by Sonia Parin
If Joyce’s fiancé, Bradford Mills, asked any questions, Abby had been instructed to say Joyce had sent her.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Bradford asked in his deadpan tone.
Abby lifted her shoulders. “I just want to meet with her in private. She said you’d know how to organize that.”
Putting the book he’d been reading down, he shook his head and said, “I should know better than to ask questions. All right. Follow me.”
He led her through to the back of the store and up a narrow set of stairs.
“It’s through there.”
“What is?”
“The rooftop.”
“Huh?”
“The buildings are connected. You can walk all the way to Joyce’s rooftop access.”
The rooftop. “Please tell me there’s a high wall around the building.”
“Just keep your eyes to the ground,” Bradford suggested. “You’ll be fine.”
Abby tried to ignore the quivering sensation already surging through her thighs. Easing the rooftop door open, she peered out.
“What took you so long… and why are you crouching?” Joyce asked.
“Would you please come away from the ledge.”
Joyce tipped her head to the side. “Are you by any chance afraid of heights?” She spread her arms out and swirled around. “You don’t know what you’re missing.”
“That’s okay. I don’t mind missing out.”
“You do know it’s all in your mind.”
Abby groaned. “I really don’t have a problem with that. Can we please get this over and done with? I really do have to get going. You know, the whole point to coming up here was to avoid being seen talking. I’m sure people can see you from the street below.”
“Okay. So, what’s the news?” Joyce asked as she approached her.
Abby told her about Joshua asking her to keep a low profile. “On the one hand, he wants me to make discreet inquiries and, on the other hand, he wants me to not be seen or heard. He’s usually so level-headed… I think Harriet Winthrop is getting to him. The last time I saw him this flustered, he had to deal with a city detective treading on his toes.”
“I’m not surprised by Harriet’s behavior. She’s wealthy and likes to control everything and everyone.” Joyce crouched down. “You really have it bad. I’ve never known anyone afraid of heights.”
“It’s strange,” Abby said, “I don’t mind flying in an airplane but when I set foot on anything higher than a couple of steps, my legs begin to wobble.”
“So, Joshua isn’t sharing anything with you?”
“It’s sad. I thought we had something going.” Abby grinned. “Hey, you might be able to help me.”
“I knew it. You’re going behind his back.”
Not exactly, Abby thought. “Why would you say that? You don’t know what I’m going to ask.”
“Okay, go ahead.”
Abby nibbled the edge of her lip. “I’m thinking of getting my own place. Someone mentioned a cleaner. Her name’s Laurie Meadows. Do you know anything about her?”
“There you are. I was beginning to think you’d bailed out on me,” Faith said when Abby returned to Willoughby Park. “So, did you come up with any new leads?”
“Maybe. What about you?” Abby flopped down on the couch and closed her eyes.
“I had a boring time of it going through the guest list. And guess what?”
“What?”
“Your name is nowhere to be found.” Faith grinned. “At first, I assumed Kelly Pierce had left it out because she might have thought I didn’t need to see your name on the list to know you’d attended. After all, you were right there beside me. Then, I decided to ask her about it.”
When Faith didn’t continue, Abby thought she might be aiming for a pregnant pause. Peering at her, Abby saw Faith smiling.
Faith got up and rounded the table. Leaning against it, she crossed her arms. “Kelly didn’t answer straightaway. When she started shuffling papers around, I got the impression she wanted to distract me. Why do you think that is?”
Abby held up her cell phone. No messages. Not even from Joyce who’d promised to find out anything she could about Laurie Meadows.
“There. That’s what I mean.”
“Huh? What?”
“You’re trying to distract me too and… or avoid having to answer my question.”
“Sorry, my mind is elsewhere. I saw Joyce and asked her to find out something for me. I was hoping she’d get back to me soon.”
“You’re still trying to avoid answering the question.”
Swinging her legs off the couch, Abby sat up. “So, what did Kelly say?”
“Nice tactic. Now you’re shifting the focus away from yourself back to Kelly.”
“Well, you did say she’s the one who wouldn’t answer you.”
Faith’s eyebrows drew down. “Are you trying to confuse me?”
“Did she have a reason for leaving my name out of the guest list?”
Faith nodded. “Charles asked her to.”
Abby’s eyes widened. “He did? Did she say why?”
“No, she made up an excuse and left. Now, I’m curious because if you didn’t get an invitation, how did you end up attending the ball?”
Abby strode over to Doyle and crouched down to give him a scratch behind the ears. “Did you talk with Charles?”
“He’s out and about. I assume we’ll have afternoon tea with him. Then again, Kelly might alert him and he might try to avoid answering questions by making himself scarce. He knows how to play the absentminded role to the hilt. I’ve seen him do it when he’s trying to avoid something unpleasant.”
“Well, I’ll be interested to find out why he gave Kelly those instructions.” And why he hadn’t mentioned anything about it when she’d turned up at the ball, Abby thought. “Has Joshua been around?” Seeing Faith roll her eyes, Abby added, “I only ask because he called me earlier and specifically asked me to avoid drawing attention to myself. Apparently, Harriet Winthrop is concerned about me snooping around and stirring widespread panic in the community… As if I would.”
