  “Russ and I.”

  “Oh, Harry,” Bentley said, disappointment coloring his words. “If it was that important to you, you could have just said something. Why steal it?”

  “We didn't want to split with you and Tony. I look back now and think maybe it would have been better if we had—maybe things would have turned out differently.”

  “It was Russ who sent the coins, wasn't it?” Margot asked.

  Harrison looked surprised. “How’d you know?”

  “Simple deduction. Tony didn’t know and neither did Bentley. I assume Russ felt guilty for taking the treasure with you, so he sent them coins to make up—in small part—for it.”

  Harrison nodded. “Yeah. I only learned about them recently.”

  “Because you need money.”

  Harrison looked startled now, his frown deepening. “How do you know that?”

  Margot’s mouth went dry. She needed to tread carefully here. She couldn't let Harrison know the full extent of her knowledge about his situation because then he would know that she’d called the police—what else would she do? But, if she played her hand just right, maybe she’d learn the full truth first.

  Her eyes flickered to the doors but she saw no signs of movement. “It’s obvious,” she said, her gaze jumping back to Harrison’s. “I heard you asking all those questions about the coin. I jumped to a conclusion and it seems I was right. You need money, but why?”

  Harrison scrunched up his face then shook his head. “Me and my stupid gambling problem.”

  “Gambling? Oh, Harry, I thought you’d left that in your past?”

  Bentley’s words seemed to stimulate Harrison and his features turned dark. “I had, for a long time. I’d been a dumb kid—you know, Bentley—but then I started working and things were looking up. Russ and I decided to spend some of the money here and there, but not all at once—that would have been suspicious. I got a nice house, married a nice woman, worked a good job. Things were finally in place, right? But then Ruth died.” His voice broke and Margot felt sympathy for him. She couldn’t ignore his current missteps, but she could appreciate the reality that he had faced loss.

  “That was what, five years ago?” Bentley supplied.

  “Yes. And I just got into a spiral. I was lonely. It wasn’t like I needed to work or do anything, really. I started going to the casinos. I did well at first—only spending what I could afford—but then I got in deeper. Played for higher stakes.” He shook his head and ran his free hand over his face. The gun trembled in his hand and Margot again shot a look toward the French doors. “My biggest mistake was owing Mars.”

  “Mars?” Bentley asked.

  “A big name in the casino industry in Baltimore. He’s… Well, he’s bad news. I got in tight with a few of his buddies and convinced them to loan me some money. I honestly thought I would win it back, that I was just one big win away. But I wasn’t. I lost it all.”

  “You didn’t,” Bentley said, still looking shocked that his friend would be involved in things like this.

  “I did. Worst mistake of my life.”

  “I can think of another bad mistake you’re making.” The words slipped from Margot’s mouth before she could stop them.

  He gave a croaky laugh. “You’ve got some nerve, girl.”

  “You leave her out of this,” Bentley said, trying to get up and failing to have the strength. Margot thought that odd since he’d been fine earlier. She rushed forward to help him, but he waved her off, slumping back in his chair.

  “Do you see what you’re doing?” She looked him in the eyes, daring him to look away. “There’s no need for this. Go to the police. Have them help you.”

  “The police? What will they do? Take one look and laugh. They won’t go up against Mars. No one will.”

  “You want the coin, yes?” Bentley spoke up, his eyes on the gun.

  “Yes. I found Tony’s, but I couldn’t find yours.”

  So Harrison had searched Tony’s place, and Bentley’s as well. “Did you kill Tony?”

  “No!” Harrison’s reaction was so reflexive that Margot believed him.

  “Then what happened?” she asked, catching a flicker of movement out of the corner of her eye. Was that Adam? Could he hear all of this?

  “I went to see him on the day he died. To ask for some financial help. He’d been kind to me in the past and I thought…why not? But when I got there, he questioned me and, eventually, it came out—all of it. I hadn’t meant to share about the treasure with him, but he looked so lost and I thought…I don't know? Confession would be good for my soul. But he was so shocked, he had a heart attack. I didn’t know what to do and before I could call for help, he was dead.” Harrison shook his hand, the gun swinging dangerously back and forth. “Russ had told me about the coins a few years back. They always crossed my mind. I was going to convince Tony to give me his if he hadn’t already sold it.”

  “And then he died so you ransacked his house to find it.”

  “How did you know that?” Harrison’s voice dropped to a low growl.

  Margot scolded herself for saying too much. Could she recover? “He didn't tell you where it was, did he? I assume you’d have to search for it.”

  “You know too much for someone who shouldn’t know much.”

