by Sonia Parin
Doyle took off and Abby chased after him. When they reached the stairs, Abby came up against a solid chest. “Markus.”
“Are you trying to kill yourself?” he barked.
Abby tried to look over his shoulder. “Did you see someone going down the stairs?”
“Yeah. Two women.”
“Alice and Linda.” Abby growled. Markus had taken hold of her and pushed her back saying he would round them up.
“What if they made their escape?” Faith asked.
“They don’t have cars. Where would they go?” Abby raked her fingers through her hair. “I should have gone downstairs with him.”
The door opened. Markus waved Alice and Linda in. Neither one looked pleased.
“You have no right,” Alice said.
“Tell that to the police. They’re on their way,” Markus said.
Faith held up her phone and mouthed something about calling them now.
“You were outside my apartment eavesdropping,” Abby accused. “Why?” They looked at each other but didn’t say anything. “Fine. We can wait until the police arrive.”
Linda wrung her hands together. “I didn’t do anything.”
Abby looked at Alice but she refused to meet her gaze. “What about you? Are you going to plead innocent too? If you own up to your role in Bert’s death, the police will go easy on you.”
They exchanged a look and then Alice groaned. “We had nothing to do with it.”
“Then who did?”
Again, they looked at each other. Alice shook her head. The gesture was barely perceptible but Abby wasn’t fooled. “You know something.”
“We… We weren’t sure but we thought Steph might have been having an affair with Bert,” Alice said. “Then the police started asking about Foxglove plants. We all grow it in our gardens. A while back, Steph asked me about drying herbs.”
“I knew it. You showed her how it’s done.” That wouldn’t be enough proof, Abby thought. “Why were you trying to eavesdrop?”
“We heard stories about you snooping around and thought you might know something.” Alice took a deep swallow. “I saw you take a photo of me the other day. I don’t want any trouble.”
“Well, in that case, you should be more forthcoming with information.”
When Alice bit the edge of her lip Abby decided she looked worried enough to now start spilling everything she knew. Thinking Alice needed some further inducement, Abby said, “Faith and I saw you talking with Robert Howington. We have the proof.”
The two women exchanged a look again. “A while back, Robert Howington came to one of our barbecues and he started talking about the plants in our gardens and asking questions about poisonous plants.”
“And you didn’t mention it to anyone?”
“Why would I? I thought he was only making conversation.”
Markus strode in carrying a tray of coffee and pastries. “There’s no sign of Steph.”
“She’s made a run for it,” Abby said. But where would she go?
“It’s out of your hands now, Abby. You just have to sit back and let Joshua do his job,” her mom said. “He’ll track her down.”
Yes, but would he also connect her to Robert Howington? “I really don’t like coincidences. Why would he ask about poisonous plants? He must have been planning something.” Would Joshua find proof? “Joshua will need to get a confession out of Steph.”
“She’s made herself look suspicious by running away,” her mom offered.
True. She’d have to explain herself. Innocent people didn’t hide. Abby sprung to her feet. “She’s hiding somewhere. Without a car and being out here in the middle of nowhere, she can’t hope to get away.” Abby grabbed her cell phone and called Joshua.
“Can’t talk now, Abby,” he said. “We managed to track down a pre-paid phone registered to Steph and another one under Robert’s name.”
Before she could get a word in, Joshua disconnected the call.
Faith grinned. “See, Eleanor. Abby’s never in real danger. She might snoop around but Joshua is the one putting his neck on the line.”
“Is that meant to reassure me?” her mom asked.
“Um, yes.”
Abby turned to Markus. “Have you checked Steph’s room?”
He snorted. “Of course.”
“And?”
“There’s no sign of her. I even checked under the bed.”
Walking around in a tight circle, Abby nibbled on the tip of her thumb.
“Do you think Joshua will be able to track her down using her phone?” Faith asked.
“Most likely,” Abby mused. “As long as a phone connects to a carrier’s cellular network, the carrier has to keep records of locations.”
“Yes, but how accurate are they?”
Abby shrugged. “From what I understand, a person’s location can be mapped out on a computer screen to within a few blocks.”
Abby’s mom cleared her throat. “That’s in an urban area, Abby. You’re out in the country. So, they’ll only be able to track her signal to a few miles.”
Abby looked out the window. The sun had already set. If Steph had taken refuge somewhere, she’d have to survive the night.
“What’s going through your mind, Abby?” Faith asked.
“If Steph had clandestine meetings with Bert, that would have been the perfect opportunity for her to give him the digitalis. I can picture her sneaking into his room at the end of the day to share a cup of tea. She’d prepare it for him and then take away the evidence with her.”
“But she must have slipped up at least once,” Faith said. “Leaving a teabag behind.”
“What teabag?” her mom asked.
Grinning, Faith said, “Eleanor, Abby has this theory about Steph mixing the digitalis in a teabag.”
“That doesn’t sound so farfetched. Abby, do you remember me saying someone dropped a serviette over the cell phone a couple of times?” her mom asked.
“Yes. That first day you went out with the tourist group.”
