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Emma arrived with Dixie in tow close to five o'clock to find the Anderson household in an uproar. She had deliberately avoided the front door and walked alongside the house to the kitchen. When she opened the door, she entered to find Sophie, trying to calm her grandmother down. Emma scooped up Dixie and hurried inside. Without thinking, she shoved the puppy into Cook's hands, took one look around the kitchen, and put Sophie to work.
"Sophie, make your grandmother a pot of tea and make it strong. Cook, when's the last time you had something to eat? Dry your tears and tell me what's going on."
Dixie did the job of drying the older woman's tears. She made more of a mess, though, as she stretched her neck and licked the tears off the Cook's face. The puppy's action had an immediate reaction and Cook burst out laughing, squeezing the puppy to her chest. Dixie's tail wagged as if she'd known she'd done a good thing, and Sophia smiled at the sight.
"Thank you. I've been trying to get her to eat all day." Turning to the refrigerator, she brought out a ready-made plate of sandwiches and potato salad, which she promptly put in front of her grandmother.
"You heard Emma. Eat. And you'd better do it fast before that puppy gets it."
Cook took the hem of her apron and wiped her face, smiling at the two younger women who stood in front of her, hands on hips, to make sure she did as she was told. To appease them, she put the puppy on the floor and took a bite of the sandwich.
"Good. Now while your grandmother's eating, Sophie, tell me what's going on."
"It all started when they arrested Nancy and took her away earlier. Since then, it's been chaos in this house, and we can pretty much pin it down to one person."
"Not Midge?"
"Of course not. As soon as Nancy was—" Sophie paused for a moment to take a breath and calm her voice before continuing. "Midge isn't even at home. As soon as they arrested Nancy, she called Miss Charlotte, and the two of them headed down to the police station. Ms. Charlotte promised to find a lawyer to get this settled. But it's been all afternoon, and we still haven't heard anything."
Emma looked back and forth between the two, wondering what had put Cook in such a state. The teakettle whistled, and Sophie went through the motions of making a pot of tea. When she was finished, she grabbed three cups in one hand and the teapot in the other and walked to the table, placing them in front of her grandmother and the two empty chairs. Emma took one chair and Sophie eased her way into the other, pouring the tea as she did.
"So, if Midge has everything handled and Charlotte's getting a lawyer, you all must know that Nancy will be home soon."
"But she won't have a home to come home to!" Cook burst out, her tears turning to anger, and she pounded the table with the flat of her hand.
"If they found evidence in her cabin, I don't think it would be a problem for her to sleep in other rooms here in the main house, would it?" asked Emma.
"If she isn't here in the next hour, she's going to be displaced," Sylvia spoke softly as if to keep her anger in check.
"I don't understand."
"It's that Marianne. She's taken control while Midge is away. Travis hurried out of the house so fast he wasn't aware of what was going on. Oh, she's a sly one, that Marianne. I wouldn't be surprised if she was the one that told the police Nancy was guilty." Whether it was the food or the tea, Cook sounded more like herself if you didn't count the fierce anger.
"You'd better explain what's going on because it doesn't make sense."
"Marianne has ordered Nancy to be removed from the property. She's acting like she's in charge around here. She even ordered some workmen to pack Nancy's cottage. Joe is over at the cottage now, making sure his stuff doesn't get taken."
Emma opened her mouth, but no words came out. She couldn't believe this piece of news.
"Travis is home now. Isn't he handling this?" she finally managed to say.
"He's trying, bless his heart. But it just seems like it's one thing after another since he's been home. Marianne has been pitting the other staff against Nancy and the family. It would devastate poor Midge to hear the accusations Marianne is making. And she is stirring it all up before the Christmas party on purpose. I'm sure she wants the party to be an utter disaster," Cook answered.
"Why would she do something like that?"
"Because then she can swoop in and save the day and make everything go back to normal and be the hero." Sophie sneered and viciously tore off a piece of another sandwich sitting on the plate, then popped it into her mouth.
"Where is Travis?" Emma asked.
"He's trying to get his cousin, Wendy, under control. I don't know what Marianne said to her, but the girl went off in a tizzy and is currently in his mother's office rummaging through her files. Meanwhile, Joe is making himself more comfortable in the cottage, and Marianne is ordering everyone around as if we are mid-century servants."
"No wonder you're so upset, Cook."
Emma looked back and forth between the two women and then reached out and grabbed each of their hands.
"First off, stop worrying about Nancy. She is in capable hands. Between Charlotte and Midge—they'll handle the police and the legal end of things. Travis and I are working on solving the case, and as for Marianne, well, I'm going to find Travis and talk to him. I bet he doesn't even know what's going on."
"Oh, I'm sure he doesn't. Marianne is sly, and she would never do anything in front of him. It wouldn't surprise me to find out she had upset Wendy just to keep Travis occupied." Sophie reached out and poured more tea before she offered some advice to Emma, "Just watch your back around her. She's made it clear she doesn't like you and doesn't want you here."