“She might be hiding something,” Faith suggested.
“That’s what I thought, but Sebastian said she’d agreed to an interview.”
“Did he say when?”
No, he hadn’t.
“I think that’s your answer. Although, I can’t imagine why Sebastian would play along. I’m beginning to wonder if we should add more names to our list of suspects.”
Abby looked up and toward the table. “Oh, there’s a printer.”
“Yes, Kelly brought it in while you were out. That’s when I cornered her. Do you want something printed out?”
“I thought I did, but now I can’t remember what.” Abby stabbed her fingers through her hair. “Joshua’s behavior has me all confused. He more or less told me to stay put and enjoy living in the lap of luxury. Harriet Winthrop is putting pressure on Joshua and I don’t like that one bit. She’s hiding something.” Looking at her cell phone, she remembered the article she’d bookmarked. “Hang on. I just remembered. It’s not a photo. It’s an article. I’ll send it to you. Can you access your email from here?”
Faith nodded and sat down. “Here it is. Oh, this looks interesting.”
Hearing footsteps approaching, Abby turned. “Speak of the devil.”
Joshua strode into the ballroom, his hands in his pockets.
“Detective, I guess you’re here to tell us the case has been broken and we can go home,” Abby said.
Faith whimpered. “Oh, so soon?”
“Do you see me jumping for joy?” he asked. “I came to see if you’d made any progress on the photos I gave you.”
Oh, now she felt like a neglectful pupil who hadn’t done her homework. “Faith’s been busy doing that and I believe she hasn’t picked up on anything of interest.”
He strode over to the whiteboard and studied it. “You’re a bit light on suspects.”
“Miffi Howsen,” he said.
“She made Marigold’s dress.” Abby tapped the whiteboard.
“You suspect her?”
“No, I didn’t say that.”
“But you added her name to the board.”
“She’s… She’s a person of interest. Marigold saw her several times this week. Also, Helen Forbes would have spent a lot of time with Marigold.”
“Yes, we’ve spoken with her.”
“And?”
Instead of answering, he asked, “Who is Laurie Meadows?”
“Miffi’s cleaner. I added her to the list because she had access to Miffi’s house.” And, therefore, the dress, Abby thought.
“Kelly Pierce?” Joshua exclaimed.
Abby had added her name because Kelly had left her out of the guest list. “Call me petty.”
“You weren’t on the guest list?” Joshua asked. “Why not?”
“That’s what I’d like to know. Perhaps you could look into it for me, please.”
“Harry Winthrop’s brother?”
“We know Harry has a brother, we don’t know his name. Faith came up with a theory about him being a scorned lover. And, you know me, I’m willing to take anything into consideration.”
“His name is James,” Joshua offered.
Abby added the name to the list.
“What about motive?” Joshua asked.
Abby pointed to the notes Faith had added. “Jealousy, revenge…”
“They’re too broad.”
Abby lifted her chin. “You’ll have to forgive us. We’re only amateurs poking around in matters that shouldn’t concern us.”
Faith murmured, “I think you should apologize to Abby.”
“What did I do wrong?” Joshua asked, his tone all innocent.
“It doesn’t matter,” Faith said. “Just play it safe and offer a universal apology.”
Joshua turned to Abby. “I’m sorry.”
When she didn’t say anything, he turned to Faith, “I don’t think it worked.”
“I would suggest chocolates or flowers, but I think she’ll be happy with a snippet of information.”
Abby slanted her gaze toward him and saw Joshua bite the inside of his lip.
“Okay. I told you Marigold died of formaldehyde poisoning. The coroner says the large amount of whisky she imbibed accelerated the toxicity.”
Whisky? Abby looked at Miffi’s name on the whiteboard. “Anything else?”
“Yes.” He brushed his hand across his chin. “The coroner found large concentrations of the substance on the dress.”
The dress?
“You need to read the article Abby found,” Faith said.
Chapter Thirteen
“You don’t look surprised,” Faith said as Joshua read the article Abby had found.
“That’s probably because the coroner suggested Marigold absorbed the formaldehyde through her skin by way of the dress. Initial tests confirm it.”
“Have you questioned Miffi Howsen?” Abby asked.
He nodded. “I’ve just returned from talking with her.”
He must have arrived soon after she had left her, Abby thought.
Faith sidled up to Joshua and sniffed him. “Yes, he’s telling the truth.”
Joshua looked at Abby who shook her head and said, “Don’t ask.” Clearly, Faith had picked up the scent of cigarettes on Joshua.
Nodding, Joshua continued, “She mentioned you’d been to see her… On another matter.”
“I took a bottle of whiskey as a thank you for working on my dress at such short notice.”
“The dress you wore to the ball you weren’t invited to?” Faith asked.
“I’ll get to the bottom of that,” Abby murmured under her breath. “Would you like to compare notes?” she asked Joshua.
When he shared the information he’d collected, Abby realized it matched everything she already knew. A moment ago, he’d been surprised she had added Miffi’s name to the whiteboard. So, Abby assumed he hadn’t found any reason to point the finger of suspicion at Miffi. No history of bad blood, and no incidents that might have pushed Miffi to take matters into her own hands.
