by Ellery Adams
“I will.”
“And be careful. No fires, no injuries, no accidents. I want to talk about books at our next book club meeting. Got it?”
Nora smiled. “Got it.”
* * *
Jed was waiting for her in a booth in the middle of the diner. Jack had the night off but had come in to share a meal with Estella. They sat at the counter alongside two people Nora didn’t recognize. Hester and Andrews were in the booth behind Jed. Andrews was in plain clothes.
He wasn’t the only deputy present either. Fuentes was at a table for two, working his way through an order of loaded nachos while perusing the paper. Nora had seen the hostess in her brown and khaki uniform that afternoon. She was now wearing a Pink Lady bubblegum-pink polo shirt and white slacks.
“The stage is set,” Jed said when Nora slid into the booth. “Do you think they’ll come?”
“I’ll be worried if they do and worried if they don’t.” She reached across the table, her palm facing up in a silent invitation.
Jed took her hand in his. “I hope they do. That way, you’ll have to sit next to me.”
Seeing a couple walk past the window, Nora said, “Your wish has been granted.”
Lou and Patty entered the diner and looked around. Nora stood up, waved at them, and sat down next to Jed. She put on her best and brightest smile as Lou and Patty settled in across from her.
With her belly full of butterflies, Nora introduced everyone.
A few minutes later, after their orders were placed, Jed asked Lou and Patty how the renovations were coming along. The women talked about projects and deadlines and Jed regaled them with funny anecdotes of the patients he’d treated as a result of DIY projects.
“People assume most of the injuries are from band saws or nail guns,” he said at one point. “It’s never as sexy as that. Usually, it’s a fall from a ladder or an electrical shock. If not those two, it’s a foot stuck through a rotted board. You think getting a splinter is bad? Try a hundred splinters.”
Lou and Patty laughed, and by the time the food arrived, Nora had almost forgotten her real reason for being at the diner. She managed to eat half of her fried catfish before she remembered and had to put her fork down.
“Aren’t you hungry?” Patty asked.
Nora wiped her mouth with her napkin. “Actually, I was thinking about how I sat in this same seat during the week of rain. When I looked out the window, I saw this man in a white T-shirt standing at the entrance to the alley. I felt like he was staring right through me. It was creepy, especially since I’d seen him outside my shop the night before. It had been raining then too, and he’d been wearing that same white T-shirt.”
“Was it the man Sheldon saw?” Patty asked.
Nora nodded. “Turns out, he’s June’s son. He hasn’t seen her in twenty years, but he traveled all the way from California to scare her.”
Lou stopped eating. “Why would he do that to his own mother?”
“Because he wanted her to pay for a mistake she made a long time ago. He forgot how she’d raised him with love and tenderness. He forgot about the sacrifices she’d made for him. He forgot everything but his anger. That emotion was more powerful than the past he shared with her. More powerful than all the good things she’d done for him.”
“What happened?” Patty asked. “Where is he now?”
“His mother is getting him help.” Nora didn’t want to dwell on Tyson. She had only brought him up to make a point. “Hopefully, the two of them will reconnect. They’ll forgive each other. Sometimes, though, family members do things that can’t be forgiven. Which is why I mentioned this story in the first place.”
Lou and Patty exchanged puzzled glances.
Nora explained how she and her friends had read Rose’s will. She went on to say that the sale of the Lattimer House by the Cecils might not have been completely aboveboard.
“I don’t mind that I had to buy it instead of inheriting it,” Lou said. “What matters is that it’s back with a Lattimer now, and Patty and I can invite people to stay under its roof.”
“Someone else isn’t happy with this arrangement. Someone else—one of Rose’s descendants—killed two people for the chance to claim the house and the land that belonged to the estate. That someone hopes to sue for ownership.”
Lou’s bafflement deepened. “I don’t understand.”
“Have you met all of your cousins?” Nora asked.
“No. I have a bunch and they’re scattered all over the country.”
