Lurleen and I continued to sit at my kitchen island, heads together, whispering.
“Maybe Jonathan was starting to put pieces of the puzzle together,” Lurleen said.
“What pieces?” I asked.
“Pieces about what really happened to Luke, Mr. Strout, maybe even Nicole.”
Before I could respond, Mason walked into the kitchen.
“What are you two up to?” he asked, giving me a kiss. “You’re cooking up something and it has nothing to do with dinner—I can see it on your faces.”
“Actually, I do need to think about dinner.” I stood and walked to the refrigerator to search for dinner ideas. “You up for eggs, maybe omelettes tonight?”
“Sure,” Mason said.
“You want to stay, Lurleen?” I asked.
“No. Danny has something planned. It’s our anniversary.”
“Your anniversary for what?” I asked.
“It’s hard to keep up,” Lurleen said “Danny is a romantic, like you, Mason, so this could be for when he met me or our first real date or maybe it’s for when he moved into my house. I honestly don’t know, but I never look un cheval cadeau dans la bouche.”
Mason gave me a questioning look.
“Lurleen never looks a gift horse in the mouth.” I wasn’t sure this was one of the legitimate French phrases Danny was teaching her, but it didn’t really matter.
“You go home and I’ll fill Mason in on what we’ve been talking about.”
I made a salad and took orders for omelettes. Jason wanted one with nothing inside. Lucie asked for everything I had and Mason left it up to me. I was very glad I didn’t have any picky eaters, and I made a wonderful omelette if I did say so myself. The only problem with omelettes for dinner was that they had to be prepared one at a time, and people had to eat them while they were hot. We sat around the kitchen island as I fixed each one, and when it was my turn, everyone else was finishing up.
We started discussing plans for Halloween, now two nights away. Jason and Noah still wanted to trick-or-treat. Mason agreed to go with them while I stayed home with the girls handing out candy. I loved greeting the kids and seeing their costumes.
“So what did you and Hannah decide to be?” I asked Lucie.
“We don’t want to frighten the kids when they come to the door, so we decided to be movie stars. Hannah is going to be Marilyn Monroe.”
“Hmm,” I said, “I hope Hannah won’t overdo her costume.”
“Or under do it,” Mason added.
“And who are you going to be?” I asked.
“I’m going to be Jennifer Lawrence,” Lucie said.
“You’re going to dress up like Katniss from the Hunger Games?”
“Oh, no, Mama, that is so last year,” Lucie said.
“I can’t think what I’ve seen her in lately,” I said.
“That’s because she took a break from acting,” Lucie said, “but she’s back now.”
“Probably in a film that isn’t appropriate for you to see,” I said. “How would you know about her break and coming back?”
“Mama, Hannah doesn’t care about movies. She only cares about movie star gossip. She keeps up with all the magazines and information on line. Hannah knows everything about everyone famous.”
“All right, sounds good. I’ll make sure Lurleen oversees your outfits,” I said, “and what are you and Noah going to be, Jason?”
“We are going to be Spider-Man,” Jason said.
“Both of you?” I asked.
“Sure,” Jason said. “We couldn’t find anything else we liked better. We got two different-looking costumes, so it’s not like we’ll be twins. You’ll be able to tell us apart, Mom.”
“I’m relieved to hear that,” I said.
Mason cleaned up after dinner and then we all spent an hour watching a sci-fi movie the kids picked out, not my favorite genre but nothing too scary.
When we finally got the kids in bed, Mason and I settled on the couch in the family room, which was as far away from the kids as we could get. The French doors meant we could see anyone, like Lucie, who might turn up to listen.
We shared what we both knew and what Kevin Delaney was thinking.
“It’s possible Adeline was the person who scared Nicole, but I can’t see any connection between them,” I said. “Can you?”
“No. It’s clear Adeline unnerved Jonathan,” Mason said, “but that sounds more like his conscience than anything she did. And why would she suddenly be sending threats to Stephanie or try to run Jonathan off the road when she’s now working at the CDC and has a job and a reputation to protect?”
“I agree, I said, “but according to Jonathan she’d shadowed him for years, popping up unexpectedly simply to unnerve him. Jonathan never apologized to her or admitted what he’d done, so she could still be angry at him.”
“You’re suggesting she could have run him off the road, meaning to scare him but not kill him?” Mason asked. “If that’s true, she’s playing a very dangerous game. Jonathan could have been killed.”
“And why would she choose October 26th to run him off the road,” I asked, “assuming she knew its significance?”
Mason shrugged. “We might have two disconnected stories—one that includes Adeline Morgan, the other Luke and Mr. Strout Senior with Jonathan as the common denominator. I still can’t see the connection between Nicole’s death and the assault on Jonathan.”
“Lurleen wondered if he was getting too close to the truth.”
“Kevin might know something more about all this, but if he does he isn’t telling me. He has all the information we have, and he’s a smart detective. You’ve done your part. Now we give it a rest.”
We went to bed thinking Halloween would be our next major event. That, of course, did not prove to be true.
I woke up to a crisp and beautiful fall day. Vic called to tell me to take the morning off and insisted I do that. “My mother-in-law is out of the hospital, and everything looks good. I’ve got one too many docs on the schedule this morning, so if you don’t mind, come in at one.”
“I don’t mind,” I said. “I’ll make up the time whenever you want.”