“Now that I think about it,” her mom continued, “Steph had been closest to the cell phone. She might have been trying to make sure I didn’t see her getting up to no good.”
Hearing police sirens in the distance, everyone stood up.
“Should we do something?” Faith asked.
Markus was the first one out the door. Faith followed. Grabbing the cell phone and signaling to Doyle, Abby brought up the rear.
“The sirens are getting closer.” Faith hurried down the hallway.
“Be careful, Abby,” her mom said.
Abby tried to catch up but then stopped and called out to Markus.
“What?”
She signaled to a door. “Is this Steph’s room?” she whispered.
Markus nodded.
Abby gestured for him to open the door.
“Why?” Markus mouthed as he unlocked the door.
Abby peered inside. She nudged the door open so the light from the hallway could spill in. The room was empty. Tiptoeing toward the window, she felt Markus following a step behind. In the time she’d been living at the pub, she hadn’t once looked up at her window from the street. She hadn’t even noticed the fire escape ladders.
Edging closer to the window, she looked down and sprung back.
“What?” Markus whispered.
Abby grabbed him by the arm and drew him out of the room and down the stairs.
“Would you mind telling me what that was about?”
“I found Steph.”
They all piled out of the pub and went to stand at the corner. The police car sirens had stopped but they could see the lights still whirling around a block away.
“I’m guessing they caught up with Robert Howington,” Abby said. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Markus standing by the gates leading to the alleyway, a cell phone to his ear, probably Mitch’s, Abby thought knowing Markus didn’t own a cell phone. Abby had agreed to let him do the honors and call the pol
ice.
While they didn’t have any concrete proof, Abby could only think of one reason for Steph to hide. Guilt.
“Is that Joshua walking toward us?” Faith asked.
“I think so. I guess he didn’t want to alert Steph.” Abby looked over her shoulder just as Markus growled.
“She’s going back up the ladder,” he called out.
“You’re kidding.”
“Abby, what’s going on?” her mom asked. “Why are we bouncing?”
“Steph is trying to make another getaway.” Abby trotted toward the residents’ entrance calling out to Faith to ring Mitch who’d stayed in the pub.
Someone must have alerted Joshua too because he called out. “Abby. Stand back.”
“What?” Abby made the mistake of looking toward him just as she reached the residents’ entrance.
Steph burst out and crashed against her.
“Ugh! You,” Steph growled. She pushed Abby and took off running in the opposite direction.
Abby fell back on her butt. “Ouch and… Really? She thinks she’s going to outrun a police officer?” In the next instant, Joshua sped by, followed by Faith and Markus.
“I’m fine. Thank you for asking.”
Epilogue
“I’m exhausted,” her mom exclaimed later that night. “I’ll have so many stories to tell. I can’t wait for you to send me the photos so I can have a show and tell. Everyone wants to hear about my trip. I’ll need another vacation after this. A real one.”
“I’m counting on it,” Abby said. “You know you’ll be safe coming here for a visit. What are the chances of someone else being killed?”
“Abby, that’s tempting fate,” her mom warned. A moment later, her mom hummed. “I’d hate to say this, but a part of me is still in denial and waiting for you to tell me all is well and Bert had gone along with a hoax.”
“Sorry to disappoint you, Mom. Unfortunately, it was all too real but you must admit, it had to be coincidental.”
“I thought you said you don’t like coincidences.”
True. “Oh, look. Here comes Joshua.”
Everyone at the bar fell silent. Joshua made a beeline for Abby’s table and drew out a chair.
“Well, that’s that,” he said.
They all leaned in.
“Now, can you fill in all the gaps?” Abby asked.
He grinned. “What’s there to say?”
“He’s going to make us beg,” Markus growled.
“Or guess,” Abby said.
Joshua grinned. “You want to try that?”
“The cell phone gave you an idea of Robert Howington’s whereabouts,” Faith piped in. “I should clarify, this is the second cell phone Abby insisted he had to have. Oh, and I should add further clarification by saying this is the man Abby suspected of colluding with someone because she saw him talking with one of the tourists. We have to give her credit. After all, she went out on a limb.”
“Fine.” Joshua put his hand up. “I’ll come clean. Abby’s suspicions sometimes sound farfetched but, in this case, they turned out to be spot on. We intercepted Robert Howington and followed at a discreet distance. Then, he must have noticed we were following, so we had to give chase. Now, I want to know how you discovered Steph had been clinging to the fire escape ladder, hoping to go unnoticed until she could meet up with Robert Howington and make her getaway.”
“Abby used deductive thinking,” her mom said.
“The small town is surrounded by miles of countryside. Where else could she have gone?” Faith reasoned and turned to Abby for confirmation.
Abby could only nod. In reality, she had thought of the fire escape ladder because that would have been the last place she would choose to hide in. “So, who was the mastermind?”
Joshua brushed his hand across his face. “Steph gave a statement saying Robert had approached her with the plan.”
“That’s the part I don’t quite understand,” Abby mused. “If someone approaches me with a suggestion we pull our resources and get rid of someone, I’d tell them to take a hike.”