Nora produced a piece of paper and slid it across the table to Lou. “This one’s been right down the hall.”
Lou unfolded the paper and frowned.
“This afternoon, I saw a monogrammed luggage tag that raised my suspicions. Sheriff McCabe discovered the rest. The people standing between your cousin and the Lattimer House were Danny and you. Danny has been dealt with. You’re next.”
“This can’t be right,” Lou protested. But as she stared at the name on the paper, her face transformed. Her doubt was replaced by horror.
Nora took out the plastic bag containing the lock of black hair. “If you want to protect yourself and Patty, if you want to help the sheriff find out exactly what happened to Danny and Micah, then you’ll have to trust a bunch of people you barely know.”
“Are you one of those people?” Patty asked.
“Yes,” said Nora.
Lou looked at Patty. They held each other’s gaze for a long moment before Lou turned back to Nora. “Tell us what we need to do.”
Nora pressed the lock of hair into Lou’s hand and said, “We need to interrupt your murder.”
Chapter 19
Tears are only water, and flowers, trees, and fruit cannot grow without water. But there must be sunlight also.
—Brian Jacques
Patty explained that she and Lou always had a nightcap before heading off to their separate bedrooms. It was their way of unwinding and reviewing the day’s events. They’d sip their drinks and split a chocolate bar. They both loved dark chocolate with almonds and bought seven bars at the start of every week.
Because the library was still being renovated, they had their drinks on the front porch or in the dining room. Their cocktail of choice was a gin and tonic. The gin was kept in the sideboard along with a supply of wine and other liquor. Patty also kept wine in the kitchen to serve with dinner, but she and Lou had finished a bottle the day before and had yet to open a new one.
Spiking their bottle of gin with GHB, the same drug found in Micah’s body, wouldn’t be difficult. The gin was stored in an unlocked cabinet in a room at the front of the house. Anyone could enter the room, add the drug to the gin, and be gone in a matter of seconds. Lou and Patty tended to use the back door, as did the workmen, and the front door was kept unlocked until one of the women locked it around eleven at night.
Danny’s killers had to make Lou and Patty disappear. The inn would never change hands as long as they lived, and too much had already been risked to back out now. Nora knew this. The sheriff knew this. And by the time the waitress had cleared away their dinner plates and asked if anyone wanted dessert, Lou and Patty knew it too.
Saying good-bye to Lou and Patty outside the diner was one of the hardest things Nora had ever done. She had to settle for a casual wave when what she really wanted to do was embrace them. It didn’t matter that Officer Fuentes would be following at a distance as Lou and Patty walked back to the inn. It didn’t matter that Sheriff McCabe had been hiding in Sheldon’s room since this afternoon. It didn’t matter that measures had been taken to keep the two women safe, because Nora kept remembering what the sheriff had said to her in his office.
He’d said, “It’s impossible to be prepared for all that can happen when a suspect is cornered.”
Were he and his team prepared? Would Lou and Patty make it through the night unharmed?
Lou and Patty, best friends and business partners, were bait for a killer. They were targets.
>
And it was Nora who’d assigned them these roles.
“I can practically hear the gears in your head turning,” Jed said as he drove toward her house.
“I’m never going to be able to sleep tonight.”
Jed reached over the center console and took Nora’s hand. “You could go for a midnight stroll with June and the cats.” After a beat, he added, “Or we could sit by my scanner and listen while we wait.”
“Yes. Can we please do that?”
Jed made a U-turn and headed for his house. “Do you want to hang out in the Curious George living room? We could grab a leopard chair and play cards—something to pass the time while we listen.”
Nora smiled at him. “That’s sounds good. Thank you. For going through this craziness with me.”
He gave her hand a squeeze. “I want to go through things with you. The hard stuff. The scary stuff. That’s what I want.”
Neither of them spoke again until after they were inside Jed’s house.
Even though it was April, Jed lit a fire. He told Nora that the giraffe chair was chilly, but she knew that he’d seen her rubbing her arms on her way into the house. She drew a chair covered with a leopard drop cloth closer to the fire and stared at the flames.