“Good. See you at one.”
What a gift, a perfect fall day and a boss who told me not to come in this morning. I told Mason about my plans to stay home.
“Wish I could join you, but my boss doesn’t feel that way. I’ll take the kids to school and give you an uninterrupted morning.”
Hermione felt differently. She knew something was odd about my being around the house in the morning and stood beside our hall tree where I kept her leash on a hook.
“You’re telling me you need a walk this morning?”
She nearly jumped out of her skin, waggling every part of her body. We had time for a long walk, which was a treat for both of us. I headed out at first light. As the day brightened, the trees turned a brilliant red and yellow. The light breeze caused many of their leaves to drift to the ground. Hermione could smell everything in the air and had a hard time walking with me instead of ahead, nose in the air.
I passed Lurleen’s house on a neighboring street and the house was dark, no need to wake her.
I looped around a cross street and headed in the opposite direction. A few streets over was Stephanie’s house. I’m not sure what made me head that way except that I had time to wander the neighborhood.
Lights were blazing in her house, and I assumed she was getting an early start to her day. Then I saw a police car in the driveway. I ran up to the door and knocked on it. An officer opened it, a hand on his holstered gun.
“I’m a friend of Stephanie’s.” I amended that. “I’m a neighbor. Has something happened?”
He looked at me with a dog on a leash and I guess he believed me. “Everyone’s all right. We got here in time.”
“You got here in time? Please, may I talk to Stephanie?”
“She’s tied up at the moment,” he said. He saw the startled look on my face. “Not tied up, busy. I’ll see if she can talk. What’s your name?”
“Ditie—Dr. Brown,” I said.
“Wait here. Your dog friendly?”
“Yes.”
The officer reached down to give Hermione a pat on the head. I guess the emergency was under control.
Stephanie appeared at the door in a bathrobe.
“Someone tried to break into the house half an hour ago,” Stephanie said before I could ask. “I’m all right, but I heard glass breaking in the kitchen and called the police. They got here quickly, but they didn’t find anyone.”
“Thank goodness you’re all right,” I said.
Stephanie looked at me. “Why are you here?” She spoke as if I might be her escaped intruder.
“Walking the dog,” I said, pointing to Hermione.
“I’m really fine, but I can’t stay in the house any longer. I think this will make the police realize that, and convince them to find Jonathan and me a safe place to be.”
I nodded. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“I’m okay now but thanks.”
I left and headed home with the hope I’d catch Mason before he took the kids to school. I did. He listened while I told him what had happened. Lucie heard the end of it as she came into the kitchen dressed and ready to go to school.
“A break-in?” she asked.
I told her what I knew. “It wasn’t on our street, so you don’t need to be frightened.”
“I’m not frightened,” she said. “I heard you mention that woman, Stephanie. She’s the one married to Jonathan, the guy in the hospital with broken bones because someone ran him off the road. Maybe the same person who killed Nicole Ash.”
I looked at Mason.
“She didn’t get any of that from me,” he said.
“Lurleen told you that?” I asked.
“Only when I said I needed to know what was going on, so I wouldn’t get too afraid.”
“And she believed you?” I asked.
“I think she really just wanted an excuse to tell me what she knew,” Lucie said.
“I assume you have some thoughts about all this, Lucie,” I said.
“Well,” Lucie said as she grabbed a banana and peeled it, “someone broke into her house early this morning. Why didn’t they do that in the middle of the night when she would be sound asleep?”
“That is a very good question, Lucie,” I said.
“Do you know more about Nicole’s murder?” Lucie asked. “Do you know the motive?”
I shook my head.
“You always said look for the motive and that usually it was about money, love or revenge. Both of you told me that. Lurleen said Nicole seemed to care a lot about money. Was Nicole rich when she died? Maybe her murderer wanted what she had.”
“My little detective,” I said. “One person who died five years ago had a lot of money—Mr. Strout, Stephanie’s father. Don Junior probably got a hefty inheritance. He was still married to Nicole at the time, and when they divorced, I think Nicole got a very large settlement from what I’ve heard. So, to answer your question, she probably had a lot of money.”
I turned to Mason. “I wonder if she had a prenup when she married Ben Ash? Or if her money was in some kind of trust? Hopefully she had a will. That could answer a lot of questions regarding who profits from her death.”
Lucie stomped her foot, something she almost never did. “This is so frustrating,” she said. “I don’t know half of what you’re talking about, a prenup and a trust.”
“Join the club,” I said. “When you and Hannah start chattering I understand about every third word.” I smiled but Lucie didn’t.
“It’s not the same, Mama. How can I possibly help with this case when I don’t know all the facts? Is Lurleen taking us to school today?”
“Sorry kiddo, I am,” Mason said, “and you know you won’t get much out of me.”
“Listen, Lucie, you have given us some questions to think about,’ I said. “You suggested we follow the money and that’s what we’ll do.”
“That’s what Kevin Delaney will do,” Mason said.
That seemed to settle her a little. “Okay,” she said, “for now.”
Jason wandered in looking half-awake, and Mason handed him an egg sandwich he’d just made. “Gotta go or we’ll all be late,” Mason said. He kissed me. “Enjoy your morning off and don’t get into trouble.”
He didn’t smile when he said that. I called Lurleen as soon as they were out the door.