  Margot’s mouth went dry. The look on his face was bordering on dangerous now—if it wasn’t already with the gun pointed at them.

  “You want the coin?” Bentley said, his voice breaking some of the tension. “I’ll give you the coin, but once I hand it over, you disappear. You hear me?”

  Harrison looked between Bentley and Margot then back to his old friend. “Fine. Hand it o
ver.”

  “Then you’ll leave?” Bentley asked.

  “Sure, as long as Miss Smarty Pants doesn’t follow me herself.” He almost laughed. “I just want to get away from all of this.”

  “You’re going to sell the coin and disappear, aren’t you?” Margot asked, adjusting her position as she saw a flutter of movement from the corner of her eye.

  “So what if I do? It’s my life.”

  She tilted her head. “You want Mars following you for the rest of your life?”

  Harrison’s eyes snapped to hers. “He’s not going to find me now, is he? Unless… What’s your stake in all of this?”

  “M-my stake?” She didn't like the way he was looking at her now. He took a step toward her, a good position for where she hoped Adam would come through the doors, but closer to her and Bentley.

  “Yeah? Why are you everywhere you shouldn’t be? There at the Bay View when Nils was found? Now here at Bentley’s? It’s almost as if—”

  “Now don’t go jumping to conclusions on me, Harry,” she began.

  The next moment, the doors crashed open and Adam was on top of Harrison, his hand around the other man’s gun hand. Within seconds, the fight was over and Adam victorious with the gun in his possession and a pair of cuffs slipping onto Harrison’s wrists.

  “Jumping to conclusions? Really?” Adam grinned. “Clever, Watson.”

  She shook her head. “When will you remember that I’m Sherlock?”

  Chapter 13

  The scents of sweet pastries and coffee wafted through the air as Margot took in a deep, calming breath. It was hard to think that things were finally—mostly—back to normal. Bentley was in the shop waiting for his French breakfast muffin and cup of coffee, Rosie was out keeping him company as usual, and Adam was on his way down to debrief them all on what had happened once Harrison was taken away.

  The only thing that felt strange was the fact that Dexter wasn’t there. Her heart felt heavy knowing that something was definitely up even though he and Adam kept saying everything was fine. She was getting rather tired of the word ‘fine.’

  The door chimed and she rushed out with two plates on one arm and a cup of coffee in the other.

  “Is that for me?” Adam asked hopefully.

  “Don’t think of touching that coffee, son,” Bentley said.

  “The muffin is for you and I’m going back to get our coffees,” she explained.

  “You’re the best.”

  “Don't either of you forget that.”

  She picked up the coffees and joined them at the table.

  “I’ll leave you all in peace. Mind if I use your computer, Margot?” Rosie smiled at them and Margot nodded.

  “Of course.”

  Turning back to the men next to her, she took a sip of the hot, dark liquid and waited expectantly for Adam to begin.

  “So that’s it? You just want me to jump right in to it all? No ‘good morning, Adam’ or ‘so glad you could stop by’?” He added a wink to show he was joking and Margot laughed.

  “We’re eager, aren’t we, Bentley?”

  “Young man,” Bentley said, his fork hovering in the air above his muffin, “at my age, you don’t have time for pleasantries. You just get right to the point.”

  They all laughed and he doubled his efforts on his muffin while Adam savored a bite of his. Margot felt the warmth of peace in her chest at the thought that they could have such a normal morning. Granted, she had a feeling not all of the loose ends were tied up, but she’d have to wait for Adam to explain what had happened.

  Finally, he licked his fork clean, took another sip of coffee, and rested back in his chair. “All right, down to business.”

  “Finally,” Bentley said, elbowing Margot good-naturedly.

  “So we took Harrison into custody,” Adam began. “It took a little convincing, but I explained to him what we’d already found and he filled us in on the rest of the story. It would seem that Russ had gotten into similar trouble with Harrison. They were both widowed and looking for distraction, I suppose. They both ended up being very heavily in debt to Mars. After Tony’s death, they amped up their efforts and Russ was killed. Somehow, Russ’s debts were then allotted to Harrison.”

  “So he was in very deeply,” Margot observed.

  “Very. I’m not sure how much, but it’s a ridiculous amount of money to be sure.”

  “What about Nils?” Bentley asked.

  “We were right—he was killed as a warning to Harrison that his time was running out. The pink rose is symbolic to denote that Mars’ men were the ones involved. Harrison really was at the end of the road by all accounts. He’d found the one coin from Tony and, as Margot guessed, he was going to sell them both and disappear. In a way, it makes sense because he wouldn't have been able to pay off the debts he owed with the money from the coins, but he could have possibly disappeared.”