“I guess Robert tapped into her need,” Joshua said. “He knew she’d run into financial difficulties. Her restaurant had been shut down so she didn’t have any means of earning a living. At her age, it would be near impossible to recoup her loses. He offered her a couple of million dollars. That would be enough to tempt anyone.”
“Yes, but who had the idea of mixing the digitalis with the tea?” Abby asked. Mostly, she wanted to know who’d hit her on the head, but she couldn’t ask because her mom was hanging on every word and the incident remained the one fact she had managed to keep secret. She could only assume it had been Steph.
“Robert masterminded the plan. He needed the money and he couldn’t wait until his dad died of natural causes. Apparently, his dad had been rethinking the will and had considered reducing the amount of money he left his son. That gave Robert incentive to put his plan into motion. He knew his dad had the women wrapped around his little finger. They were like bees to honey and all vying for his attention. He convinced Steph he would never offer her more than a fling before moving on to the next one. Steph is only saying she saw an opportunity and grabbed it. Robert Howington knew his dad’s medication was constantly being monitored and rightly assumed upsetting the balance would have an adverse effect.”
Abby’s mom sighed. “Bert seemed so nice. I find it hard to believe he had been flitting from one woman to another.”
Abby wished she could put her arms around her mom. In reality, she knew there had to be some truth to Bert’s behavior. Cynthia had admitted he had only recently started singling her out for private tête-à-têtes. She would have been his next conquest…
“I can’t help feeling sorry for Steph,” Abby’s mom said.
“She’d already had a few bad relationships,” Joshua told her. “So, she’d become embittered. When Robert told Steph his father would never offer her a serious commitment, she settled for the next best thing.”
“Murder?” Abby exclaimed. “That’s rather extreme.”
Her mom shook her head. “That’s an act of desperation. It’s sad to think someone could reach that point.”
Abby snatched Markus’ order book and scrawled on it, asking Joshua if Steph had owned up to hitting her on the head. When he read it, he gave her a small nod. Finally, she thought. The mystery of her attacker solved.
“How did they ever think they would get away with murder?”
“Robert Howington assumed his dad’s death wouldn’t draw attention because he’d had a pre-existing condition. And, he was right, up to a point. Unfortunately for him, we might live in a small town but we have competent staff working at the hospital. If only we’d been able to get our hands on that one teabag.” Joshua smiled. “Steph had planned on delivering the fatal dosage. She prepared the tea for Bert, but then she forgot to retrieve the teabag until the next day.”
Aha. That made sense. Abby nodded and mouthed, “Thank you.”
“Such a tragedy,” her mom said. “No one deserves to have their life cut short.”
“Have you spoken with Denise Lowe?” Abby asked.
Joshua nodded. “I found that difficult. The woman didn’t bat an eyelid. On the bright side, she said she’d been through enough so she won’t be contesting her dad’s will or his promise to give Eleanor the drawing. I think that might be her way of expressing her gratitude to you, Abby.” Joshua clasped his hands and turned his attention to the cell phone. “So, Eleanor. When can we hope to meet you in person?”
To Abby’s surprise, her mom gave an uncharacteristic snort. “Well, my virtual tour doesn’t end for a few more days. Anything could happen between now and then. Although, I have to say, surely the town has already had its fair share of mishaps. What are the chances of someone else being murdered?”
I hope you enjoyed The Last Stop!
The Last Dance
Book 5
Chapter One
“Has
the entire town been put on house arrest? I had to drive twice around the block before I found a place to park. What’s going on today?” Abby asked as she strode into the Gazette. “There are cars everywhere but the place looks deserted. Where is everyone?”
Doyle scurried inside and made a beeline for his doggy bed only to stop and look around. Lowering his nose to the ground, he sniffed his way around the newspaper office. Not a good sign, Abby thought.
“Faith? Did you hear me?” Abby’s voice echoed throughout the office. She tried again, and still no answer. “Here I am, returning triumphant from the interview you set up for me and I have no one to share the news with.” Avoiding the loose floorboards, she strode down the hallway leading to the printing room and poked her head inside. Still no sign of Faith. “I’ve seen this type of scene far too often in movies.” Lowering her voice, Abby added, “Cue suspense music.”
Moving from a large city to a small town had taken some getting used to. The smaller population. The slower pace. The long periods of eerie silence. But Abby had embraced the change. Of course, everywhere she went, she had Doyle by her side. Her canine companion could always be trusted to raise the alarm. No one could ever sneak up on her. Abby glanced down at Doyle and grinned. “Well? Did you pick up the scent of some sort of nefarious activity?”
Doyle tilted his little head from side to side.
“You sense something but you can’t quite put your paw on it?”
He lifted his paw and looked down at it.
Abby grinned. “Huh? Is that what you’re saying? Paw? What paw? Make sense, human.” Hearing the front door open, she swung around and rushed back out, Doyle following alongside her. “There you are.”
“Yes, here I am but why are you here?” Faith asked and dangled a large shopping bag. “You need to hurry or you’ll miss out.”