“I don’t think I’ve ever wanted a drink so badly,” she said.
Jed sat in his leopard chair and studied her. “You haven’t had one in weeks, and you don’t need one now. I’ll make some coffee and entertain you with my knowledge of police scanner codes. You’ll be too fascinated to think about grape juice.”
Nora flashed him a grateful smile as he walked toward the kitchen. Settling deeper into her chair, she wished Henry Higgins was around. There was something extremely comforting about the sight of a dog napping by the hearth.
But Henry Higgins was with Atticus. The dogs were officially on duty. It was their first case, and Nora was as worried for their safety as she was for Lou’s and Patty’s.
Many fates hung on the next eight hours. By morning, things would be resolved. Or they would be worse. There was no in-between.
Nora gazed at the orange and gold flames and thought of all the people who’d gone from being strangers to being tied to one another. The women of the Secret, Book, and Scone Society; Patty; Lou; Sheldon; Jed; the sheriff and his deputies—they were like thin tributaries pouring into a wide river. The river’s current was fast. It swept them all forward, driving them toward an uncertain future.
Jed returned carrying two mugs of coffee. “I know this won’t be as good as Sheldon’s, but I did buy some mugs. I liked your idea of having things made by local artists to perk up my depressing kitchen. I am now the proud owner of four mugs, four soup bowls, and four dinner plates. I might have to throw a party now.”
Nora laughed and kissed him as he leaned over to give her the mug of coffee.
“That’s better,” said Jed. “Now for our game. I’ll tell you a code and you tell me if the officer is reporting a sewer leak or is on stakeout and needs a bathroom break.”
Nora laughed again, causing a wave of coffee to crest dangerously close to the rim of her cup.
The game didn’t last long. There were too many serious codes on the list, and the ones symbolizing violent acts kept reminding Nora of the hazards McCabe and his deputies might face during this night.
“Are you worried about Henry Higgins?” Nora asked Jed after he’d tossed the list aside.
“No. He’s in good hands with Angela. The woman is a total dog whisperer. She doesn’t like people much, though. If she had a choice, she’d spend all of her time with four-legged officers.”
Nora shrugged. “I know lots of people who prefer the company of dogs. Sometimes, after dealing with a bunch of prickly customers, I can see their point.”
Jed talked about Henry’s training and Nora shared highlights from the sidewalk sale. Mentioning the banned books reminded her that she needed to redo her window display tomorrow. She mentioned this to Jed before telling him about meeting Lily.
“I guess I can take those pink flowers off now.”
Jed pulled a face. “You should leave them. They’ve kind of grown on me.”
“Was that a pun?”
“Yep, and I can come up with lots more. The closer we get to midnight, the worse they’ll get.” Jed reached for Nora’s mug. “But first, refills.”
Time passed. Nora and Jed fell silent. They drank their coffee and listened to the police scanner. Eventually, the warmth of the room, the sound of the crackling fire, and the muted voices on the scanner lulled Nora to sleep. She didn’t remember drifting off, she simply dropped off the edge into darkness.
Which is why she was disoriented when Jed shook her shoulder.
“Nora,” he whispered. “Wake up. It’s going down.”
Nora’s eyes snapped open.
“Lou and Patty?” she mumbled. Her mouth was dry, but her mind was alert.
“The sheriff has two suspects in custody. I nodded off, so that’s all I caught.”
Nora got to her feet. “Will you drive me to the inn?”
Jed already had his keys in hand.
* * *
The Inn of Mist and Roses was shining like a lighthouse beacon. Every window was illuminated with a soft, yellow glow. Swirls of red from light bars on the sheriff’s department cars danced over the building’s white walls.
“No EMTs on the scene. That’s a good sign,” said Jed.
Nora couldn’t answer. Every muscle in her body was tensed. She was ready to jump out of Jed’s truck the second it came to a stop. She had her seat belt off and was out the door before he could turn off the engine.