Emma nodded her agreement. She had come to the same conclusion. Pushing back her chair, she smiled encouragingly at the two women and then moved toward the door to find Travis, hopefully avoiding Marianne in the process.
Emma hurried down the halls, remembering the route to Midge's office, Dixie close on her heels. The sounds from Midge's office confirmed this was where she wanted to be. She could hear Travis's voice trying to calm his cousin Wendy's voice alternating between hysterical tears and laminations of not understanding how Marianne could do this to her.
Before Emma could knock on the door to make her presence known, Dixie took the matter in hand and whipped in between Emma's legs, rushing into the room, her tail wagging, looking between the two humans who stared down at her.
"Well, Dixie, if you're here, Emma can't be far behind," Travis said as he squatted down to pet the puppy. He looked up as Emma stepped into the room. Dixie took that opportunity to dodge his hand and rush over to Wendy, who was sitting on the couch in the office, putting her tiny paws on the girl's leg. Dixie seemed to have a calming effect on Wendy, and she allowed herself to be pulled up into the girl's lap, welcoming the pets from Wendy.
"What's going on? Wendy, are you okay?" Emma looked around her, concerned at what she saw.
Wendy seemed to have forgotten her early irritation at having Emma in the household as she answered.
"I'm trying to find the papers Midge has about sending me to another private college. She wouldn't do that to me. She knows how I feel about these schools, but she's not here to ask." She looked at her cousin and then back at Emma. "Travis is trying to help me, but I just don't understand it. It's not like Midge."
Emma walked across the room and sat next to the younger girl and hugged her shoulders in comfort.
"How did you find out about this?"
"I heard Marianne and Joe talking. She was telling Joe that I wouldn't be around much longer and not to get attached to me. She must be jealous. Otherwise, she would never do something like that. It's obvious Joe likes me." Wendy sniffed again and sat a little straighter as if figuring out something for herself.
"Marianne again?" Emma turned from Wendy to look at Travis. It was obvious he felt out of his element with his cousin's tears and was doing his best to keep her calm. But he looked pretty rattled himself, and Emma instinctively knew he didn't have a clue about what else was going on.
"Seems Marianne has been busy. Travis, did you know she's having Nancy's personal items removed from the cottage? There are a couple of men arriving within an hour to pack her things."
"What! On whose authority is she doing this? My mother would never turn out Nancy. She's like family."
"All I know is what Sophie told me. And they're pretty upset as well. Wendy, pull yourself together. Let's see if we can help. Rifling through your aunt's papers is only going to upset her. Talking to her face-to-face is going to be your best course of action. And I think you know that, don't you?"
Wendy sniffled and nodded, not even questioning the fact that Emma was taking control of the situation that was beyond her job duties for the Andersons.
"I need to put a stop to this before it goes any farther. I don't understand what's going on. Wendy, leave this paperwork as it is. Emma's right, you need to talk to Mom first. Go back to your room and clean up. Your makeup is running and your hair's a mess."
Instinctively, Wendy put one hand to her head and rubbed at the mascara running down her cheeks with the other. Without a word, she nodded and took off toward her bedroom, leaving Travis and Emma staring at each other.
"What is Marianne thinking?" Travis said more to himself than to Emma.
"Well, Cook has her opinion of what's going on, and with her experience, she's probably right."
"I've got to go put a stop to this before it goes any further."
Emma stopped him by putting a hand on his arm as he started to walk away.
"I wouldn't let her know we're on to what she is doing. Let me call Sean. I'm pretty sure removing anything from the cottage is going to be considered tampering with evidence if Nancy's been arrested. If I let Sean know it's going on, maybe he can send an officer out here to take control. I know he doesn't agree with Nancy's arrest, so he's going to want to preserve any hint of wrongdoing. Whether it be by Nancy or somebody setting her up."
"That's a perfect solution. But I still want to talk to Marianne."
"I haven't seen her since I got here, and she's normally right in my face when I'm here. I think maybe she's left. The car she drives wasn't in its usual parking spot when I arrived."
"Perfect. She stirs up the pot and leaves, creating a mess behind her."
"Yes, it sounds rather deliberate as well. I don't know what she's up to, but I think she needs to be watched." Emma nodded in agreement.
It only took one phone call to Sean and arrangements were made for an officer to be out at the house immediately. Travis turned to Emma as he hung up the phone and gave a weak smile.
"That's one major crisis avoided. I think you and I should leave before anything else comes up. Are we meeting Kim and Jake at the beach?"
"Yes, and they're probably waiting for us." Emma reached down and scooped up Dixie and followed Travis from Midge's office. They said a brief goodbye to Sophie and Cook as they left, letting them know steps had been taken to prevent Marianne's meddling from doing any further damage. Moments later, they were pulling out of the Anderson driveway and heading toward the beach.