“Miffi insisted she and Marigold were on good terms,” Joshua said.
“Do you have any reason to doubt her?” If Miffi had been hiding her grievances, she had done an exceptional job of it.
“No. So far, she’s in the clear. But as you’ve made a point of noting, other people had access to her house and the dress.”
“I interrogated Kelly Pierce at lunch,” Faith offered. “She’s been working for Charles for a year. You might want to look into her work history and see if she ever had anything to do with Marigold.”
“You suspect Charles’ assistant?”
“Not really, but she might have fooled me. Kelly’s been quite helpful in answering all my questions. She’s even been good humored about it.”
Joshua looked up from the article. “And what would be her motive for murder?”
Faith gave a firm nod. “Revenge. Marigold might have made a snide remark. People in her position tend to look down their noses. It’s a long-shot. Abby likes long-shots and I’ve come to appreciate them too because they allow me to be creative. For instance, if you look into Kelly Pierce’s work history, you might actually find she has murdered her previous employers.”
Both Abby and Joshua stared at her, their eyes unblinking.
“What?”
Abby shrugged. “I had no idea you had such a devious mind.”
Faith grinned. “I’m learning from the best.”
Abby’s eyes widened.
“Honestly. What?”
“Nothing. Long-shots are good. It makes us think outside the square.” Turning to Joshua, Abby asked, “How did the killer get their hands on the formaldehyde?”
“We’re looking into it.” Once again, Joshua surprised her by sharing more information. “There are several local places stocking it.”
“The hospital and the funeral home?” Abby asked as she wondered if Miffi would have had access to it. In reality, she didn’t want to think of her as being guilty and she couldn’t imagine her having any issues with Marigold, therefore, no motive for murder.
“Yes. Those are the obvious ones. There’s also the science lab at the local school.”
“You might want to find out if Laurie Meadows works at any of those places.”
Joshua looked up at the whiteboard. “The cleaner… Any idea if she’s connected to Marigold?” Joshua asked.
Abby shook her head. “I haven’t spoken with her, but she had the opportunity. I visited Miffi Howsen a couple of times and had access to the dress when Miffi stepped out of the room to get cigarettes. Laurie cleaned her house, so she had the run of the place. There’s also the possibility someone might have waited for Miffi to step out of the house.”
“What made you think of the dress?” Joshua asked.
“Isn’t Abby great? You usually have to wait for the coroner’s report and she just comes up with these wild ideas,” Faith piped in.
Abby grinned. “You said she hadn’t ingested the poison. I remembered a poisoned dress used in a movie so I researched it to see if there was any truth to it. I also remember hearing something about that urban myth in that article.”
“Killing someone with a poisoned dress rings a bell with me too,” Faith said. “I think I saw it on TV.”
“Yes, I saw it on a popular police procedural show,” Abby agreed. “A bride died at the altar. She’d purchased her wedding dress second hand. It had been sold to the store by a devious funeral director who would steal the clothes from the deceased right before burial. The clothes had absorbed the formaldehyde used in the process of embalming. I actually had a hard time believing the chemical would seep through to the clothing, but I guess it’s
possible.”
Joshua nodded. “You’re probably thinking of it as a liquid, but it’s actually a gas.”
Abby continued, “Then there’s the urban myth about the young girl who purchased a dress to wear to a dance. During the night, she complained of shortness of breath. Then she fainted and… died. Her dress had been removed from a body and recycled.”
“I’m never buying second hand clothes again.” Faith held a finger up. “And, from now on, I’m washing everything I buy before wearing it.”
Abby leaned against the table. “I guess you now have to find a solid motive.” Who had wanted Marigold Winthrop dead?
Wadsworth appeared at the door to tell them afternoon tea would be served in the south lawn.
“I hope one of you knows where the south lawn is,” Abby whispered.
“Faith will have to help you out with that. I need to get back to work.”
“Who’s next on your hit list?” Abby asked.
“Laurie Meadows.”
Wadsworth had set up a table and chairs under the shade of an ancient looking oak tree. The sky had remained clear and the weather temperate enough for them to feel comfortable outdoors.
“What do you know about James Winthrop?” Abby asked Charles.
“He owns several race horses and does rather well for himself.”
Faith admired her pretty tea cup as she asked, “Is there any truth to the rumors?”
“Which ones?”
“The ones about him pining for Marigold,” Faith said.
Charles sat back as if shocked by the news. “Where did you hear that?”
“Around.” Faith shrugged. “These scones are delectable.” Faith helped herself to another one and slathered it with fresh cream and strawberry jam thick with chunky pieces of strawberries.
“I’ll tell Wadsworth you said so. He has a very light hand.”
“He baked them?” When Charles nodded, Faith said, “A man of many talents. Does he iron your newspapers?”
Charles chuckled. “I read my papers online. But, before the days of electronic devices, yes, he used to iron my daily paper.”
Faith leaned in and told Abby, “It’s an old butler trick employed to make sure ink doesn’t stain his lordship’s fingers.” Faith licked some cream off her fingers. “So, Charles… You were upstairs for some time during the ball.”