  “Still, that was risky. He was obviously followed to North Bank and his bodyguard was killed. I mean, what did he really think was going to happen?” Margot shook her head, her hands wrapping around the warmth of her coffee mug.

  “I don't know if he knew, to be honest. He was scared and willing to do almost anything.”

  “He wouldn’t have hurt us,” Bentley said, his gaze unfocused on the table between them.

  “You think so?”

  “I’ve known Harry for over forty years. He’s done dumb things, and he’ll likely do dumb things in the future, but he’s not a killer.”

  “I don't know, Ben.” Adam leaned his elbows on the table. “Desperate men do desperate things.”

  “True, but I just don’t think he would have. I’d like to hope the best for him.”

  “So…” Margot met Adam’s gaze. “What about Mars?”

  “That’s just it. We have nothing but Harrison’s word and a few emails to link him to all of this.”

  “You’re kidding!” Margot felt the injustice of it all well up in her.

  “I know. I’m just as frustrated as you are. But Mars hasn’t gotten to be notorious for nothing. I just wish Harrison hadn’t led him to North Bank.”

  “What do you mean?” Bentley asked.

  “To me, it feels like we’re on his radar now. Maybe I’m taking it too far, but I just hope that nothing worse comes of this in the future.”

  Margot felt a chill race up her spine. More in the future? Was it possible that this Mars fellow would set his sights on North Bank? That seemed improbable seeing as how North Bank was a quiet retirement community. Then again, retirees meant easy targets for gambling schemes. Was it possible he would try and move into the area with one of his establishments? There had to be laws against that.

  She came back to the present as Adam continued. “While Harrison will be arrested, they are going to be keeping him under careful watch since Mars has a reach that stretches into the jails. At least he owned up to what had happened—in the present and in the past.”

  A sudden smile slipped onto Margot’s lips as she thought about the present and the past.

  “You look like the cat who got the cream. Why are you so happy?”

  “Me? Happy?” she said, feigning innocence.

  “Uh oh,” Adam said, “you know that means she’s hiding something, right?”

  “I do.” Bentley leaned forward. “But what is it?”

  “Hiding something? Well, I’m glad you mentioned it. One moment.”

  She rose from the table and made her way to the kitchen. Behind her, she could hear Adam and Bentley trying to reason out what she could be hiding or smiling about. She pulled the platter from the refrigerator and added a knife to the side of the plate before taking it out to where the men still sat.

  “What’s that?” Adam asked, looking at the flat, round cake with almond slices on top.

  “Well, I’ll be,” Bentley said, his face breaking into a grin. “It’s Vasilopita.”

  “Vas—what?” Adam looked between them for an explanation.

  �
��Go ahead,” she said, handing Adam the knife.

  “All right,” he said, “but isn’t it too early for cake?”

  “Not this cake.” Margot grinned as Adam cut into the cake but stopped halfway.

  “There’s something in there?”

  “Vasilopita!” Bentley said again with a laugh.

  Margot took over, sliding the piece of cake out and putting it on the now empty plate. And there, wrapped in foil, was a thin, round shape.

  Bentley reached out and picked it out of the mess, holding it up. “It’s a Greek New Year’s Day cake that always has something—a coin or small toy—inside it. Our Margot here used it as the perfect hiding place.”

  She took the coin from him and cleaned it off, then handed it back. “What will you do with it?”

  Bentley got a twinkle in his eye. “I'm not sure yet, but you’ll know when I decide.”

  “More surprises, eh?” she said, grinning. Then she looked to the clock on the wall. It was almost time.

  “Bentley, I have one more surprise for you.”

  He looked up at her, already surprised. “For me? What’s this all about?”

  She leaned back, looking out the door at just the right time to see what she’d been expecting. Or rather, who.

  “Close your eyes.”

  “What? Oh, come on now—”

  “Bentley,” she said, giving him a stern look.

  “All right, all right…” He held up his hands in mock surrender and closed his eyes.

  “Make sure he doesn’t peek,” she instructed Adam, then went to the front door.

  She let the surprise guests in, noting Adam’s shock when he saw them, and then led them to the table where Bentley sat.

  Barely holding in her excitement, she took a deep breath and told him to open his eyes.

  He blinked. Then his mouth opened but no sound came out.

  “Bentley? Is it really you?”

  “Melinda?” The look of shock was complete but soon he started to smile and Margot knew she’d done the right thing by finding Melinda.