He called after her, but she didn’t pause. She ran straight into the inn.
Men and women in uniform milled about the vestibule. The strobe of a camera flash created a disco effect in the dining room. Nora heard the sound of footfalls on the stairs as well as voices coming from the kitchen.
She pushed her way through a knot of deputies and hurried to the kitchen.
When she saw Lou and Patty sitting at the table with Sheriff McCabe, a low, guttural cry of relief escaped from deep inside her chest.
Lou was the first to notice her in the threshold. She stopped talking and rushed over to Nora, pulling her into a fierce hug.
“I was so worried,” Nora whispered into Lou’s white curls.
“We’re fine. We’re tough old birds,” Lou whispered back.
Images darted through Nora’s mind. The bird-shaped stone pipe. The bird carved into the secret wall of the library. The nickname passed down from generation to generation.
“Yes, you are,” she said.
Sheldon, who’d been busy at the sink, walked across the room to greet Nora. “About time you showed up,” he said. “You missed all the drama.”
“What happened?”
“The dogs saved the day,” he said.
Lou put a hand on Sheldon’s arm. “She’s going to want to hear it from the beginning. Come sit with us, Nora.”
Though she was a little apprehensive about joining Patty and Sheriff McCabe, Nora agreed.
When she sat down, Patty smiled at her and said, “Welcome to the party.”
McCabe managed a curt nod before getting to his feet to hold Lou’s chair out for her.
He’s not making me leave, Nora thought. That’s something.
“Bo and Georgia?” she asked the table at large. “Where are they?”
“Deputy Andrews is processing them,” McCabe said. Patty shot him an admiring glance before looking at Nora. “The sheriff had them on his radar since he interviewed everyone about Micah. The Gentrys said they’d spent the day visiting the folk art museum, but when the sheriff called to check their alibi, he learned that the museum is currently closed. Their roof leaked during our big rain and they won’t open for another week or so.”
Nora turned to McCabe. “I never thought you dropped the ball for a second. I knew you were looking into everything and everyone, and I
know that investigating takes time. I wasn’t trying to do your job. I just happened to stumble on these seemingly important connections. And I was seriously worried that Bo and Georgia would get away. Or worse—that they’d hurt someone else. I’m sorry if I complicated things or got in your way.”
McCabe’s gaze softened a fraction. “Though catching the Gentrys in the act will certainly strengthen the case against them, putting citizens in harm’s way is risky and foolish. Mr. and Mrs. Gentry had reached a point of desperation. After murdering Danny Amo-adawehi and Micah Foster, they believed they had no choice but to finish what they’d started. As you predicted, Ms. Pennington, the couple spiked the gin in the dining room. They weren’t going to stop there, however. I told you that cornered suspects can be unpredictable. And extremely dangerous. Do you want to see what the Gentrys had planned?”
Lou covered her hand with her mouth as if to stifle a cry.
Patty jumped up and put her hands on Lou’s shoulders. “Come on, let’s get you a real drink. Coffee isn’t going to cut it.”
“If you’re having wine, make sure you uncork a fresh bottle. You don’t know what’s tainted with what,” Sheldon said, and followed the two women into the hall.
“Why did Lou react that way?” Nora asked McCabe when they were alone.
McCabe opened the door leading from the kitchen to a small mudroom and gestured at the space.
Nora couldn’t see from her vantage point, so she walked over to where McCabe stood. She immediately understood what had upset Lou so much. There were a dozen plastic gas cans on the mudroom rug. Every can was full.
“Jesus,” Nora whispered. “They were going to burn the inn?”
McCabe hooked his thumbs under his utility belt. “Looks that way.”
Nora was floored. “But this is the Lattimer House. Georgia’s a Lattimer.”
“I don’t think Mrs. Gentry cares about family history outside of a desire to become wealthy from it. She would have burned down the whole town in exchange for the land. It’s a large parcel and will be worth a huge chunk of change in the not-too-distant future.”